Friday 20 April 2012

Peregrine - a poem

Peregrines inspire in so many ways. The fastest creature on earth can hardly fail to impress.
Children watch and ask their questions; visitors search the skies at the sound of startled falcon in flight. Artist paint and photographers point their cameras, whilst around the world people watch from their homes, each viewer as remote as the peregrines' own nest, but brought together by a common fascination and interest.  So it should be of no surprise that Derby's peregrines have inspired poetic thoughts, too. We previously published work by local poet, Ray Woodland, but today we are proud to publish a very different piece of work, by Cheshire poet, Caroline Hawkridge.


Caroline Hawkridge is a webcam watcher whose grandfather came from Derby. She has written a prize-winning poem inspired by our peregrines and donated her winnings to this project. ‘Peregrine’ was Highly Commended in the national York Open Poetry competition and published in the Scottish-US poetry magazine The Dark Horse, http://www.thedarkhorsemagazine.com/.

Caroline says, “for me, Derby’s peregrines have a strange beauty and are beautifully strange, especially through different cameras and against the cityscape. Like urban peregrines, my poem is unconventional, sweeping across verses to echo their flight. The changing line length is also intended to act like a lens, focusing in and out.

The poem begins with a song from the blog one Christmas and then weaves together snippets from 2009 including Cathy’s fall (see archive). However, I wanted readers elsewhere to feel that peregrines could arrive in their city too so, for example, I changed Jury’s Inn into a skyscraper. Also, ‘wet flies and flymphs’ are artificial fish bait created by dressing a hook with tiny pieces of feather to mimic an insect.
Lastly, I’d like to thank Nick B, Nick M, the cathedral and all concerned for their tremendous ongoing commitment to these birds and their global audience.”  





Peregrine

1. Foreign, imported from abroad, outlandish.
2. Kind of falcon much used for hawking.

            Concise Oxford

The blog sings
Four golden plover, three...
then says the cathedral was table
for woodcock
while the country sat down
to turkey.

The bell-tower’s peregrines open
the ribs of migrants
all winter. And a blackbird
on the North side.

Spring spreads its breast feathers, lets the bald
skin of the sun
brood. The cathedral clock nudges the city
with its long bill. Lenses wait, want
to annunciate.
She will

fidget                                                                                      
four rufous eggs
by the lion-tailed rump of a gargoyle
and several webcam
eyeballs. The nostril in her beak wears the bony
inlet cone of a jet engine.
Even sleep is ascent as her lower lid rises
to close.

A starling’s coverts chequer her ledge. Its hackles, prized
by fly-dressers for wet flies and flymphs,
were cast. The tiercel keeps surfacing from the bottom
of the city.

He blots
a serif of the new
letter ‘R’, the lustre of his feet illuminating the blue
like the idle yellow crane. Only the ‘Y’ to finish
glass-office minting sky. Here,
again in his gloves: on
a stone finial, police aerial, council roof safety rails, stashing
a corpse in a quatrefoil.
Viewers hatch

their global locations
on the blog, a line of tourists sprockets past the telescope
on the green
below, as he reads
them this city,
leaves

the bloodied bill of a snipe, the yellow-green
leg of a moorhen taken
to the radio station. She will
feed
the lead gape
of the nave roof its confetti
of feet and beaks.
A world is

asking,
admiring, angry, arguing; the growing clamour
like the oldest ring
of ten bells in England not
deafening the wing-spreading
chicks

crowding
the tower’s high pavement, opening
and closing their fledging
umbrellas like spoke-dodging
commuters, until the odd gets
caught, spirals off
the cathedral.

The blog uploads
wing bones fossilised in light;
the wind’s angel born
bent. All day,
she will 


call.            


                                                                                                                              


                 





77 comments:

Joyce S Derby said...

What a brilliant poem
Well done, Caroline - your well deserved your award!

Anonymous said...

What a lovely poem. Caroline's hope has come true for us in the county town of Buckinghamshire. I echo her hope that the species continues to prosper and increase and that places awaiting their peregrines will one day experience the magic of sharing their urban space with these wonderful birds.

Don Newing said...

Thanks for the poem Caroline.

Whilst we are sitting waiting for hatching, the Ospreys on the River Dovey have produced their first egg of the year. They successfully produced 3 offspring at their first attempt last year.

