Thursday 11 June 2009

Thursday 11th updates


After a night of heavy rain, it was a bright sunny morning in Derby.

Latest update at 12.47pm: the birds were somewhat misidentified this morning (whoops!). It was the female 010 who was missing and who was later found on a roof. She has now moved to another roof on the west side of the cathedral - ie opposite to the nest platform side.
009 is still in the platform and the two males 008 and 011 are both up above the nest on the gargoyle ledge.
Sorry for the confusion earlier!
Nick B (DWT)
The photo shows the west face of the cathedral looking up St. Mary's Gate.


This shot, captured by Marski2009 at lunchtime and posted on our Flickr site clearly shows the remaining bird on the nest ledge to be number 008. All the rest are doing fine, having led everyone a merry dance by making us wonder which individual bird they are. As someone on Derby Cathedral Green said - "they're doing fine, so does it matter?" Maybe not, but its been fun and exhausting trying to keep track of them today! Once again, our thanks to the Watchpoint volunteers for manning the telescopes and chatting to so many interested passers-by.
It is 008 in the tray!

79 comments:

Anonymous said...

Glad that the Tiddler has been found, been worried about him all night!
Thanks for the update.

Pam

MEL said...

Congratulations to this website for scoring 400,000 hits so far.

Just 3 weeks ago I was online when it turned to 300,000 and 100,000 hits in 3 weeks just shows how wonderful the site is.

Derby should be proud of its team who look after the site.

Karen Anne said...

Great news about 008!

Trying to get straight the fledging order, is this right?

010 female, third born, accidental fledge
008 male, first born
011 male, last born
009 female still in nest box, second born

That's about what would be expected, isn't it? Given that the females are so much heavier, so their fledging is usually behind the males?

Anonymous said...

Hey, so it's 009 still unflown? (I'm way too nervous to use the "F" - for fledged - word) I have a soft spot for that one in particular because I bought a "fluffy chick being ringed" photo of it at the Bank Holiday Watchpoint. I think the whole fledging (sorry!) episode is massively stressful - exciting but stressful. I agree that this project and the people who work on it are brilliant ambassadors for their city.

Anonymous said...

Great to have the multi-view back, now that two of them are up top. And can I add my thanks to the whole of the Derby team for this project, I’ve glued since the start..
RJ

Phoebe said...

Thanks for putting multiview on again, I was going to ask... Good to see parent and young together on pudding cam! I wonder which one it is?
11 June 2009 10:29
EDIT: She has just walked closer to the cam so I think it might be female 010.
11 June 2009 10:31
Oh no I am wrong it is two youngsters on the pudding cam!

Peregrine Project Member (Nick M.) said...

That sounds right, to me, Karen Ann.
I think we need to publish a master list of all the birds that have been raised here since 2006, though in all cases we have no formal confirmation if any survived past their first year.

Thanks for the Team compliments, folks.

Anonymous said...

Oh my! Are they chicks up on the pudding cam?

Phoebe said...

@ Anon

They certainly are, aren't they just wonderful ?!!!

Anonymous said...

They are beautiful, and I was beginning to think I wouldn't see them again, since I cannot get to the watchpoint.
Pam

Anonymous said...

LOL and now one of them is giving me a close-up of their 'best side'

Audrey (London) said...

11.03 lovely shot of one of the young peering right into the pud cam!!

John B (not the sloop) said...

So had it not been for the unintentional launch by #010 we'd have had the two boys off first even though #011 is the baby of the family.

#010 would probably still be biding her time with #009 had that gust of wind not happened. Is there an ornithologist in the house who can comment on gender related first solo flight timing?

Joy said...

Oh I do feel sorry for the one left although he can still see two others.It has been brilliant and thanks to everyone for all your hard work.

Can someone explain to a silver surfer what'lol' means. Is it a new language?

Once more thanks to the team.

Anonymous said...

I thought that 008 was the youngest.
EH

Anonymous said...

I thought #08 was the Tiddler too. I was so happy that he had been spotted this morning.

LOL >>> laugh out loud

Anonymous said...

@ Joy

laugh out loud

EH

Anonymous said...

@Joy
The last one can't actually see the other two as they are above him.
EH

Julie said...

My cousin uses "lol" to mean "lots of love". She texted me once to tell me that a family member had died and ended it "lol". Was a while before I realised!!!

