Ornithology

We all walked up Kinnoull Hill (again!) the other day, and sat up on the top, by the stone table admiring the view. The cliffs drop vertically down to the Friarton Bridge hundreds of feet below, the Tay meanders its way Eastwards collecting the waters of the Earn, before passing Errol and heading for Dundee and the North Sea. We've sat in this spot and admired this view many, many times since we moved to Perth a decade or so ago.

This time however - something else grabbed our attention. A beautiful bird of prey joined us, hovering, soaring, sitting in the strong updraft lifting from the cliffs. Sometimes completely stationary, at other times circling, but mostly moving gently across the sky, scanning the woods below with radar-like precision. Then - without warning - and too fast to see, let alone photograph - it would tuck its wings in, point its beak downwards and dive into the woods below. The speed at which the birds descended was really impressive.

But what was it?

One ornithologically minded friend has suggested that it might have been a Perigrine. The photo above is not a good photo - but is it enough for anyone to tell me what we were watching?