Thursday 17 June 2010

More photos and a video and good news updates

Saturday morning update: Andy and Chris found two juvs and the falcon all on the police aerial about 9 a.m. so perhaps the whole family has decamped there. Watch Point will go ahead today but it may be necessary to visit the police aerial near Fox Street to see any action if the birds don't return to the cathedral.

Friday 6 pm: Nick M has just seen two juvs!!! One on the Silk Mill chimney and a second on the police aerial. Yippee!!!!

Friday morning Update from the Watch Point:

We saw one youngster plus both parents - but not the second young one sadly.
The youngster, almost certainly the one that fledged on Monday, flew strongly and was taken food by the falcon which it ate on a chimney on the Silkmill by the river.
It was good to put faces to a few blog commentators (Hi Joyce and Mo) among others whose names I didn't manage to get!) and to see some old friends of the project too. People had travelled in especially to see the birds - eg from Abbots Bromley, Belper, Newcastle under Lyne and one couple who had cycled in from Sandiacre. Two women from an office by the cathedral came over and said how much pleasure they get from watching the birds through their windows and (sneakily) on their computers when the boss isn't about!
Just after 1 pm the rain began and definitely stopped play....
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Update Thursday evening: sadly no sign all day of the juvenile that fledged yesterday. It was on a chimney stack above Irongate near the cathedral late on Wednesday evening when we left and it could still be up on a roof somewhere.....fingers crossed for that one.
The first bird to fledge has been on the tower today but had flown off onto the tall police aerial about half a mile away this evening. Hopefully it will make it back to the cathedral tomorrow.
Nick B.

Here is a video of yesterday's first flight by the second of our two young peregrine falcons to make it to fledging this year. It's amazing to think that only six weeks ago we were all glued to our computers, witnessing them emerge as tiny wet balls of feathers from the egg.




These photos are by Colin Pass and were taken on Monday 14th June when the first juvenile fledged (BTW he thinks they are both females - i.e. falcons which is good since it was the two males (tiercels) that survived last year).


Colin was there when the first one fledged but was not in positon at the actual moment. He took the photo of the two 'chicks' just before the further one fledged. The photos of the falcon were taken later. When she was sitting on the blue hotel sign she was evidently looking down trying to locate where the first fledger had got to.





As usual excellent shots from Colin and thanks to him for letting us use them.

Please scroll down one post to see Wednesday's (excellent) photos by Andy Byron and go down two posts to 'read all about it' as they say!


Nick B (DWT)
Ps. Now they platform is empty (and before you disappear to other wbecams) is the time to donate to this project if you've not done so yet. We are still short of our target by a few hundred pounds.
Details of how to donate:

You can donate in one of the following ways:

UK donors: Post a cheque made payable to DWT to the Trust at East Mill, Belper, DE56 1XH including a covering note stating that your donation is only for the peregrine project and your address so we can thank you.

Ring the Trust office in office hours (01773 881188) and make a payment over the phone by debit/credit card (office hours are 9am to 5pm, weekdays).

UK Taxpayers only: you can greatly increase your donation by filling out a Gift Aid form whereby the tax people give the Trust a further 25% of the value of your donation. The form can be sent by email or through the post…just ask.

Overseas donors: Please email enquiries@derbyshirewt.co.uk asking for the codes you need so that you bank can transfer money to the DWT account. (Unfortunately Gift Aid does not apply unless you are a tax payer in the UK.)Donors from most overseas countries can also ring the Trust (on 011 44 1773 881188 ) to pay by credit card......as long as you can work out when the office is open of course!It helps if you would clearly mark on your payment that it is intended for use by the Peregrine Project, either in the current financial year or carried forward, if unspent.

Payments should only be made to one of the three Project Partners. Derbyshire Wildlife Trust is best placed for this. Please note that no other organisation or website is authorised to collect funds on our behalf.

Thank you in advance.

Pps Newcomers to this project: please note that you will see the adults and perhaps also the juveniles occasionally(even quite regularly) over the next few weeks and months from the camera which looks across to Jurys Inn - so don't leave us just because the nest platform is empty. In fact in previous years we have had juveniles return to the platform to feed and roost.....
The view will be changed soon so that the JI/top of gargoyles camera view is full screen.

54 comments:

Craig said...

Morning, 07.08 and there are two Peregrines sitting on the tower, both with backs to us but I'm pritty sure one isn't the Tiercel.

Erica said...

It's great news that both juveniles are flying so well. I am going away for several weeks in a day or two and shall miss seeing the birds and reading about them. I'd like to say thanks to everyone, the bloggers, the photographers and especially the Team, who keep us informed so well and who go the extra mile to protect these magnificent birds.

Thank you very much.

KerrySuffolk said...

Just seen 1 or possibly 2 birds land on guttering. (10.25ish)

Anonymous said...

Great photos Colin and Andy. Thank you. I hope we get to see some more.

Tww

Phoebe said...

