Saturday, Monday to Wednesday, January 12th, 14th to 16th

The weather has been atrocious so I have been lucky to get any rides in at all. With a full river and little mud I don't see many Redshank, however they appeared on the small areas of mud made during a retreating tide, and, better still, I was able to see them fly. Usually they are pecking the mud and do little flying; I was lucky and twice caught several birds in my binoculars, and in flight when they show a beautiful white flash on their wings and under-belly.

At the Peregrine Watch, especially a little later in the morning, a female has taken up a perch in an oak tree just beside a little clearing between the two quarries opposite. The tree is slightly left of twin ivy-covered trees. I wonder if this is where she digests her kill in the morning? When there is sunlight her breast looks like a lantern and draws ones eye too her. She was present on three of the four days, and once left the perch to fly over to the cliff under the Watch, then a few minutes later, flying back followed by another Peregrine. The other disappeared into the trees, and despite a lot of searching, I could not find it.
The Jackdaws are very noisy at present, and (very obviously) mostly paired up, Gulls, Cormorants and Mallard are plentiful, so the stop off is usually worth it. Cold and wet drive one away.