See
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QtUGj0KTads

Green class age 6 and 7 said...

We have just seen the peregrin incyabating the eggs.We think shes tied because shes liang down.phaps shes haveing a rest befor her eggs hatch. we think the eggs are going to hatch in the first week of may in the morning when it is Quit.

Steph (Canada) said...

Thank you Caroline - your poem is beautiful.

Phoebe said...

That's a beautiful poem Caroline!

I have just seen a chick on the Notts site, anyone know how many have hatched?

Mary T said...

There's 2 chicks at Nottingham - how exciting!

Joyce S Derby said...

Two chicks now hatched at Nottingham - photo on Flickr

jan t said...

think i have just seen 2 chicks at Notts site

AnnieF. said...

I watched the falcon feeding them yesterday evening. She's every bit as careful as our Mrs. P., it's so touching to witness.

Damo2012 said...

Have just seen 3 chicks at the Notts site, Sunday 4:35pm.

Rachel said...

on flickr... can you search for photos from this year? Thanks

Joyce S Derby said...

Three chicks being fed this morning at Nottingham 08:30. Picture on Flickr

swoo said...

4th chick at Nottingham!

Caroline said...

Thank you for your lovely comments about the poem. I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw that Nick Moyes had presented it so beautifully alongside pictures of the falcon which inspired it; the same falcon brooding another 'four rufous eggs' while we watch and wait. Not long now :)

Don, I thought the River Dovey osprey was very striking. Beautiful colouring. Good luck up there!

Mary T said...

Beautiful poem - really captures the spirit of these amazing birds.
Was very moved today to watch the hatching of the fourth chick in Nottingham and how gentle the mother is with her new babies. Can't wait until "our" Derby peregrine chicks hatch

Ash class from Homesdale Infants, aged 6-7 said...

Nothing much is happening this morning. But we've seen a flash of the eggs as the female turned around.
The weather looks dull but thank goodness it isn't raining at the moment. At least the birds won't get wet!

Anonymous said...

Caroline
I have thrilled with the joy of sharing Derby's peregrines for some years now and really identified with your comments that you wanted to make people believe they might get peregrines come to their city. Well, I don't live in a city, I live in a big town - Aylesbury. It's the County town but we don't have any cities at all in Bucks (Milton Keynes isn't, apparently, a city and it's a unitary authority, not County). I never dreamed that we would get nesting peregrines here, you might as well have told me to hope for a nest of unicorns at the top of County Hall. But we have and we are overjoyed. We are trying our best to learn the lesson from Derby that the key thing (after just enjoying!) is to share and let as many people as possible thrill to this wonderful thing. Derby is our role model - and will always have a piece of my heart. Derby is blessed not just with the serendipity of the peregrines just arriving but with the great good fortune of having very special people who have made the sharing happen.

Now, I've lost track of predictions. I see hatching has happened at Notts, what is the predicted date for Derby? Ours is somewhere around 27-29th.

AnnieF. said...

Fascinating poem Caroline, the more I read it, the more "nuances" I seem to find. Congratulations!
I've just been watching both peregrine parents at Nottingham feeding the four chicks. A captivating sight.

Anonymous said...

Am watching Notts. Young are being brooded tightly and I can't see them, but as I type, there is half an egg shell visible.

Caroline said...

Thank you, Mary. I agree that the care of the parents is really poignant. I remember seeing the falcon fold her long yellow toes to protect the new chicks from her talons as she shuffled back down on the brood after a feed. Perhaps this is what is meant by knuckling down to something?!

Rachel, I think you'll find that the photos on Flickr are in the order of the most recent at the top left corner but others on the blog here are more clued up about the IT.

John B (not the sloop) said...

The close-up video from the previous Blog shows the "bony inlet cone" rather well, and Caroline has made the connection with fast jets. Students of cold war era aviation might recall the cone shaped airflow modifiers poking out of the air intakes of English Electric Lightnings and MiG 21s. Nature thought of it first...

Caroline said...

Sue, I am really excited for you in Aylesbury because I used to live over the border in Beds. Loved the notion of a unicorn on the Town Hall but who needs a unicorn when you've got peregrines ;)

I agree that urban nest sites can learn a huge amount from Derby. The blog is an education in itself never mind all the behind-the-scenes expertise here!

