Monday 4 April 2016

Clutch completed...and news of the David Lindo Talk


Update at 26th April: we've had some very unpleasant cold winds these last few days with fierce hail showers added in. Fortunately the wind direction has been North West so the nest has not been in the direct line of fire (or ice!) and everything seems to be running smoothly with the incubation. Wendy Bartter has captured video coverage showing the changeovers between the male and female over time. See here .

Update at 12th April:
judging by lots of helpful comments to this blog, the incubation period seems to be going smoothly despite some unpleasant easterly winds which have blown directly into the nest platform. 
At least it hasn't poured onto the incubating bird as it did in a previous year when she was totally soaked and the gravel was very slow to drain the water away. Let's hope the weather improves as we head towards hatching in early May.

Tickets for David Lindo's talk are now on sale
Please see our blog entry (scroll down to find it) about David's talk called 'Tales from Concrete Jungles' at the cathedral on Wednesday 8th June at 6.30 pm.
Full details of the talk and the special Watch Point that DWT will run beforehand are now available on the Derby Book Festival's website here from which tickets (£8 /£10 each) can now be bought. Project volunteers and staff will be on hand with a display and a monitor showing the live web cams to the audience as they arrive...so do come and meet us if you can!

David's Book
If you don't live within reach of derby, or even if you do, David's book, Tales from Concrete Jungles (see here) is available in kindle and hardback versions. It includes a few pages about David's 2010 visit to Derby and his encounter with us and with our project.


Our female laid her fourth egg this afternoon (Monday 4th) so now her clutch is complete.
Some screengrabs have been sent in by Wendy Bartter, Yvonne Harvey and Helensara to whom many thanks.
Now the long incubation period starts in earnest and will last for about 30-33 days. Hatching will take place hopefully in early May.


Four super eggs - on Monday afternoon!



And here's a video clip captured by Wendy Bartter and taken about the time the egg was laid. As she says, there's no great reveal, just brief glimpses of the eggs.

Donations
If you have enjoyed watching the egg laying sagas, then please consider making a donation to the project which no longer has any lottery funding and so relies more or less entirely on donations. the hosting of the web cams costs about £1500 each year for a start!

Click on the 'Donations' tab on the blog which explains the various ways to send money across.
Many thanks in advance.
Nick B (DWT)
Note that Derbyshire Wildlife Trust manages this project on behalf of a partnership between the Trust, Derby Cathedral, Cathedral Quarter and Derby City Council. DWT holds and manages the project finances.

145 comments:

Joyce S said...

Excellent news!

leanne said...

Aww my 3 year old is so excited

Derek said...

Just swapped over. Mum has gone off for a flight

Vicky said...

Saw the changeover. Before she left it sounded like she was giving him instructions. Nice to see the eggs again.

Wendy Bartter said...

Thanks Nick B for posting my vid, thought it a privilege to catch even a glimpse of this precious egg which only just made it into the frame & Mrs DP was so quick to cover it up! Thank goodness for the grand & glorious reveal an hour later! Now we hope the pair stay safe in decent weather & catch plenty of prey!

Vicky said...

1:26, all is quiet, mom's sleeping. Having problems posting sometimes. Last night it made me go thru at least 6 different things to prove I wasn't a robot and just now the circle just kept spinning so I clicked a couple more times on I'm not a robot and it went thru. Just thought I'd let you know Nick.

Heather said...

Great news, now we all play the waiting game just like Mrs.P. As Wendy said here's hoping she has good weather but they are a tough species and excellent parents,so let's hope 2016 will see all four eggs produce a strong healthy brood.

Vicky said...

All is quiet again. She is sheltering those eggs so well. I too hope we see 4 chicks survive this year.

Vicky said...

All quiet on the home front. She's sleeping.

Vicky said...

She just stood up, showing only 2 eggs, hiding the rest with her body. Shook herself and then covered the eggs again. The eggs look so white under the night light. (forget what it is called).

Vicky said...

She is still resting. Mr P hasn't been around, but I haven't been watching constantly. Just checking every 20 minutes or so.

