A brief glimpse .... and then it was gone

 It's often the case that the briefest of glimpses of an animal are the wildlife encounters that stick in the memory. Here are three recent chance encounters, that lasted only for a few seconds

I saw something moving in the grass under some young oaks, but couldn't quite make out what it was ..... and then this magnificent jay, with its exquisite blue wing feathers, flew up into the branches. It paused for a couple of seconds and then was gone

I'd been watching this kestrel hovering and stooping along the sea cliffs near Hawthorn Dene on the Durham coast. I lost sight of it then, as I drew near, it flew up from the grass with a small mammal in its talons and disappeared over the edge of the cliff

I was walking through Auckland park in Bishop Auckland, along the edge of what must once have been a broad ditch, when this hare that had been lying low leapt up from almost under my feet and dashed away into a hawthorn thicket.