Friday September 14th

This mornings Peregrine appeared from the quarry trees as I first looked. She glided around on the wind above the quarry then explored the trees. Then she was attacked by one of the Ravens! This might have been a young bird, but she soon turned the tables on the Raven, and it was chased, dive bombed, harried, and out-flown by the little falcon. She chased it back to the old ravens nest on the cliff, then proceeded to fly about the quarry, and to make passes at the sulking Raven! Whenever it moved, she chased it. Can a Peregrine kill a Raven? I suspect that it could from the display that I saw.
This Peregrine then continued to fly, mostly high up and above the Gorge, ranging from the Suspension bridge to over the Downs by Sea Walls, on several occasions pigeons were chased, and nearly caught; at one stage I thought that she had a pigeon, it looked as if the two were locked together, but she appeared again very quickly, flying on her own. When two Ravens reappeared flying high and slightly towards the bridge, she joined them, then she chased one of them again until it retreated down to the Gorge. After this she resumed her patrol up and down. Every time I started to leave, she re-appeared, and when I finally left for breakfast, after over an hour of watching this amazing little bird, I even saw her flying just off Ladies Mile.
During all this time the other birds were notable for their absence, pigeons did appear - and were chased, a squadron of five ducks flew towards the Suspension bridge whilst she was there, the next I saw was a lone duck speeding back down the river, then the Peregrine rising again towards Nightingale Valley.
Was this only one bird? Probably, otherwise I only ever saw one falcon at a time.

His wings hold all creation in a weightless quiet,
Steady as a hallucination in the streaming air.

The appearance of a lone Buzzard over by the Suspension Bridge was very mundane in comparison.