Freddy Johnson visit on 9th April 2011

Thank's to Freddy Johnson for this report:

I visited St. Wulfram's Church, Grantham for nearly 2 hours today (Sat 9th April - 12.15 -2.00pm.) Having parked in the nearby Watergate Car Park, I initially scanned the South-facing side of the Church and immediately spotted the male Peregrine perched at the end of the nesting ledge 'parapet', about 15-20 feet from the nesting tray area. He remained in that general area for the whole of my visit.

Inside the Church, the female could initially be seen on the screen to be sitting tight on her eggs. She later changed position close above the nest from time to time and I could catch glimpses of the eggs. She remained almost motionless for some periods, except for snapping at the occasional persistent bluebottle. On other occasions, she stared intently straight into the camera lens and it felt quite surreal to have this magnificent predator fixing me with a steely glare, seemingly only 2 or 3 feet away. As Andrew indicated in his post, the (Sharp) widescreen TV gives pictures of great clarity and definition.

There were no birders around during my visit but plenty of people stopped for a chat both inside and outside the Church, including the Assistant Priest, the Reverend June..

The Coffee Shop inside the Church is a great boon for a relaxing snack with a good selection of cakes including a delicious Coffee Cream cake topped with Walnuts.(opening hours : 10.00 - 4.00pm on Wed, Thu, Fri and 10.00 - 1.00pm Sat.)

A very pleasant and interesting visit - highly recommended. Many thanks to all the organisers.

Freddy