Anonymous said...

@ Julie
That gave me a good lol.
EH

Nick B (DWT) said...

Thanks for the compliments folks.....all the IT maintenance and webcam and blog set-up work is down to Nick M - so he must take the credit single handedly for that. The rest of us fill in here and there....Tony has been brilliant at getting the cathedral on board over four years and, of course, in the process has become addicted himself!
Further to the midday update just put on the blog, it looks like one of the two up above must have flown and moved elsewhere....
They lead us a merry dance!
Nick B (DWT)

Red Class said...

We've just looked at the peregrines on top of the tower. One of them was sitting on the camera. We saw its wing hanging down. What a surprise! The other peregrine was flapping its wings on the scrape - we got all excited because we thought it was going to fly!!

Kishore said...

So thats it then, for another season. Its been absolutely brilliant watching these magnificent birds throughout the whole process. My thanks and a job well done to the project team, the helpers, the techies for brining the pictures to my pc. I was hooked on this all the time to the point that some of my important things which needed taking care of took the back burner.

Phoebe said...

Brilliant Tony? It is o8 in the tray!

Julie said...

Did I just see 008 on the ring of the chick still in the scrape?

Julie said...

Just off to take a sick cat to the vets - please hold any more excitement until I get back .....

Phoebe said...

Pix on flickr of oo8 in the tray.

Anonymous said...

The camera in the scrape just zoomed in – does it have some wire/thread tangled round its right foot?

Karen Anne said...

It does look from the flicker picture "It is 008 in the tray!" that there is something on the right foot.

Darn, I hope not. This is why I am terribly careful about not leaving anything outside animals can get caught in.

I hope if something is there, 008 can get it off.

Roger (AT) said...

@ Karen Anne:
I think you are right about the flying order, but not about the boy's ages. I quote from earlier Blog.

This is Colin's who's who of our ringed peregrine family:
011 Tiercel (male) Oldest
009 Falcon (female)
010 Falcon (female)
008 Tiercel (male) Youngest


and as you say the flight order
010 Falcon (Tue 9th 14:30 by accident, lately reported on West side of tower)
008 Tiercel (Wed 10th ~16:40 youngest - landed on nave, then low roof)
011 Tiercel (Thu 11th 07:00 oldest - flew up to tower to join 008)
009 Falcon (not yet flown)

I really hope I am right this time!

Anonymous said...

Roger, the one in the tray has just been shown to be 008 during a close-up. Pic posted on Flickr

Karen Anne said...

Seem to be two in the nestbox now, cuddled up and sleeping. It's been a tiring few days for the peregrine family! And the human family :-)

Karen Anne said...

So, has everybody flown now? I'm getting confused.

Roger (AT) said...

Ha Ha What fun.
So the identification of 008 being the second to fly, and spotted on the low roof was wrong?
I guess that 008 and 009 can easily be confused.

Phoebe said...

Yes there must have been confusion with the ID of 008, wish I could have read the ring myself.

re: wire round foot -

I will look through my photos to see any evidence of wire round 008's right foot, I really hope not!

I have one photo where he appeared to stumble whilst flapping but that could just be the 6second delay.

Anonymous said...

I think the team also changed their ID of the one on the low roof as 010, but who knows any more??

Ann ( Canada ) said...

The fun is not over yet not by a long shot. There will be many opportunities for some great shots especially from the pud. cam. I got some last year but did not know how to crop, post etc. Strange things appearing in the sky I thought one was a balloon ride and often see the peregrines bringing in food and eating right by the cam. Then there is the last one to fly, that's when it gets really sad. But don't give up watching yet. Great Photo's on the pool from lots of folks.

Roger (AT) said...

So all we know for 100% sure is that 010 was the first to fly, and that 008 is in the platform right now.

I guess we will need some photos and expert interpretation from the guys on the spot to fill in the hazy bits.

I wonder if Colin or Wayne got any helpful shots that help with ring numbers or even gender?

Anonymous said...

It makes more sense if 008 is still in the tray as it usually stayed behind the others, I think, when they perched on the edge - until the excitement when 010 fell.

EH

Karen Anne said...

Here's a link to the worrying maybe wire photo:

click

Anonymous said...

