Watching, waiting

Two from this afternoon: one close, one distant shot.

A labyrinth spider waits at the entrance to its silken tunnel, hairsprung to dart out and seize the grasshoppers and crickets that are its main prey. Fragments of former meals lie scattered around.

On the coast a kestrel perches on cliff ledge. It's not clear why she's there because her diet consists mainly of small land creatures but there could be rodents, lizards or small birds available on the stony slopes.

 I recently read Fingers in the Sparkle Jar by the naturalist Chris Packham who, at a young age, captured and trained a kestrel chick. There's a moving account of the relationship between boy and bird, involving unswerving devotion and dedication by the former and loyalty (or attachment) by the latter.