Sunday 4th May

This morning was very quiet, I eventually spotted two of the young Ravens sitting on top of the Yew trees to the right of their nest; maybe they only return to the nest at nightfall?
The Chestnut trees on Saville Road are now fully laden with their leaves and flowers, and the other trees are showing greenery of every shade. The Gorge Whitebeams are especially beautiful, the light green of these trees (and I hear there are over 200 of them), show up vividly amongst the other greens. The Whitebeams are not all in full leaf, probably reflecting the many micro-climates of the Gorge. A little quarry to the right, when viewed from the Peregrine Watch, has a rim which is nearly ringed with Whitebeams; many more are visible in Walcombe Slade, but the best view of them is still from the Peregrine Watch.

Friday May 2nd

We saw the first Swifts this morning, calling loudly as they flew over the Peregrine Watch. Two young Ravens are still on the side of their nest, the third appears to have moved to the cliff face over to the left (we saw an adult go in to feed it). High above was a hunting Peregrine. A quiet day!

Tuesday April 29th

There was a fire over beside the water in Avonmouth, the orange-red flames were visible just under the motorway bridge, the smoke attracted attention, then a buzzard swung into view! It was silhouetted against the smoke and sky. Over by the Peregrine Watch the male Peregrine flew past on a couple of occasions, he is a dark large bird, so there is a fine view as he passes to and from the nest. Over on the Raven's nest the youngsters are flying around a little, one went as far as the quarry, at other times they sit on the side of the nest, in the neighbouring Whitebeam, or Silver Birch. I may have had a glimpse of the Kestrel from Sea Walls.

Sunday, Monday, 27th, 28th April

On Sunday we watched the foxes in the bushes below the Peregrine Watch, their bright red coats are now very prominent amid the new green foliage, nearby beside the Portway are three Bristol Whitebeams are in their spring glory. In the quarry the three young Ravens perch on the side of their nest or disappear inside it into safety. We saw the male Peregrine below in the Gorge on a couple of occasions, then the Kestrel. On Monday a Buzzard soared above Sea Walls, and then flew on over towards Snyed Park; a Cormorant started circling high above, the same happened with another Cormorant (the same one?), but over above the Peregrine Watch. Another Cormorant flew low over the water up-river. Why do Cormorants circle like this? The male Peregrine took off from below us and flew high above us, it is likely that the female is on her eggs at the moment, since the Peregrine activity is a bit muted. A flock of teenage Herring Gulls was on the river; a lone swallow passed, and I watched a Heron fly past and could follow him with binoculars almost as far as the motorway bridge. Two beautiful bright mornings, though on Monday there was a cold westerly wind, the tide is in-coming, with a little more mud each day. Only the ducks at the river edges, no other waders.

Friday April 25th

Good parenting leads to successful offspring, or at least the siblings are more likely to survive! The Ravens are certainly very watchful and attentive parents trying hard to ensure the survival of all of their brood. From Sea Walls I could spy a large shadowy figure at the top of one of the oaks; then from the Peregrine Watch, the other Raven parent at the top of the yew trees to the left of the nest. Meanwhile two smaller black forms were perched on the nest edge, and another was close by in a small tree. There was an occasional flutter of wings as the young Ravens exercised, or as one of the parents took off and patrolled the Gorge.

Footnote: The RSPB has a campaign to highlight birds of prey (Arn't Birds Brilliant). Across the UK, the Peregrine sites, along with those for Red Kites, Ospreys, Eagles and Hen Harriers, with some other species, can be
found at via a Google Map
However! No mention of the Avon Gorge Peregrines - only Cheddar Gorge!
MY email to the RSPB resulted in the following comment:
"The reason that there is no mention of the Avon Gorge peregrines is that
they are not one of our sites. The Aren't birds brilliant sites
mentioned all have RSPB staff on hand to show people the birds. The map
isn't supposed to be an exhaustive map of all sites in the UK, just
those where we have a presence and where we are showing people these
brilliant birds. I hope that this answers your query and that the peregrines
in the Avon Gorge (and Cheddar) have a successful breeding season and raise some
chicks. Best wishes, Kevin RSPB Web Team"

Wednesday, Thursday, 23rd, 24th April

Wednesday: I watched two large birds disappear over towards Burwalls, from their flight I think they were Buzzards; then, much closer above the woodland to the left of the Peregrine Watch another Buzzard was worried by the Raven family. The Ravens drove the Buzzard away down into the trees, certainly away from their valuable nestlings.
Thursday: from Sea Walls it was possible to see one of the Raven nestlings exercising its flight muscles, while at the top of one of the oaks one of the parents watched: the sun made the feathers on this large bird look like silver through my glasses. It was fascinating to watch the wing flapping from the Peregrine Watch, though difficult to see how many youngsters were in the nest - especially when the whole brood was joined by the parent birds. The parents left, and soared up over Leigh Woods, one of birds occasionally folding its wings during flight in that curious gesture that Ravens seem to have when flying with a mate. I wonder whether other watchers have commented on this?
The Kestrel appeared briefly, and flew around the trees to the left of the quarry; I did not see any sign of the Peregrines, but this may have been due to my fascination with the Ravens.

Tuesday April 22nd

The tide was high receding, and the sky grey. Over by Burwalls I had a brief view of a large bird flying away and below the trees - most likely a Buzzard, though I was hoping to see the Red Kite I heard about! A Peregrine swept past the Watch and disappeared under to the cliff; I have not seen a Peregrine over in the oaks for a couple of weeks, and soon the trees will have too much greenery to see any roosting birds. Four Magpies, four Jackdaws and a Crow squabbled behind me on the grass for scraps of bread left by someone.