Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, March 24, 25, 27

By Tuesday it was much colder, so I was back into long trousers again! I spotted about a dozen Redshank on the mud just down river of Sea Walls, but little else. On Wednesday I decided to walk the periphery of the Downs, around from Cote Green, along the edge of the Gorge, then back via Zoo Bank and finally the Granny Down. You see much more than from a bicycle. Coming through the edge of a grove on the side of Walcombe Slade a Peregrine appeared high above me, circled for a while, then flew rapidly to the North. Coming through the bushes by the Dumps a bright green bird, gone in a flash - a Green finch! Just before that I saw a group of six Magpies on the grass towards Ladies Mile, these are not good news for the Green finch if it is nesting.
The Ravens are nesting; sometimes the female (I assume) is hunkered down in the nest and invisible, other times a small piece of black is visible, now and then the bird comes onto the edge of the nest.
On Friday I decided to be lazy, took the car and parked by Sea Walls, then walked along through the top of the Gully, over to Peregrine Watch, then down the new Zig Zag to the Portway, and crossing, along to come back up via the Gully. I watched a Peregrine, first from the top on the path beside Fairyland. The bird circled quite low and for nearly a quarter hour, over the trees opposite on the side of Leigh Woods, going into the quarry beside the Ravens nest, then coming back towards the Gully, sometimes flying fast, mostly gliding in the wind. Hunting? Possibly. From the Portaway I stopped and looked up at the Peregrine nest, there was no activity for a full half hour, but then I saw a Peregrine circling about 500 feet up, it circled higher and higher, eventally dropping rapidly to the Gully. A kill? Just after that I saw a Sparrowhawk flying above the Gully. A very pregnant deer was sitting under a birch tree in the sunshine in the quarry opposite Sea Walls. My last Peregine, a large bird, appeared quickly by Sea Walls and disappeared towards Black Rock cliff.

Monday March 23rd

An early morning ride (and the first one this year in short trousers), so I was up by the Peregrine Watch around 8am. The Great Bristol Public were out in force on Sunday, the evidence was left all over the Downs, with some particularly large piles in the cleared scrub beside Circular Road. The Downs Committee also seem keen on removing even more trees, I counted three with stump bases all looking fine. At this rate, and without replacements, the Downs will be treeless in ten years - I joke not!
There was some mud showing, and to the west of Sea Walls I counted ten Redshank, in one place a small flock of half a dozen birds were all busy pecking at the mud. At the Peregrine Watch the Jackdaw flock was flying around in a noisy group, I though that a raptor might have set them off, but could not see one.