Country diary: Seeing the beauty in this world for the first time

Dumfries: I'm introducing my four-month-old daughter to the naturalist's lifeThe late winter light illuminates the lichens on the spire of the stained sandstone steeple. A single drifting white feather tells me we arrived too late. Tracing its trajectory in reverse, I find the peregrine tucked into a niche by the belfry, perched on a strut that holds a floodlight over the graveyard. The falcon, a small and well-fed tercel, has been here since the turn of the year, gargoyling the nooks and ledges of the church, haunting the town's pigeons. The ground between the headstones is decorated with their spent feathers.Even on its high perch, sated, the peregrine possesses an attention-grabbing presence. It leans forward, excretes and preens its pale breast feathers that stand out in the sun against the dark stone. I try to slip binoculars from my pocket but I hear you grizzle. I take the hint. Continue reading...