And Finally

Sunday 18.2.19

The Peregrine unlike the two owls previous is a bundle of energy, initially placed on the Pigeon it rips into the carcass scattering feathers all over the place, best get the shots now before it all starts to look a bit gruesome.

Next the falcon is introduced to the second set with a carcass of a Red-legged Partridge and a sprig of heather to replicate moorland. The camera shutters are relentless, clicking and clacking with the best images to be had when the falcon is plucking the carcass. All too soon my memory card is full again, the second time in this session.

So that's my first managed photo session using falconry birds of prey, in some ways its not unlike my visit some time back to the Bird of Prey Centre at Newent, but this is more tailor made suitable for bird photography.

Would I recommend it...the answer is yes, it gives you the opportunity to concentrate developing your photography skills at the same time getting images of pristine birds that otherwise would be difficult in the wild....now when's the next session !

Click image to view

Peregrine Falcon

Local Peregrine's

Rochdale Town Hall - 2.7.18

Once again Peregrine Falcon's have been successful in rearing three young on Rochdale Town Hall which I've been following with interest over the internet, as the juveniles had left the nest platform about five days previous exploring other parts of the building I thought now's the time too make my way down to the town centre and try and get some flight images.

It's another sunny morning and I locate one juvenile is sitting high up on the park side of the building, it's calling continuously presumably for the parent bird to deliver the next meal, but the parent is having non of it preferring just to site and watch.

Now mid-morning and after two hours on site the adult bird takes to the air souring higher and higher eventually drifting out of sight, the juvenile still calling takes off and heads off in the direction of the parent bird, and that was the last action of my visit, but there's always another day, maybe tomorrow.

Rochdale Town Hall a fine example of gothic architecture that stands out amongst its surroundings in the town, quite easy to overlook are a number of interesting features including....

Coat of arms of Edmund Crouchback Earl of Lancaster.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Crouchback

Historic coat of arms of the Borough of Rochdale.........."Sable on an escutcheon within an orle of eight martlets argent a woolpack within a wreath of laurel proper".....I've no idea either !

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol5/pp187-201

Peregrine Falcon....(adult male)

Content just to sit for up to an hour high above the large clock on the main tower and only just visible with the naked eye, the image is cropped but it still amazingly retains some image quality to post in the blog.

So there I am waiting for the opportunity of Peregrine flight shots and from my left what I initially though was a drone a model aircraft appears and glides past the town hall clock tower in the middle of Rochdale, it certainly got the attention of a juveniles Peregrine as it promptly took off in pursuit of what it must have though was a easy meal.

The image is a little blurred as it was totally unexpected, I presume someone was flying the model aircraft from the elevated park at the rear of the town hall.

Peregrine Falcon in hot pursuit !

Town Hall Falcons

Like many others I’ve been following with interest via the council webcam the development of the Peregrine Falcons in residence on Rochdale Town Hall. It’s now around six weeks since the first bird hatched and already some of the young are actively exploring the upper parts of the building and only a matter of days before juveniles take to the air. Now that the recent heatwave is over I though I get down to the town centre and capture some images. 

At the nest platform there’s only one young bird remaining sat on the parapet seen earlier on the webcam patiently waiting for its next meal or even thinking is it my time to fly. A quick scan I locate two other juveniles, one further up the building and another on a ledge at the highest point at the base of the spire, the fourth juvenile I'm sure is enjoying the panoramic skyline somewhere else on the building. 

One parent bird is flying around with a new kill the other sat on its usual water channel perch high on the town hall building. Setting up the camera...bit worrying !..I initially get some static shots of the adult birds, but the young are for the most part out of sight, I'm also keen to get some flight shots of the parents birds circling the building which is a relatively easy capture as they glide in the wind 

Happy with a successful encounter and recording some reasonable images I call it a day.

Click image to view.....

A Very Windy Day

As Waxwings can now be found in many locations in the North West of England I thought I would have one more trip out to photograph these cracking birds before the berries disappeared and the birds move on. The plan was to return to Blackburn where I had photographed the birds last November as they had been reported on Weir Street the previous day. Arriving at the location the trees had been stripped of all berries with no sign of Waxwings, as the rain had now set in I decided to called it a day.

The following day I'm off to Bolton where a report of up to 50 Waxwings were feeding in the area of the town centre, plenty of berries on the trees but again no Waxwings. Time to implement plan "C" and track down the town centre Peregrine Falcons which were frequenting a public building.

Battling the strong wind which was making photography bit tricky, I photographed a pair of Peregrines Falcons who were intent on trying to catch a couple ravens renovating a nest on ledge below the Peregrine's perch. Lots of watching, diving attempting to catch either of the two ravens made for a number of photo opportunities.

Monmouth

A chance encounter with this an immature Peregrine Falcon which had caught a Pigeon, when approached jumped on the front of a car and flew off. 

Investigation with a local monitoring group would suggest this is possible a Wye Vally bred bird and not one of the Symonds Yat birds as this individual is "ringed", apparently the Yat birds are not ringed. There are no jesses evident to suggest this is an escape falconers bird

Images were taken with an iPhone