We are being spoiled with these brilliant photos, thank you Colin for sharing them :D

On the webcams I see the falcon on the lhs of the scrape and on the waterspout on the tower cam,possibly a juvie as it was lying along the spout a little while ago - the falcon is looking up at it.

Any news on how the second juvie is doing?

Phoebe said...

Oh I didn't watch the video first time, what a wonderful first flight, great to be able to see it flying off in the distance! A very good take off. It must take some courage to make that one big step. Thank you so much for the video. We didn't have a video of the first one to fly, has it been kept?

Anonymous said...

I have just watched the video of the second juvie fledging and it is brilliant. What special creatures these are and, although I live in Derby, I was unaware of how spectacular a display they put on for people. Anon

AnnieF. said...

Thank you all so much for the photos & videos, they're superb. It's reassuring to know that so many Derby folk are looking out for them.

Craig said...

Thank you for the multi and tower cam.

17.49 Nothing happening.

Pam said...

Wonderful video clip. Thank you for posting it.

Andrew L said...

Got home and turned on the PC. Saw the video. Amazing........ Words failed me. Bye bye second baby :)

PS Made a donation to DWT today too. Hope it helps.........

Joy said...

Brilliant video clip, thanks very much

Phoebe said...

"Terry, Herts UK said...

Phoebe - I wish you would stop making up these stories. All it does is make the rest of us very, very jealous!

:D"

@ Terry, I did reply to this on the other thread but think it got missed off.

:D :D I will post some photos on flickr later :D :D

Anonymous said...

What a fab video - wonderful to see the juvenile fly away so confidently. Both little ones seem to have been successful with their maiden flights - I wonder if it's because there were only two of them in the scrape and they had the luxury of space to ensure their wings muscles were well-toned?

Thank you for sharing the brilliant photos, and thank you Team for the great work you do.

Sue, Derby

Rhino said...

I have only just found out about this wonderfull site.
This preditory bird is the biggest bird in england and its here in derby I am totaly blown away I only live in sinfin and I will be keeping in touch with you all and what goes on with this site.
I do say its a good thing that we have this bird of pray on our door step to study.

Phoebe said...

The falcon(?) is on the corbel below the scrape.

Anonymous said...

well i have to say i spent all morning at the green and all four birds were on the cathedral tower

Steph (Canada) said...

Fingers and everything else crossed that the second juvie is found safe and sound.

The video is excellent, thanks to the team again!! And Colin's photos are brilliant.

@Rhino...just think what you've got to look forward to next Spring now that you've discovered the wonderful world of the Derby Cathedral Peregrines!!

Pax (Canada) said...

loved the video, you could almost see him/her looking at the cam and saying "are you watching I'm really going to do it this time"
and away they went

Helen, Canada said...

One of them is back! 0650 hrs your time on June 18.

Craig said...

Morning,
07.10 I think we have the Tiercel. (could be wrong)

I presume people hanging around Derby have seen them, how are they doing?

The Team said...

Good news that Anon saw all four birds yesterday. Unfortunately it is not possible for the three team members to be down there all the time looking - two members are in (very) full time employment and can only make short visits to look for the birds. The third is a volunteer who has been doing his best this week spending over 14 hours at the cathedral since Monday trying to locate the two juvs. but who wasn't able to be there yesterday until the evening.
We have always had to rely on the eyes and ears of people who go to the cathedral to watch the birds and then report back what they see.
This year such people have been rather few and far between with only John, Christine, Cliff, Andy S and Andy and Chris helping in any significant way....and many of them have jobs too. Thanks to them all for their sterling efforts.
On all occasions when a juv has come to ground it has been members of the public or security guards who first found the birds and then reported them to the police, RSPCA or direct to the team.
So all we can do is hope to find the two juvs safely perching on roofs or on the cathedral itself today. If we can't see them, there's no way we can search every rooftop and back yard in central Derby.
We hope this explains the post-fledging situation.
Obviously the first fledger seems very capable of strong flight and it should be fine. The second flew reasonably well but whether it has survived remains to be seen.
There are watch points today and tomorrow so there will be more eyes looking. We'll report back later.
The Team

AnnieF. said...

There's a juvenile (I think) on the tower at the moment, preening.

Nick B said...

Think its an adult bird AnnieF....
Nick B

Nikki said...

How do we tell the juveniles apart from the adults?

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

Telling Adults from Juveniles:

Adults have slate-grey feathers on back, as opposed to brown feathers in juveniles.

Horizontal barring on chest in adults, as opposed to vertical streaking in juveniles.

Adults have bright yellow legs and eye-surrounds, whereas juveniles do not.

Juvenile tail feathers have light ends, whereas adults do not. This feature is visible on both the upper and lower sides of the tail feathers.

It can be really hard to tell colurs via the webcams, so look for the chest streaking (horizontal in adults; vertical in juveniles).

Try these tips against the pictures shown in the last few blog posts and see how you get on.

John B (not the sloop) said...

