Photographing birds in flight can prove very problematical, especially with fast-flying species including swallows, aptly-named swifts, kingfishers and skylarks.

Over the years, I have managed to take a few photos of flying swallows and a flock of swifts but kingfisher and skylark have so far eluded me, especially the kingfisher with with its electric spark of a flight whizzing with whirring wings just above the surface of a stream at very high speed.

One species that does allow photography is the kestrel as it hovers over wide open spaces searching for a meal. A kestrel faces directly into the breeze, wings and tail adjusting to every movement, head pointing vertically down searching for a vole, beetle or maybe a lizard. When spotted the bird sinks lower, metre by metre, as if suspended on a string, until folding its wings and stooping to conquer rapidly into the grass, not every time successfully.

So it rises again until it spots another possible target and repeats the process.

When hovering, focusing the camera poses no problems (pictured).

Low-flying sawns and geese are also relatively to focus on, although the latter don't interest me so much as the former species, whilst the swallow is my favourite bird and, for me, would win any avian X-Factor contest