Tuesday May 13th

Two trips up onto the Downs today. The first a foreshortened ride due to meeting Roger at the Peregrine Watch, and then, after walking back over the downland and looking at the trees and shrubs, we decided to return and spend time photographing the trees and flora on the Downs, but especially in the Gully. We spent several hours walking and clambering around the steep slopes and the rocks in the Gully (Walcombe Slade) where we took over 200 pictures. The state of a lot of this region is very disappointing. Management, hmmmm ....! I was amazed at the number of Whitebeam around, these are losing their initial white glow as the leaves age a little. The Downs trees are in their full glory at present. Westonbirt eat your heart out!
Afterwards, a short stay at the Watch in the afternoon: first a Buzzard being seen off by one of the Ravens, then later two of last years juvenile Pergrines appeared briefly and circled in the Gorge, then the male from the nest took off and started hunting, circling slowly up over Leigh Woods, disappearing for a while, then circling higher and eventually disappearing over towards Bristol. I understand that the chicks may have fledged, so we may start to see the two parents feeding their young; it will get intersting in early June.