Karen, I don't think he has been out of the tray to pick anything up, has he?

Phoebe said...

I don't think there is wire round his foot, the dark lines seen look like shadows from the gravel. I have checked my photos and can't see anything to prove otherwise.

Lets hope they can zoom in again when appropriate to double check.

Roger (AT) said...

it looked more like a piece of grass on the leg that he was nibbling at.

Anonymous said...

Fantastic photo of 008. How did you take it?

EH

Phoebe said...

@ EH

The credit is not mine, I simply took advantage of whoever it was at the monitor in the tower (Tony?)that zoomed in. I was watching the webcam at the right time and took a screenshot!

Nick Brown (DWT) said...

Mega confusion reigns about which bird did what and when.....and I apologise for my part in all that!
The main thing of course is that we keep track of all four birds and are ready to rescue any that do come down to ground. Perhaps they are all OK-fliers now.....only time will tell.
Once they get better at flying no doubt,as in previous years, some will make it back to the tray...so although the photo definitely shows the one remaining there now to be 008 it could just be that this is the bird that flew second and has now returned and 009 has indeed left the tray....ie all of them have made at least one flight.
Fun and games for sure!
Nick B

Phoebe said...

It is very hard work trying to track all the birds (if only we had wings)they certainly know how to get us all running round!

Well done to all concerned, they are working very hard to try to get the information across to everyone.

Phoebe said...

I can see plucking on the pudding cam near the waterspout.

Roger (AT) said...

The juvenile on the ledge shows great interest in the pudding-cam.

I was too late to get a screenshot.

I guess the poor parents must be doing a "Meals on Wings" delivery service - until the youngsters get confidence with flying.

Anonymous said...

pax Canada
2 on the pudding cam, looks like the one is thinking "so this is what mum saw from up here" :-)

Karen Anne said...

What's going on in the nestbox? I've been watching for several minutes, and can't figure out if it's a prolonged preening, having a snack, or working at the hopefully non-existent wire.

Anonymous said...

@Karen Anne @Roget AT

I was watching when the zoom in happened, which showed the close up of the #08 ring on the bird. The particularly interesting shots came either just before the pic KA linked to, or just after – I can’t remember. It just looked like there was something – could have been wire, thread or even a hair, entangled in the right foot. It may have been a stray something lying in the tray and for a second it got picked up in the talons. Whatever, it was certainly there.

Anyway, I’m sure it’ll get sorted.

I wonder if Nick Brown DWT is right – they are messing around, swapping positions, just to confuse us!
RJ

Anonymous said...

Nick Brown, you're an absolute angel, keeping us all informed AND trying to keep track of those little comedians. God bless you and all the team x

Roger (AT) said...

Hi RJ,

Thanks for the extra info - I missed the zoom, dratted work interfered!
I have been waiting for the little perisher to hop onto the diagonal bar and show a clear view of his feet. He is remarkably idle, which makes me think he has not yet flown.

I found it a bit implausible to think that the youngest, least developed and least adventurous should fly FIRST. (Number 10's flight clearly being accidental).

Siblings 09 and 11 looked far more ready, with strong wing excercises and the disappearing trick up onto the webcam support.

Tiddler the Terrible has not shown much inclination to fly, and Saturday seems to me a bit more likely than tomorrow. (Just to prove me wrong, I expect the rascal to fly in the next 5 minutes).

Karen Anne said...

Well, if there is something tangled, and 008 hasn't flown yet, perhaps when he does he will have to be picked up in the box and his foot can be checked then.

Anonymous said...

@Roger AT

Logic and Nature! They are truly working to their own timings, little devils.

If the first possible ‘true’ flight was on the 9th (just after the accidental one), logic would dictate that that would be the oldest, so the last would be the youngest (gender notwithstanding etc) and 4/5 days later. (The first three hatched a couple of days apart - first two on the same day if I recall - but the last was about that time gap). So, that would be sometime this weekend, as you said. Thing is, that’s not how its gone so far, as far as I can work out – standby for take off..
RJ

Roger (AT) said...

@ Karen Ann:
I just got a reasonable screenshot, and the foot appears normal and unencumbered with any debris. Pic 304 on Flickr.

Mum has just delivered food to the platform, and left him too it.