Vicky said...

Right now she keeps looking up. Maybe he is up above and she wants him to relieve her.

Unknown said...

Could someone please help me out and tell me how to tell the difference between the male and the female please? In case you haven't guessed I am new to this! Living it too. X

Helen said...

Hello Gemma. The female bird is bigger than the male bird. He also has a very slightly darker and flatter shaped head. The male is called a tiercel which means 'third' so he is about a third smaller than the female. It is still tricky to tell them apart though, especially when there is only one bird in view and you can't compare the sizes. When the birds are incubating I tend to look at how much of the nest platform is covered by the bird to gauge the size a bit better. After you've been watching for a while you'lll probably be able to see the difference a little easier. The female bird also covers the eggs better with her larger body and spends far more time incubating the eggs than the male bird. I hope that helps.

Vicky said...

Has anyone seen him today. He sure wasn't around during the night. She seemed a little worried around 7:30 am today.

Nell0218 said...

Hello this is the de Rose family watching in from Mayobridge, County Down Northern Ireland. My 6 year old son is doing his class project on Peregrine Falcons (his choice of any animal and he chose this amazing creature!). He has always loved animal documentaries and this bird has always been his favourite! Its incredible to have stumbled across your page right at the time we are researching this and its been great seeing the birds in action! Thank you for all your hard work. Thomas and his mum!

Nick Brown (DWT) said...

Hi Nell and Thomas: great that you've found our project and that Thomas is so into peregrines!
Some schools put the live web cams on a whiteboard in class so everyone can see the birds on the nest. Perhaps you can encourage Thomas's teacher to do that? It is a great educational project.
Also on the blog you'll find archived video clips of the highlights from previous years, the clustrmap showing where folk are watching from and how many.....and much more besides!
We think you may be the first people we're aware of to be watching from County Down - so a big welcome to you both!
Nick B (DWT)

Nick Brown (DWT) said...

Vicki: thanks for all your reports.
sorry about the blogger problem...nothing that we can do anything about I'm afraid. Hope it was a one off!
Nick B

Vicky said...

Well, Mr P finally showed up. I was getting a little worried because he wasn't coming around. When he got here she made a big deal of fluffing her feathers and settling in again. He did some screeching & is now preening. There are some feathers in the nest area so she has been eating.

Unknown said...

Changeover just after 18.54. Mrs. P. took off & Mr. P. took over.

Heather said...

Hi Vicky, Was just about to say MrP had arrived back on scrape. He was also around for several hours this morning preening himself and trying to look busy whilst MrsP totally ignored him. He kept looking upwards, perhaps looking for prey but so far haven't seen him bring anything to the scrape. But if there are feathers around she's obviously not going hungry- perhaps he's just taking awhile to get into "sole provider" mode!

Does anyone know if she goes hunting at all when leaving the scrape whilst brooding or is it left totally to MrP as I believe?

Vicky said...

I always thought she left to hunt down some food and that he is pretty much the sole provider once the chicks were born. But I only know what I read here. Of course leaving gives her time to stretch and to use the bathroom. When I get up it is already 4 pm there so I missed his morning visit. I love watching all of this.

Nick B (DWT) said...

In answer to your questions, the female (falcon) does no hunting at all while incubation is underway, nor indeed until the chicks are quite large. This is entirely the male's role. He also plucks the prey so she has less 'food prepping' to do before she can feed.
Her departures from the nest are just to feed and preen, perhaps also to go somewhere and have a bathe. We don't know where our birds do this but it is probably a daily occurrence, feather condition being so important to all birds. Perhaps they go to the nearby River Derwent somewhere out of the city, find a shallow, gravelly bank and wash there?
Nick B (DWT)

Vicky said...

Thanks Nick. You said she leaves the nest just to feed and preen. Does that mean prey the tiercel has left somewhere for her? Or just leaves the nest to feed on what he brings to her?

Nick B (DWT) said...

