Last year we decided to visit Tintern Abbey a ruined Cistercian abbey that sits high above the river wye, the river that divides South Wales from England. The abbey was built in the gothic style between 1361 and 1550 and the monks grew rich from the profits of the wool trade. It was dissolved by Henry VIII but the fact that so much survives is a tribute to the skill of the early builders.
CADW, the body that looks after a lot of the ancient buildings in Wales often puts on special activities for visitors and when we visited we were lucky enough to see a falconry display. For many centuries falconry was a favourite sport of European nobles and there are several centres where visitors can see the birds in action or even have a go themselves. The bird in my photos is a kestrel a small hawk which is native to Wales. When I was at university in North Wales I often used to see them waiting for prey sitting on posts at the side of the road. This one would have been bred in captivity or injured as it is illegal to take wild birds.
If you want to see more photos from my visit to Tintern abbey click here
This post will be added to #Sunday stills a weekly photographic challenge run by Terri Webster Shrandt. If you want to find out more about the Sunday Stills challenge or see how other bloggers responded click here.
The photo at the top is of Canadian geese and goslings which I spotted at the Holiday Inn in Bristol the day my youngest son was married there.
The South West Rambler 
I Love those kestrels, Anne! It has been a while since I’ve been, but our local Renaissance Faire always has them displayed in a booth and for live demos. Very cool to watch them in action!
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Too fast to photograph in flight though.
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