Saturday 9 July 2011

Where do the youngsters go? Plus new juv photo & Updates


Monday 11th Update: John Salloway took photos of one of the juveniles (probably 015 the male) with food in his talons. Probably it was passed to him by an adult - John didn't think that 015 had caught it himself but flying about with prey is the next step in the learning process! Good to see..... NB.
Weds 13th: a report of all four juvs seen from Cliff & Christina - to whom thanks. NB
We are aware that the web cams have frozen and are trying to fix the problem. Please bear with us while we do.
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So far, we have no information about where the surviving Derby youngsters travel to despite the fact that since the first brood back in 2006, all the young except two have been ringed and all except five have, in addition, been colour ringed.
Initially the young stay around the cathedral or begin to use nearby tall structures such as the top of Jurys Inn, the swimming baths and also the (very tall) police aerial in Chester Green, about 500 metres away. Where they go beyond Derby we have
no idea.
One possible sighting a few years ago of a peregrine with a 'red ring' from Attenborough Nature Reserve near Nottingham, some 12 miles away, was unconfirmed.
Undoubtedly some of these vulnerable young birds will have died from starvation, accident and even from accidental (or deliberate) shooting.
In Poland, peregrine workers have satellite tagged several young birds and their movements since fledging have been tracked. They all moved a long way away from their natal sites though they backtracked and circled about as well.
The website translates (in part) into English but the tracks of the birds on a map of Poland and neighbouring countries can be followed on a video clip here:


Satellite tagging costs about £3000 per tag plus the tracking costs subsequently - so unless we can plug into some (very) substantial new funding, this option is not yet available to us in Derby.

Also, our English young may behave very differently from these continental birds - but it is interesting to see what happens over there in any case.

Nick B (DWT)

(The photos taken in previous years show an adult on the top of the police aerial in Chester Green and the
floodlit cathedral tower in December.)

Please note that the web cams and the blog remain active throughout the year - so do visit us occasionally to see what the latest news is and even, with luck, to see a wintering adult!


14 comments:

stuart said...

(Please ignore if previous comment was sent - I got an error when I tried to submit it..)

A Peregrine tracked in Scotland:
http://www.raptortrack.org/category/peregrine-falcon/vega/

Disappointing that none of the colour-ringed chicks have been reported/recovered. Lots of suitable towns/cities around Derby (also the Pennines, although I don't know how safe that is for a Peregrine...).

Nick Brown (DWT) said...

Hi Stuart: thanks for that link. I suppose I was focusing on 'urban' peregrines rather than 'rural' ones. In many ways, urban nesting sites are safer than rural ones where birds suffer from accidental disturbance (eg by climbers), deliberate interference from game interest (eg on the grouse moors) and from pigeon fanciers. They also have chicks taken for selling to falconers abroad - eg in the Middle east where they fetch a high price.
Nick B (DWT)

stuart said...

We had a colour-ringed chick in London that spent the winter at a site about 8 miles west of where it fledged. One of the breeding females in London is a colour-ringed bird from the South coast, a rural bird turned urban (see http://www.facebook.com/FaBPeregrines).

Wildlife Travel said...

we've a 'new' pair of Peregrines at a vague and unspecified location in Cambridgeshire at the moment, and the female is ringed... but alas, only with a single BTO ring. It would be nice to think that she's one of that original Derby brood. Although she's not nesting on a building, so highly unlikely i guess...

jean (Scotland) said...

Has anyone approached Jurys inn for sponsorship, they get lots of free advertising?

Nick Brown (DWT) said...

Hi Jean: yes, we have had some money from JI but with a new manager in post we will be trying again soon...maybe once we've managed to clean up the camera that looks that way!
Nick (DWT)

Phoebe said...

I see there is an adult (prob the falcon) on the corbels below the scrape lhs.

Joyce S Derby said...

That's a brilliant photo of the juvenile with prey from John!

There's one of the birds on the far right grotesque, but it has its back to the camera, so can't tell who it is.

Phoebe said...

Thats great news to see a juv in flight with food! They look gorgeous in the air!

Talking about other wildlife just when I thought the nesting was over I have had a second brood of Tree Sparrows in my nest box that fledged four; and now another potential brood with yet another pair in the same box. Oh I will never catch up with my housework now !!

Mo Cole Belper said...

Fantastic picture from John....Got one of his pictures as my profile on facebook...Don't worry about the housework Phoebe we will have all winter to get it done..... x

Joyce S Derby said...

Lovely close-up of a juvenile on the right hand cam just now - missed the number on its leg ring as it came in closer, sorry!

cliff said...

all 4 juverniles flying round catherdral female flying close with them 1 juvernile flew on rivermead house top of phone mask with prey at 5pm it is good to know they are all doing well

cliff/christina

Joyce S Derby said...

webcams frozen at 15:06, 13th July

Green Class said...

Herer are some of are favaret memaris from this year.
we liked it when the peregrins werer eating thir pray and it was very exciting when the eggs wherer layd. we uso liked it when we wocht the vido of the egg gowing plop on the gravel. it was funny when the male reregrine culdnt inkibate the eggs proply and the chiks bit the male peregrines tale. We liked waching the baby chics hach and grow up into juveiles. It was good when they fleged. The joovnenils always go in front of the cameras. We have had a good year watching the pegerines thankyou very much.