Short ...

[Paul - xxx[_2_]]

Short ride today.
Started on a route I don't often use but stopped after a couple of
miles 'cos I spotted two Kestrels hunting. Fantastic sight. Hovering,
moving then darting down and coming up with some vole or other .. ;)

I was surprised by how many times they dive before actually getting
something, I figured maybe 1 in 6 dives was successful, perhaps that's
a good score, I dunno, interesting though.

Didn't have a camera or phone with me so couldn't get any pics. Stayed
watching them for well over an hour, an utterly fascinating sight. I
regularly see them, but the clarity of light and visibility into the
valley[1] were so good today I just had to stop where normally I just
ride by and see them fleetingly. Farmer had turned over half the
field, and they were hunting along the margins between new earth and
old crops and along the woodside/hedgerows.

Eventually tore myself away and rode home, not enough time left to do a
much longer ride.

[1] When I say valley, I mean I was on a canalbank and the Kestrels
were hunting in a field maybe 20' lower than me, taking their
kills/catches back to the hillside wood to the right at about the same
level as me, so only a very shallow valley ;)

--
Paul - xxx mobile ....

[al Mossah[_2_]]

On Nov 18, 10:30*am, "Paul - xxx" > wrote:
> Short ride today.
> Started on a route I don't often use but stopped after a couple of
> miles 'cos I spotted two Kestrels hunting. *Fantastic sight. *Hovering,
> moving then darting down and coming up with some vole or other .. ;)
>
> I was surprised by how many times they dive before actually getting
> something, I figured maybe 1 in 6 dives was successful, perhaps that's
> a good score, I dunno, interesting though.
>
> Didn't have a camera or phone with me so couldn't get any pics. *Stayed
> watching them for well over an hour, an utterly fascinating sight. *I
> regularly see them, but the clarity of light and visibility into the
> valley[1] were so good today I just had to stop where normally I just
> ride by and see them fleetingly. *Farmer had turned over half the
> field, and they were hunting along the margins between new earth and
> old crops and along the woodside/hedgerows.
>
> Eventually tore myself away and rode home, not enough time left to do a
> much longer ride.
>
> [1] When I say valley, I mean I was on a canalbank and the Kestrels
> were hunting in a field maybe 20' lower than me, taking their
> kills/catches back to the hillside wood to the right at about the same
> level as me, so only a very shallow valley ;)
>
> --
> Paul - xxx * *mobile ....

It's a bugger when wildlife interferes with a ride :-)

Earlier this summer I saw a buzzard hovering, a la kestrel (although
not quite as competently). As we approached on the bikes, it flew
away. We carried on a couple of hundred metres, turned onto another
track and looked back along the track to the buzzard. There it was in
head-on silhouette, talons down..... and getting bigger..... and
bigger. It'd seen along the rows of crops a pheasant, which happened
to be about 20 m in front of me. Anyway, buzzard hit the ground /
pheasant / crops causing a big cloud of dust, presumably hitting the
pheasant a glancing blow. Pheasant scuttled away into the crops,
buzzard flew up, presumably to search for its narrowly missed
breakfast. Then a couple of crows came along and chased him away.

Magical; the first time I've seen a buzzard attack.

[Trevor A Panther[_3_]]

i have cycled in many different parto fo the world -- out of europe it has
bein in the ",Middle East" anda bit the indian sub continent. So i have seen
and live4d alongside all kinds of creepy crawlies and small "animals.
Snakes -- I have seen many countries. i have certainly seen them in Eopeam
counties -- particularly in quiet vineyards in france and germany where they
seemto bask on the south facing slopes.

However in my long years i have only ever seen one "snake" in UK. it was a
couple of years ago in early autumn -- probably in late September or early
October. Cycling home along side the river Don when suddenly this snake
zoomed across in front of me. i tmoved too fast -- and I just didn't expect
it -- so I had no idea what it was. probably a grass snake but I have no
idea.

but no other encounter in UK.

certainly elsewher in the world i have seen several. A well remebered
occasion was outsid emy villa in Oman where we were having a small BBQ on a
Thursday night and we all saw this snake appear from my "garden" and
disappeared under my front door!!!!!

Its rediscovery by our local "ratchatcher" - armed with a bush handle and
gumboots -- with his dushdasha tucked up -- produce an interesting late
evening entertainment -- it was found under my chest of drawers -- and
carried out wrapped around said brush handle and returned to the outdoors.

Now camel spiders were a totally more scarey beasty! Very fast moving and
quite nasty! But they didn't like the encroaching "civilasation" . In my 12
years there i saw lots in early years but none in the last 3 or 4 years at
all!

--
From
Trevor A Panther
In South Yorkshire,
England, United Kingdom
www.tapan.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk
"al Mossah" > wrote in message
...
On Nov 18, 10:30 am, "Paul - xxx" > wrote:
> Short ride today.
> Started on a route I don't often use but stopped after a couple of
> miles 'cos I spotted two Kestrels hunting. Fantastic sight. Hovering,
> moving then darting down and coming up with some vole or other .. ;)
>
> I was surprised by how many times they dive before actually getting
> something, I figured maybe 1 in 6 dives was successful, perhaps that's
> a good score, I dunno, interesting though.
>
> Didn't have a camera or phone with me so couldn't get any pics. Stayed
> watching them for well over an hour, an utterly fascinating sight. I
> regularly see them, but the clarity of light and visibility into the
> valley[1] were so good today I just had to stop where normally I just
> ride by and see them fleetingly. Farmer had turned over half the
> field, and they were hunting along the margins between new earth and
> old crops and along the woodside/hedgerows.
>
> Eventually tore myself away and rode home, not enough time left to do a
> much longer ride.
>
> [1] When I say valley, I mean I was on a canalbank and the Kestrels
> were hunting in a field maybe 20' lower than me, taking their
> kills/catches back to the hillside wood to the right at about the same
> level as me, so only a very shallow valley ;)
>
> --
> Paul - xxx mobile ....

It's a bugger when wildlife interferes with a ride :-)

Earlier this summer I saw a buzzard hovering, a la kestrel (although
not quite as competently). As we approached on the bikes, it flew
away. We carried on a couple of hundred metres, turned onto another
track and looked back along the track to the buzzard. There it was in
head-on silhouette, talons down..... and getting bigger..... and
bigger. It'd seen along the rows of crops a pheasant, which happened
to be about 20 m in front of me. Anyway, buzzard hit the ground /
pheasant / crops causing a big cloud of dust, presumably hitting the
pheasant a glancing blow. Pheasant scuttled away into the crops,
buzzard flew up, presumably to search for its narrowly missed
breakfast. Then a couple of crows came along and chased him away.

Magical; the first time I've seen a buzzard attack.