Vane Farm - a unlucky godwit (1 Viewer)

Today I finally bit the bullet and bought my new scope. :bounce:
I had been pestering the staff at Vane Farm for a while now, trying out scopes and prevaricating (I can prevaricate for England). Though all my indecision they were unfailingly friendly and helpful. I finally decided on a Swarovski ATS80HD, which if I was honest I had had my heart set on from the first. Couldn't make my mind up about an eyepiece though, so bought both the zoom and the x30

Having bought that lovely piece of kit it would have been a crime to let it go to waste, so after borrowing a tripod (still waiting for my new Manfrotto to arrive) I set off to the hides.

Vane Farm at this time of year is always an experience. I just love the wild and evocative sound of thousands of pinkfeet. But the star of the show today was an unlucky godwit. I had just picked it out in a flock of curlew when the whole flock scattered, save our luckless soul who delayed just that moment too long. The flash of black and white confirmed Black Tailed, but the point was moot as a juvenile peregrine crashed to earth and started to pluck out poor star on the spot.

One interesting thought... did the peregrine target the godwit because it was "different" and stood out from the surrounding curlew, or did the falcon adjust its attack path to catch the straggler? Everything happened far too fast for me to answer that question clearly.

All in all a great christening for the new scope. Many thanks to the patient staff at the Vane Farm visitor centre, I could have bought the scope cheaper elsewhere but there is no substitute for trying these things out in real birding conditions, with friendly, knowledgable and very patient help! Highly recommended.

". . .did the peregrine target the godwit because it was "different" and stood out from the surrounding curlew, or did the falcon adjust its attack path to catch the straggler?"

Probably a bit of both. Steve. Sounds like a nice place, and I know you got a nice scope-- have fun!

Hi Steve
Well done, you couldn't have picked a better place to buy a new scope. I lived in Kinross for nearly 6 years and loved every minute of it. Not only is the reserve fantastic but you are also blessed with one of Scotland's finest birders as it's manager Ken Shaw. Have spent many a drunken night in The Village Inn at Milnethort discussing his forte rarity finding and the tactics of doing so. If you ever get the chance to do a bit of birding with him or go to one of his talks do so, it is an education. Anyway good luck with the scope and I hope you have many more avian encounters like the Perg/Godwit story, it's what makes this hobby fantastic.