Hi Vicki: prey is either left on the ledge well above the nest or more usually he calls (indicating he has food for her) and she flies up and takes it from him as he sits on that ledge.
They usually avoid bringing food down to the nest until the eggs hatch because it would be a potential disease threat lying about and rotting nearby.
Even when there are small chicks the falcon usually takes away any food remaining uneaten rather than discarding it right by the chicks.
Nick B (DWT)

Vicky said...

Mom just took off leaving the eggs unattended. I'm sure one of them will be back soon.

Vicky said...

The tiercel has taken over the sitting duty now.

Vicky said...

Very quiet right now. I haven't checked for awhile and I think it is the tiercel still on the eggs.

Vicky said...

Right now she keeps looking up. I guess she is waiting for him to call her for breakfast. I haven't checked in on them for awhile.

Vicky said...

Hi Nick, thanks for the earlier info on the falcons. They are amazing birds keeping the nest safe for the babies. I do recall her taking the balance of the prey away. I thought it would be hidden and eaten later. But it is to keep the babies safe.

Kate said...

Thanks for all the updates and special thanks, to Wendy for all your vids( you know how much you are appreciated.as I have been otherwise engaged, as you well know CHOL:):) these important nest past few days. Doh!!

Just put flkr phot of Teircel quick visit a moment ago.
kate

Vicky said...

He is sitting on the edge of the scrape and she had her back to him totally ignoring him again. She just got up, turned a bit and lay down again. He chirps every now and then but she isn't moving away. It is quite windy up there right now as you can see his feathers getting quite ruffled.

Unknown said...

Changeover at 18.42. I think it's the falcon sitting on the eggs now.

Happyhen said...

Hi,
I adore this site and have become very eager to see these two each day.
I did manage to catch a change over at about 3.40pm and wondered if these generally happen every 3 hours? They do seem to have a routine....
The bells make no difference to them do they? I wonder if they are both suffering from hearing loss?
It is not the best of days with hailstones, shards of cold rain and biting wind.
just my wandering thoughts... but any comments welcome to clarify the first point.

Vicky said...

I haven't noticed a 3 hour span between changeovers. I just check in every now and then and sometimes catch one. it is quarter to 1 and all is well and very quiet.

Vicky said...

5:15 and he is sitting on the edge of the scrape and she is sleeping. I've checked a few times and she is always covering the eggs and resting or sleeping. He is preening.

Kate said...

Morning all
Thanks for all the posts, all is quiet on the nest.
Kate

Vicky said...

8:59 and mom is looking around. Maybe wants a changeover. All is looking good.

Nick Brown (DWT) said...

Hi Happyhen (I guess you have a real name too?)
The books all say that the female does the bulk of the incubating, the male just taking over when she needs a short break. Of course he has to do all the hunting, finding enough food for her as well as himself throughout the whole incubation period.
The bells are totally ignored and always have been since we started the web cams in 2007. And there's no evidence that the birds are deaf.
Hope that helps
Nick B

Happyhen said...

Fantastic views of both birds at the moment; lots of preening.
I have shown this to my mum, who has dementia and she is utterly captivated by the real time cam. We now have a new talking point and she has told me so much about bringing up kids, the need to clean the nest (she thinks it is disgusting and needs a good scrub with Ajax (remember that horrible stuff?).
thanks for the comments and replies, much appreciated.
Happy Hen

Unknown said...

Changeover at 17.03, tiercel doing his best to cover the eggs now.

Vicky said...

17:52 I think the tiercel is still on the nest.

Unknown said...

So do I Vicky, I haven't seen a changeover since my last post.

Vicky said...

Hi Annie, it still looks like the tiercel on the nest. Maybe mum went out for a last fling with the girls. What does CHOL mean. I don't think we use that here in Canada. I am out for a bit but will check again in about an hour.

Wendy Bartter said...

Hi Vicky, CHOL is our Kate's own version of LOL & is short for 'chuckle out loud' ... am answering for her as she doesn't keep late hours ... she's a very early bird, does the 'rounds' well before my eyes are open!!

Vicky said...