One of the beauties of such urban webcam projects seems to be that people can view the birds without disrupting their breeding (as happened in a local wild site near up here which suffered from human enthusiasm) and the eggs/chicks are unlikely to be stolen (as happened at Beeston Castle here some years ago even though it is totally illegal).

John, what you said about airflow modifiers was fascinating. This reminded me of the BBC programme which explains how this shape prevents their lungs from exploding during their stoops. I am sure many here have seen it before, but I found it on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=legzXQlFNjs

The falcon sitting quietly on her eggs is top aeronautical engineering!

Anonymous said...

The weather is vile today, my heart goes out to all the peregrines sitting in the driving wind and rain. But Nature is so bursting out despite all this. So much bird activity. I'm eagerly awaiting the return of the swifts around here and hope they might take to my swift boxes (I have my swift calls CD playing). Here in Bucks, the Bucksbirders even reported a WHITE STORK spiralling in the thermals yesterday. Crazy!
Still looking for estimated Derby hatch date - who can help me?

Nick B (DWT) said...

Hi Sue: we were running a small competition (no prizes though) to get folk guessing which day the first egg might hatch (and several children have guessed) so I'm reluctant to say what day I think here (though I may well be completely wrong anyway!).
I'll email you separately....
Nick B (DWT)

Green class age 6 and 7 said...

evry one in our class has had a guess when the first egg will hach.this is what we think. 21 children think it will be may the fifth, three children said may the sixth, three people said the second of may, and one person said may the seveont. We wonder who will be rite we are exited. we sur the melle and the femelle swop over yesdtday.we saw the eggs

Anonymous said...

Aha, I now have some "insider knowledge" from Nick so mum's the word for me on this blog. As soon as you get an answer, it leads to more questions - I only know the situations in Derby, Aylesbury and Nottingham but the hatchings are or will be in the reverse order I've typed them. Why would that be? It's clearly not a North/South climate issue. Derby was quite late laying this year but you'd expect them to get earlier as they get older. What a mystery - and one we'll never be able to answer. Our weather is much nicer down here in Bucks now, thank goodness. It's so much better for our birds. It's not looking nice up there in the north though. Hope you get some sunshine soon.

cherrill james said...

Thanks to everyone who have had anything to do with this wonderful thing called technology, we have had such beautiful pictures which we could not have seen in the wild, thanks again

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

Hello Green Class
Well, lots of you have guessed different dates, so we will just have to see who turns out to be right.

If hatching happens at a weekend we will try to zoom in the cameras and watch every moment. Do any of you watch from home with your Mum or Dad? I wonder what they think of Derby's very special birds.

Caroline said...

A friend of mine was visiting a local primary school yesterday where they have made drawings of the birds they spotted in their playground. No peregrines but the teacher knew all about the Derby peregrines!

After John's mention of English Electric Lightnings, I looked up images of the planes on Google. Some lovely old black-and-white photos. The single nose cone is just the shape of a peregrine's nostril. Thanks John.

Anonymous said...

Project Member Nick M, I'm sure the children must go home and tell their family about the wonderful things they're shown on the web cams at school. I'm not sure where Green Class's school is but assume it's near to Derby? In which case, they are really lucky and can perhaps go and visit the lovely Cathedral and take a look for real. Even I visit when I come, and it's a long journey up from Buckinghamshire, but always well worth it for the birds - and there are some really cool, shops too, I bought my favourite jacket from one of them! Am still feeling very sorry for all the peregrines everywhere - we all seem to be getting those horrible torrential downpours over the whole country. It must be pretty miserable sitting on the scrapes in that sort of weather.

Anonymous said...

Incidentally, I managed to get a glimpse of one of the eggs at 8:45 this morning as a bit of shuffling went on at the scrape (part of the egg turning routine) I don't think I saw any signs of any hatching - but it all happens so quickly, you can't be sure! That discussion about the "nose cone", I heard exactly the same thing from Simon King last weekend. He was the speaker at the London Wild Bird Watch at WWT Barnes. He spoke passionately about the need for urban dwellers, as most of us are now, to engage with the teeming wildlife around them and his main focus was on .... urban peregrines. He talked a lot about the "nose cone". He featured the peregrines that call the top of the Charing Cross hospital "home" but if you're like me, your computer will explode if you add another peregrine cam to what you have running. I have to limit myself to just the two best ones (Derby and Aylesbury) - OK, I do peep at Nottingham too from time to time because those chicks are just so darn cute!

