It was a good day for raptors. I went out to the Castle Hill reserve, a large tract of the Sussex downs which features archetypical rolling hills. 
The sheep were grazing and the skylarks were filling the air with song.
The lambs were frolicking. These three were trotting gently…
This group were racing. Seriously. It looked like a game of tag, or follow-the-leader. They'd rush 100 yards or so to an apparently predetermined point, turn and rush back. This went on for several circuits, always to the same stopping points. Strange!
There's a good number of kestrels in the area. Usually they hunt along the upper parts of the hills, and today was no different. This is a male who came in a little closer than some of the others.
I also saw a pair of buzzards. These are clearly doing exceptionally well locally and can often be seen circling farmland and calling with a weak but distinctive mewl. I've seen them in the distance at Castle Hill, but today's pair seemed very much at home and from their behaviour this looks like home territory.
In my somewhat arbitrary hierarchy of raptor sighting, buzzards trump kestrels, but peregrines trump both. There are far fewer peregrines and they tend to fly at higher altitudes (and often at speed). Hence more difficult to see. Today was an exception. A pair of them were scouting the ridge, and for once I'd made the right choice by staying on the higher land. They came by several times, which was certainly a bonus. Note the vertical barring on the body, which is worth comparing to the hobby from Friday's post.
I'll catch up with garden news tomorrow. The fox is still pestering the hedgehogs (but thankfully no more than that), and they even sometimes call a truce. The badger is still visiting when I'm not there and the trail cam caught an encounter between one of the badgers and one of the foxes. More of that tomorrow once I've finished editing the clips.
Camera note: all shots taken with the Canon 7D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens, except the landscape which was taken with the EF17-40mm f/4L USM lens.
gdare
10 Apr 2011Do you think raptor were the cause of disappearing of ducklings? :left:
cakkleberrylane
10 Apr 2011You have some great detail shwoing in the vertical barring – very nice! And your lambs look so happy!
gonzalotravieso
10 Apr 2011Apparently, the fitness fad reached the world of lambs 😆
Mickeyjoe-Irl
10 Apr 2011That shot of the of the fox and hedgehog together is sure something. :up:
Words
11 Apr 2011Gonzalo, it was the day of the Grand National (our biggest horse race) so maybe they thought they were horses and were practising 😉
Words
11 Apr 2011Lois, thanks! I was pleased to get so much detail on the peregrines.
Words
11 Apr 2011Darko, my guess is either that either a sparrowhawk or a fox has taken in 'an interest' in the ducklings, or possibly crows. There was a dead female adult duck at the pond a week ago, and that definitely looked like crows had feasted (a fox would have removed it, and a sparrowhawk would have made a tidier job!).
Words
11 Apr 2011Erwin, thanks!
Words
11 Apr 2011Mick, thanks! A brief rest for the hedgehog.
wellisteffi
11 Apr 2011Beautiful pictures! :up:
SittingFox
11 Apr 2011Spectacular collection! And I agree about peregrines, though a golden eagle would still top the list 😉
Words
12 Apr 2011Steffi, thanks!
Words
12 Apr 2011Adele, well I have to admit a golden eagle would be something. The last time we had one in the south was when Goldie the Eagle escaped from London Zoo.
Wulpen
19 Oct 2012Interesting Photos