Peregrine in Flight

The Cornish mist was slow to clear yesterday morning but when it did there was a flurry of action from our south coast Peregrine.

I concentrated on take-offs, landings and general flight shots and was pleased with the montage above and the portrait images below

South coast Ravens

With superb wall to wall sunshine over the last couple of days I spent yesterday afternoon on the coast at Trewavas head.

I watched the close bond between a pair of ravens and it soon became obvious that they were nesting a little further along the cliffs in sight of the meandering high coastal footpath.

Through my telephoto lens I could just make out four little red heads bobbing about in a nest lined with sheep's wool.

I managed to catch a few shots of the ravens visiting the nest which was in dark shadow from the afternoon sun but eventually decided to return AM today to catch the rising sun lighting the nest

Another super day and Early AM saw me back at Trewavas head at sunrise and this time the rays of sun penetrated right into the nest.

The four Chic's in the nest were only a couple of days old and just beginning to open their eyes but all had already learnt that opening that big red gaping mouth was the key to being fed.

The larger Male Raven seemed to be an infrequent visitor to the nest preferring to hand over prey and food items to the female at a nearby perch point.

Roe Deer among the Trees

It was a cracking spring morning with a clear blue sky, no wind, and a frost on the ground as I headed out early looking for Roe deer.

As the sun came up I could see them moving around under cover in the shade of the trees around fifty metres from my cover,  a wily old Doe finally led two young Does and bucks on out into the grassland to feed,

A young Doe somehow got left behind and when she realised it she stood stock still in the cover of the trees until the small herd returned an hour later.

My final shot of the morning was a back lit spiders web set high in long grasses that was a pain in my line of sight to the lone Doe so I focused in on it at the end just to do it justice.

A lovely way to start my day on a really cracking spring morning !

'Spring is in the Air '

Spring is in the air and so is this Doe Roe Deer as it effortlessly jumps across a four metre wide  drainage ditch early Am today.

Once across the ditch she realised that I was there and I smiled as she stopped and stamped her foot in annoyance at my unwelcome attention.

I took one more picture and moved away to find the mature male that I had earlier seen move into the shadow of some small trees.

When I finally caught sight of the male I smiled again as it looked like he was having a bit of a  ' Bad Hair Day ' due to the molt of his winter coat and tassel's of velvet hanging from his new antlers.

That said,  he still manage to look like a fine, alert and noble Buck that stood his ground as I took a few shots before once again I backed away from his gaze feeling very much like a rude intruder into both of these early morning encounters.

Buck Roe Deer

A mature Buck Roe Deer was the first of six deer to catch my attention this morning as it lead a group of females out from a small coppice.

This fine looking buck was shedding the velvet from its rather raw looking set of new antlers and the loose velvet was hanging down over his forehead.

As I watched this buck from about a hundred metres I was surprised when thirty minutes later it was joined by the young buck that I had worked on the previous morning,  it moved out into the long grasses and was welcomed by the older male.

On previous occasions when I have seen two males in the same territory the dominant male has always seen off  the younger bucks.

The two males eventually walked off back into the coppice and it was nice to see the older male stop and tangle its antlers into the tree branches to help remove the annoying velvet.

New Roe Deer Portraits

The attached half a dozen Roe Deer Portraits are a second take from my first visit to a location not previously explored

It might be trickier to work with all its undergrowth and obstructions but I like the more natural habitat far more than the grazing fields that I have been working in at other locations recently and the deer look and seem to be more relaxed and secure in this more covered territory.

Hoping for a little early morning sunshine to put a better light on them to bring out a bit more colour  on my next visit.

New Roe Deer Sightings

Following a tip-off from a fellow wildlife photographer yesterday,  this morning I made an early first visit  to a new location looking for Roe Deer.

I was not to be disappointed as I saw my first deer, a young buck with velvet antlers within about fifteen minutes.

The young male was soon joined by a female and the pair welcomed each other like old friends.

The male slipped away after a while but the female hung around feeding and cleaning and I clicked quietly away from the hedgerow working at about thirty meters from her under cover,

I think she could hear my single shutter actions as she looked directly towards me on several occasions but she still held her ground and eventually hunkered down in the long grasses to relax.

Two hours in I now took this opportunity to move away and was very pleased with both my first visit and my field skills at leaving these fine animals undisturbed while taking around two hundred images.

My thanks and appreciation go to Martin Yelland for giving me the nod on this sighting !

Peregrine Prey Sharing ?

A male Peregrine returns to its clifftop territory and provides a waiting Female with a large fresh kill.

The female tucks into the prey and the male patiently waits for his share but she carries on and on.

The male starts to get a little impatient and the female guards the prey by stretching her wings.

Enough is enough and the male takes a lung forward and grabs the prey.

Having lost the prey the female flies off aggressively unbalancing the male as she goes.

At this time of the year it is important that both birds are well fed with the breeding season stretching out in front of them but a quick look at the female below when she relocates a bit further along the cliffs will tell you that her crop is stretched to the limit so perhaps the male was justified to step in and take his share of the prize.