AnnieF. said...

I've just watched those "cute" chicks at Nottingham being fed again. A parent flew in with a dead bird that bore a white ring around its right leg, presumably pigeon. Then the sitting parent flew off & the other proceeded to share out the copious meal. All four looked totally sated & groggy by the end. They are so exposed up there but all 6 look incredibly healthy. Tough birds!

Anonymous said...

The Nottingham info says the pair have been there for 10 years and have raised 16 young so far - they certainly look very experienced and capable. I didn't envy them yesterday, the rain was lashing down and the camara shot was wobbling, presumably from the howling wind. "My" Aylesbury birds are novices, I hope all goes well for them despite their lack of experience. Some predict that Aylesbury hatch day could be tomorrow - yikes!

Penny said...

I would like to ask a Project Member a question I have also asked on the Notts Peregrine site (no reply as yet), and that is why do we not give our Falcons names? I have also been watching some Peregrine Falcons in Italy and they all have names - Aria and Vento, Alice and Virgilio, etc. It would be nice if 'our' birds could also be referred to by name.

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

Hello Penny
I'm sure many people wonder why we do not give our peregrine falcons names.

We considered this at the start of our project and decided against it. The reason is this: These are wild birds that chose Derby as a place to live and hunt and breed. We did not bring them to Derby, nor do we feel we have any ownership or rights over them.

The moment we call the by a name we've chosen, they seem to be lessened in some way; it's as if we own them. We don't.

We know everyone here respects the birds, so they don't really need names to enhance that. I recognise it is easier to refer to them by a name, but a name itself suggests properties that we want to give them. Nature has given them enough marvellous properties of its own that I can't see a need to add to this.

I do sometimes refer to them as "Mum" or "Dad" on the blog when they've got chicks, and maybe even this is a little hypocritical in the light of what I've just said - I know it makes Nick B squirm.

The only peregrine from Derby that we have ever named is 010 - the injured falcon that is still being cared for by a falconer. She is called "Cathy", apparently after CATHedral. But there she has, in effect, become owned by a human, who needs to refer to her when flying and calling to her.

I hope this explanation makes sense to everyone - we think it's the right approach, and I hope you will too.

Penny said...

Hi Nick M - and thank you for your very prompt and full reply. I can certainly see the logic of your remarks and understand your reasoning. They are very noble creatures and certainly owned by no one! Although I have now heard from Dave at NTU that last year's Notts chicks were, in fact, given names, I can totally respect your decison. Thanks again - and I will continue to watch eagerly for this year's Derby chicks to hatch!

AnnieF. said...

I agree with the decision not to name the birds - it would IMHO reduce them to the status of budgerigars. For myself, I sometimes refer to "Mum" or "Dad" because it takes too long to type falcon/tiercel with only two fingers! But I understand Nick B.'s distaste.
Were you ever to go down the route of naming, imagine the number of pro/anti comments it would generate, thus wasting your valuable time!

Craig said...

14.01 I've not been posting a lot, but I'm still watching, and continuing with the yarn theme of the post below I've been watching the Falcon on the edge of the right hand side (Tiercel on the eggs) either yarning a few times or calling out, head/beak up and beak wide open. Her white chest feathers are puffed up. The chicks haven't even hatched yet and she's having sleeping issues.

Anonymous said...

Why here do we never her anything about cathy anymore....is she still wit colin, as we don't here anything from colin anymore either.

Dsy.C said...

We saw the chicks,they were white and fluffy.the mum flew in to feed them. Love Dsy C

Dsy.C said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Peregrine Project Member (Nick M.) said...

Colin has been a bit poorly recengly. We'll bring you an update on Cathy soon.
Nick M.

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear Colin has been poorly, wish him well from me. He does good educational work with his birds. I have to say that anthropomorphism with wild creatures in the wild (and Derby cathedral is in the wild in my book) makes me cringe too, besides, we'd never find a name we all agreed upon. Even Simon King was "guilty" of this with the Charing Cross Hospital birds; they have been dubbed "Charlie" and "Tom" although the reason for "Tom" was that he is The Other Male - he came along and chucked the orginal male out, so it's semi-OK. There was a similar discussion today at a bat care workshop I attended. The people who pass injured bats to carers like to be kept informend of the outcome and names makes it more personal. One group gives them various names - like "Dobby" - while another group names them after the street they were found on. A great idea, but it'd never work for Derby peregrines! Adult male, Adult female and ring numbers suits me fine. In fact, "Cathy" also has a ring number (which escapes me on the spur of the moment)

Caroline said...

