94 Northern Observations of Inland Birds 



up dead grouse on the moor — invariably hen birds, and 

 as a rule the victim lay at the end of a long train of its 

 own feathers clinging to the ling tips. He had not seen 

 nor heard of the falcons, and one day I accompanied him 

 to the moor. We were seated under a wall eating our 

 lunch when there was a *' zipp " over our heads, and a 

 hen grouse pitched almost at our feet. A moment later 

 there was a second *' zipp," and there was the hen falcon 

 in hot pursuit of the grouse. The keeper snatched up 

 his gun and gave the bird a charge of No. 4 shot at 

 about forty yards. The falcon turned in the air, obviously 

 badly hit, but at this juncture it caught sight of the grouse 

 running along under the wall, and though seriously — 

 probably mortally — wounded, the savage bird again went 

 straight for its quarry. The second barrel, however, 

 sealed its fate, and falling into the heather the beautiful 

 creature looked at us almost reproachfully. 



The tercel, I regret to say, met a more ignominious 

 fate, for he was taken in a pole trap near to his home 

 crags. The falcons have never returned to that locality, 

 though had the two been spared they or their offspring 

 would probably have become resident there — that is, 

 would have returned year after year to breed. 



Visiting the same neighbourhood immediately succeed- 

 ing the war, I was gratified on seeing three peregrines 

 during my short visit to the upper portion of the valley. 

 Motoring one day along the high road in the direction 

 of Kettlewell village, I was passing under the shadow 

 of Kilnsey Crag when I noticed an amusing incident. 

 About half way down the face of the crag, clinging to a 

 shelf with somewhat precarious hold, a stunted ash tree 

 grew, and in its topmost branches, apparently admiring 

 the beauty of the sunset and idly chipping his friends 

 as they passed, sat a jackdaw. Suddenly a peregrine 

 swooped over the brow above, and dropped like a stone 



