“Sentinel angel sitting high in glory.”
We are heading to Exeter when I mention how much I’ve always wanted to see the Exeter Peregrines to my son. “They nest in the church over there”, I gesture, as we drive past.
“Why don’t we park nearby and go and see them?” he says. “We’ve got half an hour.”
We park and walk. I can’t remember the name of the church but it dominates the skyline and I know it’s the one. We stand at the foot of the spire and look up. “Can you see anything?”
We can’t. We walk around it, straining our necks. We look on every architectural feature for a perching bird, but there are none to be seen. “They have a webcam”, I say. A quick search for Exeter Peregrines comes back with St Michael and All Angels church and a webcam of the peregrine’s nest. We stare at my phone’s tiny screen and can see two curly white chicks with vicious beaks huddled in the corner. Fantastic. They are up there. It’s live, broadcast for everyone to see from high above our heads.
“Okay”, I say, “They’re behind a trefoil window.”
We wander around all four sides of the spire looking for the right size window.
Then the realisation dawns. “Hold on. One of them’s in the picture”, I say. I get my phone out again and sure enough, it is. I thought it was a piece of stone and part of the architecture but it’s actually a parent bird.
“All right. Let’s look for the bird in the trefoil window.”
And there it is. The word sentinel is such a great one to describe this Peregrine. The opening line of one of my favourite poems, ‘A Woman’s Love’ by Colonel John Hay, from his 1871 collection Pike County Ballads, has the opening line, “Sentinel angel sitting high in glory.” It’s the perfect description of this Peregrine.
Maybe next time I’ll bring my proper camera.
More Peregrine Falcons
Perching Peregrine We're on a cruise out of Brixham when we're told there's a male Peregrine Falcon perched overlooking Torbay. There are… read more
Osprey photobombed by a Peregrine We were on a trip up and down the River Dart in South Devon with Mike Langman in search of… read more
Juvenile Peregrine pursued by Arctic Skuas I hear a loud Keeeeoww; a scream coming from above me. I manage to get its source in my viewfinder.… read more
Peregrination We're walking the coast of Westray when I see it perched there. "There!" I say to the Puffin Whisperer, as… read more
The Ogre and the Peregrine, master of peril The coast is full of anxious Guillemots transporting a single silver fish each, flying in strict convoy. There are parading… read more
Natural England: apologists for nest robbers The news came to me in a tweet: Now, I love Peregrine Falcons, and yet I rarely see them. A… read more
Peregrines v Buzzard A bit of daily exercise means a walk up the hill and back. I'm trying to avoid the Grand Old… read more
Marmaduke Tunstall and the curious case of the Sacred Ibis I occasionally have to go to London on business. In a small side street in Marylebone called Welbeck Street is… read more