Exciting week ahead. I am guessing with the three children in Green class who think that the first egg will hatch on May 2.

Another cold wet day and the falcon is hunkered down. Here's to those unshakeable webcams too!

Anonymous said...

Notts are having a terrible time of it at the moment in this awful freakish storm. You can actually see the water streaming off the completely waterlogged adult. It's painful to see.
(Sunday 11:30 am) I hope all the birds at all the sites weather the storm OK.

Anonymous said...

Hi Everyone,

I teach in a specialist provision in a primary school in north Manchester. We have watched the birds for a few years and the children are interested and excited about developments. We have asked them for predictions about the eggs hatching and they came up with all different dates:
Connor, Oliver and Joshua all think they will hatch in the order they were laid but they disagreed on dates. philippa thinks the eggs will change colour before the chicks hatch out and Mac thinks the first egg laid will hatch out days before the other three.

These are their predictions:

Connor, Loron & Mac = 1st May
Chantelle = 30th April
Oliver & Joshua = 6th May
Rhys = 4th May
Philippa = 9th May

I have said I will give a "spot prize" if we have a winning date. They watch the birds as soon as they arrive in school and several times each day. We can't wait for the chicks to hatch and hope they are all ok.

Sharron

Anonymous said...

I've been watching the Notts webcam for two hours now, the female hasn't moved, she is very wet, the rain has not let up and I'm worried about something white poking out from the left wing, whatever it is it is lifeless, anyone know anything please ?
Christine

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

Hi Christine
I've been watching both Derby's peregrines on my live feed, and the public video feed of the Nottingham bird ever since comments were posted on Twitter earlier today about the possible loss of a chick.
I have to say that from an admittedly short period of viewing it does look like one chick has been lost it is quite exposed, and there's been no movement from it for a while.
I see my counterpart in Nottingham is obviously controlling the cameras right now, so will no doubt soon be in a position to make a statement on their blog, if indeed this has happened.

Anonymous said...

I just can't watch Notts any more, it's just too awful. It looks as if the rain has stopped, but still the adult bird looks dreadful. My heart bleeds, it has done so much to look after the chicks. I think the weather forecast is better for tomorrow but there's more bad weather on the way the day after. Derby seemed to lay eggs very late this year, perhaps they somehow knew something we didn't. As I write, we have some lovely late sunshine here in Aylesbury, I am glad for our peregrines, they bore a terrible brunt too. But Notts had it so much worse, I believe. You could see the camera shot wobble in the buffeting of the wind. It's heartbreaking. :( :( :(

Phoebe said...

I've just logged on and noticed the Notts scrape and it does look like wet and motionless chick. There is also some food remains near. Did anyone see the last feed and if so were all the chicks ok then?

@ Sue Cathy's number is 010.

Phoebe said...

The Notts falcon has just left the scrape and there is at least one dead chick, another looks to be struggling there is only one that looks well and calling for food. The fourth cannot be seen - what a shame :(

Anonymous said...

hi would be nice to see derby upgrade their webcam, the cams at Nottingham are so much better im afraid to say. do you think at is something that will happen in the near future?

i also hear that Colin no longer has Cathy, so is that why we are not hearing any updates ?

Anonymous said...

Thanks Nick, I'm also concerned about all but one chick which was the only one calling for food a little while ago, I didn't see the parent bring any back though, any more thoughts?
Christine

Ian said...

I have been watching the Notts birds since 6.20pm when the female bird left the nest and one of the cjicks was very distressed, one just lay there and I think I can see one that dead and maybe what looks like a carcass on the gravel, could this be the fourth chick, they were all fine last night, so one can only assume its this terrible weather thats done this , its very sad indeed.

Ian said...

I have been watching the Notts falcons since 6.15 when the female bird left the nest I could see three chicks ( there should be four ) one was very distressed making much noise, the other was just laying there moving little, and the third bird looked dead! i dont know whats happened to the fourth, but there looks to be a carcass on the gravel, could this be the fourth, and would she have eaten it ?

