richard.heeks
Peregrine Falcon over Exeter City Centre
I thought about whether to upload and map this shot, because people steal peregrine eggs. But these birds aren't hard to find if you have Google, so I'm just adding to what's already out there.
A tramp saw me looking at the church, so I explained I was looking for the falcons. He fetched some binoculars from another tramp and showed me where he thought the birds were nesting. I think he was just seeing pigeons flying in and out of the arches, but I might be wrong. He said that to see them you have to be a bit "slowly slowly catchy monkey". Yep, that's true - it's best to be patient. He asked my name, so I told him. He shook my hand. I asked his name. He laughed, tapped his nose, and said "Sly".
He tried to recruit me into tramping too. He asked me what I did for a living. I told him about my PhD. He then said "you don't like it though do you!" "You want to be a travelling tramp like me!" ;-) I'll stick with my PhD I reckon. Thomas Pynchon wrote some nice stuff about tramping in The Crying of Lot 49. It's like a whole flipside existence. (Tramps have binoculars!!!). Some people choose it too. It's not for me though.
There was also a very loud fight going on with some tramps while I was taking this shot. As I was shooting the peregrine, someone was on the ground getting kicked. Lots of shouting and swearing. Lots of kicking.
(After thinking about this shot... I can find a much better vantage point next time. Hope to get on an eyeline with the bird! Might mean I have to stand around with the tramps though. Maybe that would work out okay. A dozen pairs of eyes are better than just one pair. Maybe. Maybe not.)
A weird thing was that pigeons were nesting right underneath the peregrines. I've heard the phrase 'keep your friends close but your enemies closer', but that's taking it too far. Pigeons should create their own saying: Never ever nest underneath a peregrine.
Peregrine Falcon over Exeter City Centre
I thought about whether to upload and map this shot, because people steal peregrine eggs. But these birds aren't hard to find if you have Google, so I'm just adding to what's already out there.
A tramp saw me looking at the church, so I explained I was looking for the falcons. He fetched some binoculars from another tramp and showed me where he thought the birds were nesting. I think he was just seeing pigeons flying in and out of the arches, but I might be wrong. He said that to see them you have to be a bit "slowly slowly catchy monkey". Yep, that's true - it's best to be patient. He asked my name, so I told him. He shook my hand. I asked his name. He laughed, tapped his nose, and said "Sly".
He tried to recruit me into tramping too. He asked me what I did for a living. I told him about my PhD. He then said "you don't like it though do you!" "You want to be a travelling tramp like me!" ;-) I'll stick with my PhD I reckon. Thomas Pynchon wrote some nice stuff about tramping in The Crying of Lot 49. It's like a whole flipside existence. (Tramps have binoculars!!!). Some people choose it too. It's not for me though.
There was also a very loud fight going on with some tramps while I was taking this shot. As I was shooting the peregrine, someone was on the ground getting kicked. Lots of shouting and swearing. Lots of kicking.
(After thinking about this shot... I can find a much better vantage point next time. Hope to get on an eyeline with the bird! Might mean I have to stand around with the tramps though. Maybe that would work out okay. A dozen pairs of eyes are better than just one pair. Maybe. Maybe not.)
A weird thing was that pigeons were nesting right underneath the peregrines. I've heard the phrase 'keep your friends close but your enemies closer', but that's taking it too far. Pigeons should create their own saying: Never ever nest underneath a peregrine.