November 7,8,13,14,15

I only spotted one Peregrine during this time, she was flying low over the back of Sea Walls, evidently trying to flush out some of the pigeons that perch in the trees on the gorge side. She swooped with such speed that I almost lost her from my glasses, then the next I saw was a few minutes later as she sped by under the Peregrine Watch. What speed! It is high tide at present, so there was relatively little to see for the whole five days: a heron flying low over the water, and landing near the storm drain, as he landed another got up. They are solitary birds. Then there was a kestrel flying past, and causing some consternation among the Jackdaws. This morning we had the heaviest frost of the autumn, so I did not linger.

Monday, Tuesday 5th,6th November

Redshank on the mud (and there was a lot of it) below Sea Walls on both days. Monday was very dull but today, Tuesday was sunny and more interesting. A quintet - Heron, Black Backed Gull, Cormorant, Crow and Mallard were all within yards of each other beside the Storm drain outlet, with a number of other gulls and ducks in the river nearby. At one point the Cormorant adopted the 'Batman' pose with its wings out, so there must have been some food at the drain. At the Peregrine Watch, just as I was about to leave, a Peregrine appeared, circling in and out of the trees, and moving right until it landed to perch in the top of a birch tree at the top of the right hand quarry. The Gorge Peregrines seem to use this technique to flush other birds, mainly pigeons out, this time it drew a blank, and I did not wait to seem if it resumed the hunt.

Friday to Sunday, Novemeber 2nd to 4th

Friday: This morning was glorious - the sun was reflected from the river so strongly that it blinded me! On the mud just below Sea Walls - as usual on this side of the river - was a Curlew and several Redshanks, making the most of the new mud exposed by the ebbing tide. On the other side of the river, a Heron was fishing. At the Peregrine Watch I saw a Raven sitting in the Banana Tree! That should keep the Peregrines out!
Saturday: Another glorious day, there were some Redshank (plural Redshanks?) on the mud on the usual side of the river below Sea Walls. At the Peregrine Watch I had a glimpse of a Peregrine going in to the woodland opposite between the two quarries, it was carrying prey, a little later it moved, still carrying, up into the top of the quarry above the Banana Tree.
Sunday: Today was very foggy when I left Bishopston, but it cleared on the Downs to a misty blue sky. I could not see any Redshank, but there were three Herons, two on the Downs side and one opposite, Sea Walls. No Peregrines, but the stay at the Watch was made very pleasant by the absence of any traffic on the Portway, which was closed for repairs to the Gorge rocks.

Thursday November 1st

I was entertained by a Kestral this morning, she flew past the Peregrine Watch several times, then hovering, then darting up towards the woods and valley to the right. All the time a Peregrine sat in the Banana Tree, motionless. The trees are more beautiful by the day, the edge of Leigh Woods over towards Portishead is a mass of yellows, oranges, and reds of every shade imaginable.

Monday to Wednesday, October 29th to 31st

Wednesday, at the Peregrine Watch. This morning's small male Peregrine was chased, very briefy, by a passing Seagull as it flew in to land on the cliff to the left of the Banana Tree where another Peregrine was sitting. Shortly after this the young female flew from the Banana Tree and onto the cliff beneath me. On Monday and Tuesday Peregrines flew round from the same cliff, often appearing for only a few seconds. Yesterday a Peregrine was chased by a Raven down the length of the Gorge beside the trees opposite, both finally disappearing around the promontory of trees down river. On Monday, in another chase below Sea Walls, a Buzzard turned on its back in midair to ward off a Crow. It is high water at present, with the tide just turning, the trees in Leigh Woods have lost most of their leaves, but in the Gorge, ash and oak still have some green, and the shades of yellow and red from the maples have to be seen to be believed - especially when the sun shines. Monday and Tuesday were bright and sunny, today duller but with some occasional sunshine.

Friday 26th October

The view from Sea Walls was misty, with Avonmouth obscured and with a higher, but ebbing, tide. There were no birds on the small amount of mud. A large flock of Crows pursued an unfortunate Buzzard past the cliffs and towards Horseshoe Bend, the Buzzard's top feathers flashed brown in the sunshine as he tumbled from side to side to avoid his tormentors.

Tuesday to Thursday, October 23rd to 25th

On Tuesday and Wednesday I cycled out around midday (once the sun had appeared). I had brief glimpses of Peregrines on both days: one circling in the sun haze up the Gorge from the Watch, the other a brief chase of some Buzzards, down river and above Leigh Woods. There were at least five Buzzards, maybe six, and the Peregrine disappeared from view after a few minutes, that was Wednesday. With the low tide there are a large group of sea gulls on the mud, sometimes spread out, at others working their way down river in a flock of 100 or more. Today, Thursday I spotted one redshank(!), but the sky was so overcast I did not stop long.
My bird handbook describes a Jay as 'a small colourful crow', and a Magpie as a medium sized crow. Whilst I often see several magpies in a group - frequently in pairs - I don't ever remember seeing more than one Jay at a time. Today I saw two, but on different parts of the Downs, they are certainly less obvious than the many Magpies. The flight modes of the two birds are very distinct, both have a kind of rising flap of flight(!) followed by a glide downwards.