In Peregrines juvenile plumage features take a while to wear off. Down in Worcester the city centre territory has been "inherited" by one of last years daughters who is still sporting a very obvious beige/brown cap. She puts me in mind of a pint sized Lanner Falcon from some views.

Peregrine feet are a bit like bananas. They start green and ripen to a good hard yellow,

Phoebe said...

There is a peregrine on the tower near the water spout, hard to distinguish in the rain and the cam is wet causing a blurred image at the moment but I would imagine it is the adult falcon.

@ Terry, I have posted my photos on flickr :D (marski)

AnnieF. said...

@ Nick B. Sorry for my mistake (and for posting twice, I'm having such trouble with Blogger!)- I think I got over-excited & convinced myself I was seeing a youngster.
Thanks for the ID tips, I'll remember them & look VERY carefully next time!!

AnnieF. said...

An adult is perched on the nestbox ledge LHS, looking up, possibly at another which is in the waterspout on the tower.
Thanks for the Watchpoint report; so sorry you haven't spotted the second youngster today but maybe she's sheltering from the rain somewhere?

nick b (DWT) said...

Two juvs just been spotted by Nick M - see blog for details.
Nick B

AnnieF. said...

Wonderful news!! Honestly, does the worry EVER stop?!

Demelza, New York said...

I am so happy the 2 juvs have been spotted!!

Mark, Leamington Spa said...

Great to hear both Juves are well and enjoying thier new found freedom, watching the cams is a great relief from the awful BB... DWC is the future of reality TV :)

John B (not the sloop) said...

That's more like it - I really needed some good news today!

Maybe the parents need to give her a stern talking to.....

Michele said...

Do you mean BB the Buffalo, NY crazed Mother Falcon?

Phoebe said...

Great news to hear that both juvies have been spotted. The second one is certainly being elusive at the moment.

Anonymous said...

The latest news has made my day. Good luck to the adults and their youngsters.Anon

Phoebe said...

...actually I am not sure if it is the falcon, could be a juvie.

Phoebe said...

I see the falcon on the tower cam looking very relaxed, the juvies must be home and safe.

Steph (Canada) said...

Just logged on and read the good news. What an excellent way to finish off a Friday!!

britredneck said...

As a native of Derby now living in Little Rock Arkansas U.S.A. I have watched in awe as these magnificent birds have given their all to raise two beautiful chicks and pride that my home town can pull together the team that has made it possible for me to see it as it happens.We planned a trip home for the Olympics 2012 but a trip for next years peregrine saga seems just as exciting. Thanks to all who have posted comments and progress reports.The whole project is wonderful and worthy of our support. Thank you and goodnight from Arkansas- Helen

Terry, Herts UK said...

I'm still jealous, phoebe!

:D

Nick B (DWT) said...

Saturday morning update on the blog at the top.
Both adults were on the aerial at 8 am then the falcon and both juvs were there at 9 am.
Nick B

Anonymous said...

10.16am One adult on scrape and one on the tower. Must have decided to show themselves for the watchpoint! Lovely to see them again!

AnnieF. said...

Tiercel in the scrape - it has yellow legs so I assume it's an adult, and it's quite small so probably male. Can't see its front.

Phoebe said...

The falcon is on the RHS of the scrape looking out - a nice view for the watchpoint!

AnnieF. said...

An adult, I think, in the scrape.

Lyn said...

Derby has had its fair share of tragedy this year, but please spare a thought for the wardens on the Loch of the Lowes today, where the female Osprey has become ill, and is not expected to recover, she is believed to be 27 years old, and has had chicks on this site for many years, this year she has two chicks, not due to fledge for another few weeks, it is hoped the male osprey will provid and feed them, taking over from the female, but for the wardens it must be heartbreaking, some have watched over this bird for many years, nature is once again being very cruel, lets hope she is soon at peace.

Anonymous said...

I've taken a look at the Loch of the Lowes webcam - it is indeed a very sad situation. Nature seems very unfair at times when it allows offspring to be produced by an elderly mother (I presume 27 is old?). It seems the father is feeding the young, so let's hope he keeps it up until they can fly and fend for themselves.

Back in Derby, at 21.40 one of the juveniles (I'm sure) was up VERY close and personal with the pudding cam. Another bird on the scrape ledge - back to the camera so I can't see the plumage, though he/she does look a bit fluffy under the feathers, maybe the other youngster?

Sue, Derby

AnnieF. said...

@ Lyn: I checked the Loch website & read all the sad news; how awful for them, especially as the chicks are still in the nest. I'm sure Derby's peregrine parents would have been resourceful enough to cope should either of them have died, but who knows whether any of the chicks would have survived the early stages?
Back to Derby: There's a peregrine on the nestbox ledge, lhs.

Pax (Canada) said...

young one on nest ledge

Joy said...

One on right hand side of scrape adn one on tower cam, can't tell what they are though. 9.40p.m.

Anonymous said...

nice to see one on the ledge and one on the scrape tonight at 11.05