Hi Wendy, I thought that is what it was. Good one. We use the LOL all the time so I kind of figured the C was for chuckle. I am a night owl but here it is only 5:45 pm. Nothing going on on the scrape. She is fast asleep.

Vicky said...

Still fast asleep. Haven't checked in much this evening.

Heather said...

Changeover at 11.46 much to MrP's delight judging by his chirruping.

Welcome Happy Hen your mum and Nell and Thomas - glad you're enjoying our little band of commentators. It can be rather quiet at this time whilst the falcon is brooding but once the first egg starts pipping (where a small hole appears when the chick is trying to break out of the shell) then it all becomes very interesting. You'll see how caring the parents are with the tiny chicks being careful not to tread on them with their large talons and the very small amounts of prey they feed them. They grow very quickly and before you know it they are ready to fledge and we all become nervous when they make their maiden flight and sometimes have to be rescued if they fall to ground.

By the way Happy Hen if you can find a photo of last year's scrape after the youngsters had fledged, your mum would see that at the moment it is in pristine condition. Members of our fabulous Team abseil down each year and clean the scrape out and replace the nesting materials. Last year we had a feisty group of females and one timid male (he also was well looked after by the experienced parents who always made sure he was fed even though he rarely made it to the front of the queue at meal times). They left behind a scrape in a particularly bad mess, bit like a lot of teenagers! Hope these few little comments are of interest to you and that once the eggs begin to hatch you'll find yourselves unable to drag yourselves away in case you miss something!

Heather said...

MrsP just returned after 1 hr's lunch break and MrP swiftly sent packing. She's definitely very territorial with her eggs!

Unknown said...

Tiercel arrived while falcon was having a preen, & she flew off about 16.29. The eggs were quite spread out, I'm surprised he managed to cover them.
I hope Happyhen and her mum saw it. I only just caught it myself - you just have to be lucky!

Unknown said...

Falcon returned at 17.59 just as the bells started ringing, but I could still hear lots of "chupping" from the tiercel. He flew off a few moments later & the falcon slowly waddled over & sat on the eggs.

Vicky said...

Hi all, haven't caught a changeover in awhile. She is sleeping with her head tucked back. I'll check again later. The girls were very feisty last year and out and out aggressive. The little guy often sat behind mum to get away from the girls I think. When he fledged I think we all worried about him. Whatever happened to the dove that nested just below the scrape?

Vicky said...

Quiet on the scrape. Lots of action once the chicks arrive.

Vicky said...

She just lifted her body and rocked the eggs a bit and is now napping again. Sometimes she rocks the eggs back and forth quite hard and I wonder if she is going to give birth to scrambled eggs!

Unknown said...

Changeover at 17.41, tiercel now on the eggs. About an hour ago he'd spent ages on the far ledge, screeching, but the falcon wouldn't budge. In fact she got up & turned with her back to him to settle down again. Eventually he gave up & flew off. This time he landed on the scrape ledge & she took the hint.

Vicky said...

They are a funny pair! She is just letting him know I guess that they are her eggs! She is sleeping again.

Heather said...

A very foggy frosty morning so guess MrP will have to wait until it clears before he can go hunting.

It's quite amusing watching him try to persuade her to let him have a chance at egg sitting . Yesterday morning he sat on corner of scrape screeching for ages then plucked up courage and jumped into his end of scrape, hid for awhile then made his way up to the boundary between his 'quarters' and hers. Despite further screeching she just stared him out and he gave up and returned to edge of scrape suitably chastised!

Vicky said...

That is so funny Heather. Right now he is sitting on the edge of the scrape not making a sound. Her feathers are really getting ruffled so it must be quite windy up there right now.

Unknown said...

5 p.m. and after a long wait & some shouting which the sitting falcon studiously ignored, the tiercel finally lost patience, hopped down from the ledge into the slate side and waddled over to her. He almost shoved her off! I've not seen him quite so macho before.

Unknown said...

6.28 p.m. & she's back. A seamless changeover this time.

Helen said...

