All quiet; still much too hot and windy and we really need some serious rain and cooler conditions. But both male and female are regularly visiting, but with longer absences than in January. Xavier spent the night in the box one night, which is unusual. Here he is landing at about 8.30 pm.
VIDEO 20170210 X landing at night
Sorry about the mkv format. I tried all the other video formats available on this software (Milesone) and none of them worked properly, probably because they are too big (one was 272 MB!). I’ll talk to Scott about this, to see if we can improve things.
Diamond has been often absent at night, but conversely more often in the box during day, indicating that she is no longer chasing after juveniles. It will be really interesting to see if there is a difference next year when (hopefully, fingers crossed) Xavier fathers his own offspring and pays them more attention!
And now for the poem, well song, actually. I coordinate an acoustic music jam in Orange and I was listening to some Irish friends singing ‘Song for Ireland’, when it occurred to me that it was using peregrines as a analogy for freedom (I guess), so here it is. A lovely song by Phil Clough, and superbly song by Mary Black on youtube.
Silver winged they fly, they know the call of freedom in their breasts
Between the rocks that run down to the sea
I stood by your Atlantic sea and sang a song for Ireland
Telling jokes and news, singing songs to pass the night away
Watched the Galway salmon run like silver dancing darting in the sun
I stood by your Atlantic sea and sang a song for Ireland
Someone touched the bow, he played a reel, it seemed so fine and gay
Stood on Dingle beach and cast, in wild foam we found Atlantic Bass
I stood by your Atlantic sea and sang a song for Ireland
Waking in your dawn, I saw you crying in the morning light
Lying where the Falcons fly, they twist and turn all in you e’er blue sky
I stood by your Atlantic sea and I sang a song for Ireland
Video from Cilla, youtu.be/90Iwbeeb5AI
I wonder how far they actually fly at night. They seem to come and go at all hours, but I’m wondering whether they’re just short ‘hops’ from the nearest trees, or…
They have been known to hunt at night, but I’ve no evidence that ours have done this.