Poetic update

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.

Xavier sneaking into the box at night (10th Feb)

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.

Walking all the day near tall towers where falcons build their nests
Silver winged they fly, they know the call of freedom in their breasts
Soar Black Head against the sky
Between the rocks that run down to the sea
Living on your western shore, saw summer sunsets, asked for more
I stood by your Atlantic sea and sang a song for Ireland
Talking all the day with true friends, who try to make you stay
Telling jokes and news, singing songs to pass the night away
Watched the Galway salmon run like silver dancing darting in the sun
Living on your western shore saw summer sunsets, asked for more
I stood by your Atlantic sea and sang a song for Ireland
Drinking all the day in old pubs where fiddlers love to play
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
Living on your western shore, saw summer sunsets asked for more
I stood by your Atlantic sea and sang a song for Ireland
Dreaming in the night, I saw a land where no man had to fight
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
Living on your western shore, saw summer sunsets asked for more
I stood by your Atlantic sea and I sang a song for Ireland

3 thoughts

  1. 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…

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