Peregrine falcon

16.40.Peregrine falcon circled twice over my house. That's the first time I've seen one in Watford.

Rainbow

A spectacular rainbow was seen over London on the evening of July 1at. I managed to get this picture in a street behind Oxford street using my phone. The one time I ignored my own advice to always carry a camera. The picture could have been so much better.

Perseids

As is often the case here in the UK we had cloudy skies at the time of the Perseid meteor peak on the night of 11/12 August. I stayed up till 12.30 am but saw nothing. The following night was clear so my son and I lay out on our trampoline at about 10.00 pm. In 20 minutes we saw 5 Perseids and one sporadic. All were bright and left a trail. There's lots of light pollution where we live so we did well. My son was very excited.

Little fluffy clouds

Trying out a new circular polarising filter on my Fuji X100S.  The sky above my house with these little fluffy clouds provided a good example of what the filter can do.  It nicely darkens the sky and brings out the clouds. A recommended accessory to anyone with a camera that can accept a filter.

First for a while

First entry for over a year but then there haven't been too many interesting things to report. Today I heard a big single radial engine. It was a Douglas Skyraider, low and flying to the southwest.

Comet Lovejoy

A nice clear sky so popped outside at 21.30 with a pair of binoculars. Not far from the Pleiades, in their four o'clock position is a small fuzzy blob. This is comet Lovejoy. It may not look as spectacular as some of the pictures that have been taken but it is still a good spot and worth seeking out.  Still waiting for a grand comet though.

Geminids

Sat out Saturday night for three hours looking for Geminid meteors. Lovely clear skies for once. Saw about twenty five, mostly a blue white colour and quite bright. If it hadn't been so cold I'd have stayed out longer.