Cornish Peregrine fledge

Today was a big day for a couple of Peregrine fledglings that have been limbering up over the last couple of days preparing for their maiden flights,

First one bird and then the other were going through wing stretching and flapping exercises and getting ready for take-off,

Eventually both birds were flapping and shouting while working themselves up for the big moment as they got ever closer to a 100 foot cliff edge

And this is the moment as one of the pair throws itself off of the cliff for its first flight

After completing an impressive half circle out over the sea it heads back towards the cliffs calling to the other birds before making a clumsy crash landing on the other side of the cove,

The second bird followed the first into the air within a few minutes and took a similar flight path during which it managed to gain some height to land on the top of the cliff edge some two hundred metres away from its starting point,

Stithians Reservoir southern cut-off

I called into Stithians yesterday morning looking for the Great white Egret sighted the previous day but no joy,  I spent some time watching a fine looking mature Grey Heron catch three Robin Red Breast in as many minutes before it moved on,

By contrast the next bird on the scene was a rather skinny looking juvenile Grey Heron that was on a steep learning curve,  I watched its attempts at fishing for thirty minutes and it never caught more than a face full of pond weeds, Its skills will need to improve quickly!


I turned my attention to a few birds visiting the out of action feeding station where they moved in close at three to four metres looking for hand-outs creating the opportunity for a couple of portrait images shown below

Cornish Kestrels part 28

Things are still very busy at our Kestrel site with mainly voles and lizards being delivered to the clutch of chicks approximately by the hour,  We do not know how many chicks there are at this stage but all should be revealed in the forthcoming weeks as the chicks start to fledge

Wind swept Cornish coastline

Following forty eight hours of high winds the seas around the Cornish coast were raging today creating an awesome spectacle for those walkers who braved the coastal footpaths

I saw a large mature Grey seal that showed no concern as it negotiated its way skilfully between shallow white water and jagged black rocks

I do not know why the little balls of spotted fluff that are Black back Gull chicks are not just blown off of high exposed rocks where I could not stand due to the strength of the wind

This female Kestrel hangs head motionless on the vertical cliff up-draughts while hunting by courtesy of the wind with little or no effort required for flight

A female Peregrine picks a spot to shelter from the elements where her plumage colours fade into the dramatic rock formation where she will remain unseen by those that did not see her land

No two days are the same around our coastline but nature seems to have a way of coping with all of them !

Longrock sibling Roe Deer

I returned to Longrock fields early AM on the look-out for new born Roe Deer kids but if they are around yet they are keeping well under cover in the current wet and windy condition but I did have a sighting of a pair of siblings which I have seen quite regularly since my first memorable views of them as Day old twins just two years ago,  The young buck tends to be a bit skitty but its probably not surprising as he does get a bit of a rough ride from one of the visiting mature bucks arrive on the scene

Peregrine take-off sequence

The weather today was to say the least 'A bit of a challenge'  Driving rain  and southerly gale force winds had wiped out the whole of the south coast but I had a new north coast Peregrine that I worked with for the first time yesterday so being keen to push for better images I decided to go anyway,  The early morning went quite well and as I learnt more about perch points and flight habits I was able to gain a nice take-off sequence from a reasonable distance,  As the morning progressed it became more and more difficult to keep both my camera kit and I dry,  I finally called it a day at one PM and moved out of cover to slog it back up the cliffs to my car, By the time I arrived the water was running down the inside of my trousers and squelching out of my boots! Time to head for home ASAP,

North Coast Today

I spent a very full day in the very good company of Dolphins, Peregrine, Jack Tarr and a few members of the Cornish Camo Club, One of whom went a little 'Bananas' when some 'B' seemed to have nicked his breakfast but all was well in the end and we all went home with a few nice images, Some of mine are posted below,

Cornish Kestrel Part 27

With their full clutch of eggs now fully hatched it was a busy day on the wing for our pair of Kestrel yesterday, The male was in permanent hunting mode collecting vole from the fields and lizards from rough ground around the clifftops which were handed over to the female at various locations away from the nest area, Twelve hours into their day they were still going strong when I left at six pm and they would probably have continued until sunset three hours later,  An excellent effort on their part to ensure the continuation of their gens and an absolute joy to watch,

Ryans Field

It was a wet and dismal morning at Ryans field today but the pair of bedraggled looking Robins that had been nesting in the bank in front of the hide were now being kept busy by a couple of recent fledglings that were forever calling to be fed,

Having now had enough breakfast the young fledgling took a test flight into a nearby hedgerow to rest up and digest it before no doubt returning to the adult birds looking for more,

A pair of Canada geese swam passed the hide proudly showing off their fine young family of five goslings

And to complete the scene one of the birds from the two pairs of swallow that are nesting within the hide took a breather from catching flies on a favoured bramble bush,