The webcam view is totally blocked by a youngster who appears to be polishing the lens! Whichever Juvie it is seems to flying back and forth quite nicely.

Roger (AT) said...

mmm finger and brain coordination trouble!
Sorry for mis-spelling Karen Anne, and I do know my too from to and two !

Phoebe said...

I looked at your picture Roger and his foot looks clear now so even if he did have something on it it has now gone.

Phoebe said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Phoebe said...

I have just sorted out a pic of 008 a few moments before the zooming, his foot looks okay to me.

Pic on flickr.

Cebo said...

Me and my class have been watching these peregrine falcons
developed from the eggs,
to the sort of young adult and we all find it fascinating



Cebo

Peregrine Project Member (Nick M.) said...

Hi Cebo
Glad to hear your class have enjoyed watching our peregrines. Was this just for a bit of fun, or did you do any classroom lesson activities based around our birds?

Without giving us any personal details, I'd love to know what year/age your class are and where your school is. Perhaps you're right here in the middle of Derby, or maybe the other side of the world?

Nick.

Anonymous said...

All 4 chicks were on the cathedral this evening (8.15) They are becoming more confident flyers but still cannot reach the nest platform.
Chris

Anonymous said...

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to view the peregrines, I have watched all the stages and feel that I have been privledged to see this wonderous event. I have never seen anything quite lie it in all my 52 years. It has been compulsive veiwing, far better that the X factor and Britain's Got Talent!I pray everything goes well (I feel like I'm their Nana), I can't wait to see what happens next year. Thank you all once again. Carole (Glossop, Derbys)

Roger (AT) said...

The falcon has brought more food to the platform, and is preparing it there.
Much wing flapping from Juvie by the webcam.

Phoebe said...

she didn't seem to give him much food there, maybe tomorrow will be 'his day', she will try to tempt him off the ledge with food. I am hoping to get over tomorrow but knowing how they play us up, he will be gone before I even wake!

Phoebe said...

Did anyone else just see what looked like a leg dangling over the pudding cam?

Karen Anne said...

Thanks, Roger, I feel like the "there are only three!" people before the four were ready to fledge :-) Parental paranoia :-)

Anonymous said...

I apologise if I set alarm bells going with the ‘tangled foot’ thing. Seems from what I’ve read, all is ok. Still thought I saw something!

Question for the Team/Colin: It seems that once the bird makes the first flight, they also exhibit ‘adult’ behaviour in more ways than one. The #08 still in the scrape is sleeping lying down, but from what I can see, the ones up top are upright. Is this opportunity (somewhere to actually lie down) or a rite of passage? If one flew back to the scrape, would it revert to a lie down?
RJ

Anonymous said...

RJ
One of the ones up top has been lying down tonight, and last night the two in the tray spent some of the time apparently sleeping standing up. It's probably more of a gradual transition.
Jo

Anonymous said...

pax Canada
2 on the pudding cam, one in the nest, and one on the ledge below the nest

Roger (AT) said...

One of the two pudding cam juveniles disappeared from view just after 5am, the other is patrolling the ledge.

The youngster in the platform, is looking very alert as he perches on the edge, but does only the infrequent wing flap.

Thanks Chris, for letting us know that all 4 youngsters were somewhere on the cathedral building by late yesterday.


It looks like lovely flying weather this morning - so ... - ... will he? or won't he?

Roger (AT) said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Roger (AT) said...

#8 has really woken up now, and is very busy flying from one side of the platform to the other.

Up by the pudding cam the juveniles are flying from groteque to water-spout to ledge, and an additional tail can be seen next to the camera.

Terry, Herts UK said...

Mum has just been feeding one of the juvies, up on pudding cam. She then flew off, leaving her (?) to feed herself from the remaining prey.

Phoebe said...

@ RJ

Were there two in the tray last night? Has one taken a visit back to see 008?

Still just 008 in the tray, I hope he doesn't fly before I get there today...

Anonymous said...

Hi Phoebe,
I was replying to RJ about sleeping positions (lying or sitting) and commenting on the previous night (Wed night) when there were 2 left in the tray and they spent some time sleeping on their feet.
2 in the tray last evening (THUR) when falcon came to feed. She looked at least twice the size of the young one.
Jo

Ruth Z said...

Looks like the nest in empty, but is Tiddler hiding somehwere, trying to fool me?