I was walking along a field edge today, enjoying the peace and the pleasant breeze, when this beautiful creature flew into a tree right next to me.

It wasn’t exactly an elegant landing – I think this was a young Buzzard, judging by its inexact flying skills and its call, and the bird hadn’t realised there was a human standing close by.

I managed to fire off a few quick photos before the bird flew out from the tree, across the field, and landed in the newly mown grass.

It seemed to realise fairly quickly that sitting on the ground when people and their dog were approaching up the hill wasn’t exactly a smart idea, so it quickly took to the air again and found another, taller tree to perch in. Safety for the Buzzard, and a precious experience for me!