Anonymous said...

it looks like 3 have died,the fourth dosent look to good also...gutted

Nick B (DWT) said...

This is indeed very sad and upsetting for people to watch. But I suppose we must remember that this is nature, that we cannot control what happens and that the death of young chicks for many birds is something that happens every single year, unseen, in literally millions of nests all over the UK and beyond.
Clearly peregrines rarely have to deal with such awful weather as the Nottingham falcon has had to contend with this time.
I've already expressed our (Derby) sympathies to my contact in Nottingham and will pass on your thoughts to him if you've not already done so by leaving a comment on the Notts blog directly.
We must hope that perhaps one chick does survive so their season is not abruptly halted completely.
Nick B (DWT)

Phoebe said...

Our Derby bird looks very wet at the moment, I'm not sure if its the falcon for tiecel as it looks small, maybe because it is wet. Let's hope the weather improves for the hatching this week.

Hannah said...

Hi guys i have been watching the falcons at Nottingham all day. Then about half an hour ago they turned the camera off?:S. I also was distressed about the male not coming back with any food? I have not seen him all day. Last time i looked two were alive at about five o'clock. Are people stepping in is this why the camera has been switched off? Hannah x

Hannah said...

Have the cameras been switched off on purpose to try and help out the falcon and the remaining chicks? I have not seen the male all day which is quite worrying for the feeding.

Anonymous said...

Yes, this is indeed very upsetting for us all to see, we know it's nature but they were all fine at Notts yesterday, it is very frustrating that Notts don't update their blog as often as you good folk at Derby. Has anyone seen the male at Notts today or a feed ? I'm very concerned about the one remaining chick that was calling earlier and of course for the female, I do hope that things improve for them weatherwise and that at least one chick survives, I'm off to bed with a heavy heart tonight
Christine

Hannah said...

Have the cameras been switched off in Nottingham on purpose to help them out? I have not seen the male falcon all day and was quite worried about the dead chick earlier. Would this be the point where wildlife people would help or would do they let nature take its course?

Anonymous said...

I have been watching the falcons all day, I wonder what has happened to the Male as he has not been around, do you think something has happened to him or is it the weather. Looks like only one chick left, do you think they will do something? the webcam seems to have gone off!

Hannah said...

well i think the wildlife people will intervene and take the chick into their own hands and raise it. Its very bad that in one day all the chicks have died or close too. Cant believe it :( I saw the mum go off about half four i think but came back with nothing. x

Phoebe said...

I have just posted a screengrab - possibly an egg pipping, see what you think, it could be just a speck of something but I am not sure.

My thoughts are with the Notts Birds :(

Anonymous said...

As Nick B says, this would have happened wherever the birds had chosen to breed. It could have been on a cliff, on the side of a mountain etc etc. I imagine the Notts folks have turned off the cameras to save us from gratuitous upset. "Going to assist" would be out of the question by law, I imagine - Notts would have to ask Natural England for permission and I don't think it would be granted. I am just pleased the adult was starting to look a bit better as I thought she looked pretty well done in earlier. She would have been totally unable to fly due to waterlogging so she was completely vulnerable too. The only thing that bothers me as "wrong" is the freakish weather. It's just crazy to have droughts all winter, then that recent boiling hot heatwave then a semi-hurricane and bitter cold just at the height of springtime. It may not be "global warming" but it's certainly climate change where we witness violent weather. I also try to take comfort from the thought that birds can't count and (hopefully) don't feel the grief of loss like us humans. It's horrible, but the loss of the young is less of a disaster than the loss of the adults would be - they are future breeders and to lose them would be the potential loss of many young. I am sure the partner bird is very sensibly sheltering from the rain, no point in also getting grounded. He's more use to his mate when he can bring her some food. Meantime, I am sure she will do the sensible thing and prevent her own starvation by recycling anything that nature has killed. I fear that this is not the last of the extreme weather and worry for Aylesbury who are on the verge of hatching. Derby are wise old birds perhaps - they are very late laying this year, did they sense there was something wrong with the weather this year?
Lets all say a little prayer for for our wildlife when we go to bed tonight and pray for fine weather.

Nick Brown (DWT) said...

Hi Anonymous commentator a few comments ago: you ask when we will upgrade to live streaming - well we hope it will be soon but we have been waiting for various things (out of our control) before we move over...more on this soon we hope.
And re. Cathy/010 - she is well and has been looked after by another falconer friend of Colin's while he was not well. Fortunately Colin is better and we expect Cathy to return to him before too long. But rst assured, she's in good hands,
Nick B (DWT)

Nick Brown (DWT) said...

Hannah: we'll just have to wait and see what happens at Notts. As Sue peregrino says you can't just interfere with birds that are specially protected without reference to Natural England...and that would take time. I also doubt there is anyone at the university on a Sunday so they may not even know about this until Monday or be powerless to do anything anyway until tomorrow.
Nick

Anonymous said...

I am up early today thinking of the Notts situation and yes, it would appear that the cameras have been turned off, maybe we will have news on the Notts blog later today.
Saying a prayer for them all
Christine

Craig said...

08.55 about to post that the Notts cameras were offline, see Christine has already done that. Hope they've not turned them off just becuase of a dead chick. We'll have to keep an eye on their blog.

Anonymous said...

Let's just thank the Lord that this morning looks a fine sunshiney day in Derby and the "incubator" (sorry, I can't identify the tiercel from the falcon) looks fine and happy. :) Maybe they are indeed wise old birds who can "know" somehow what the climate is bringing. Lets hope the Derby chicks come into a kinder world than Notts did. (and Christine, I did and thought exactly what you did, couldn't get those Notts pictures out of my mind in bed last night - nor now actually) :(

Penny said...

The Notts cams are back on - it appears two chicks are alive and two seem lifeless. I think all four are still there though. An adult has just returned along the ledge but does not seem to have brought food. Going back to check on them again. I am heartbroken that we have apparently lost two chicks but praying the other two survive - the sun is out in Notts today, so we can only hope.

Caroline said...

It was very sad watching the Notts peregrine knowing that rescue wasn't practical, necessarily the right thing to do or even likely to succeed, but I take comfort from the way evolution created a bird which sat there drenched to the skin for hours and hours to protect her young. Two of her chicks may not have made it but evolution has ensured that peregrines in general are here to stay in spite of everything nature has thrown at them so far. Death is harsh but that falcon showed us the power and mystery of life on this planet.

If you haven't already, please consider making a donation to the Notts or Derby Wildlife Trusts for their peregrine projects. Yesterday, several of their staff and volunteers did their best on a Sunday to respond to public distress and made what I imagine was a difficult decision about the cameras. The money won't bring the two chicks back but it will enable these projects to continue with appropriate staffing and great equipment. Thank you for your time on a Sunday yet again, Nick B and Nick M.

Take care everyone. New life is knocking on the door in Derby.

Anonymous said...

I can't believe that two of the "Notts four" may have survived - hallelujah! To be honest, I thought the female was a goner too, she looked awful but talk about "faithful unto death" she did her utmost. Now the cameras are back on, just to warn everyone, the dead ones are likely to be eaten by the survivors - gruesome but common sense. I guess the male was very sensibly staying out of the tempest and the female hung on as long as she possibly could. I don't know if it was cold or starvation that "did for" the ones that perished - but does it not strike anyone as odd that we are having such freakish floods and violent weather when we are officially in drought? I am sorry to say, Monday is a brief respite, the forecast for the rest of the week is very bad again. And I agree with Caroline, big thanks to all the volunteers who do so much, they, especially Notts, must be the most heartbroken of all at this turn of events. New life is still knocking though at so many sites ... including my own Aylesbury. My heart is in my mouth! Does anyone have any idea how things are going on at Lincoln (another of my "soft spots") Sorry to go off-topic with you Derby, I am turning you into "Peregrine Central" for news! (But then you have always been the best site for sharing IMHO)

Anonymous said...

I am really pleased that two of the Notts chicks have survived, I feared they would all be lost, has anyone seen the male though ? Have just looked at them and there are feaqthers in the nest - hoping this means that they have had a feed. Caroline, yes I already have a monthly direct debit in situ for the Derby peregrines - Praying for them all
Christine

Ash class from Homesdale Infants, aged 6-7 said...

We can see the bird moving around a lot. We think this is because the chicks are wriggling inside the eggs. Are we right?
We are really eggcited!!!