Some really interesting footage of how peregrine falcons are adapted for speed in the BBC programme Life in the Air, Episode 2. It also shows an American peregrine defending its young. Plus clips of a sparrowhawk hunting.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b077nq4q/life-in-the-air-2-masters-of-the-sky

Starts about 7 minutes 10 seconds into the programme.

Heather said...

Helen, Had recorded this as was out at 5pm. Great footage of peregrines defending cliff top nest, especially taking on that flock of pelicans and I certainly wouldn't have liked to have been those paragliders!

Vicky said...

All is well on the scrape and has been all night. Still windy up there as her feathers are getting very ruffled.

I tried to watch the footage but can't get the bbc here. Too bad as I would loved to have seen them defending their young.

Kate said...

Hi all
Thanks for all the posts, trying to keep up ( and not doing a good job CHOL:)

Helen thanks for bbc link some good photography there, keeps freezing at mo, so will go back to finish .it later

Vicky said...

9:04 Well, I finally caught a changeover. he was on the other side and came out from behind the wall and walked toward her and she immediately got up and took off. He is now covering the eggs.

Unknown said...

The tiercel has such an amusing routine now. He perches on the far ledge being nonchalant, then when Mrs. P. continues to ignore him he starts screeching. Still no response, so he hops down onto the slate and hides behind the wall, as Vicky described. After a couple of minutes he screeches again and starts towards the falcon, still shouting but with head bowed. She then acknowledges him and leaves the eggs, flying off from the scrape ledge.
He took some time arranging himself comfortably on the eggs which were quite spread out, and continued to fidget and inspect what's beneath him. It's a cold day with a nasty east wind so he's being very careful to keep the eggs warm.

Vicky said...

He is now quiet and settled. Less than a month and we shall see the babies. Heather mentioned seeing him hide behind the wall too.

Unknown said...

Changeover at 12.39 p.m., tiercel now on the eggs.

Vicky said...

Now he is sitting on the ledge. I wonder if he will go into hiding again. Then pop out and take his turn again sitting on the eggs.

Vicky said...

Changeover at 17:06. He whistled at her for a bit and then jumped off the edge and walked towards her and she chupped a couple times and away she went. He watched for a couple seconds and then covered the eggs.

Vicky said...

He is sitting on the edge of the scrape right now. Maybe there will a changeover soon.

Kate said...

Morning all
Tiercel calling for change over but Flacon just does a turn and settles down

Happyhen said...

Morning, a lovely sunny morning and no doubt welcomed by the egg sitters!
Just wanted to ask if these two ever "sun bathe" together like hens do?
Do we have an approximate date of arrival for the clutch?
Thanks.....

Vicky said...

Good morning happy, I am guessing May 2nd. I think she is ready for a changeover. She keeps looking over her shoulder. He is nowhere in sight. I am off to bed and hope to get caught up in the morning.

Vicky said...

Changeover just now. He sat on the ledge for quite awhile and now is chupping as he settles on the eggs.

Unknown said...

Just before 20:14 tonight, a loud repetitive tapping sound occured on stream 4. Lasted approx 10 seconds, sounded like it was right above the mic. Bird wasn't bothered. Is this a regular part of the recording, something that happens on the webcam itself perhaps?

Nick B (DWT) said...

Hazel M: no idea what the noise might have been I'm afraid unless one of the birds was tapping on the camera....the equipment itelf doesn't make any noise.
Nick B

Nick Brown (DWT) said...

Hi Happyhen: we don't see our falcons sunbathing and certainly not together. Apart from mating and food exchanging, the male and female usually keep well apart from each other.
You will notice several smaller birds such as blackbirds often sunbathing in gardens but this is not something larger birds seem to do much of in my experience. Cormorants stretch out their wings but that is to dry them off....
Best wishes to you and your mother,
Nick B

Nick B (DWT) said...

Thanks to those of you who have put your hands in your pockets and made donations to our project. It is much appreciated and the more the merrier!
Nick

Nick B (DWT) said...

Happyhen: sorry that I forgot to say that in the two previous years, when the first egg was laid a day later than this year (29th), the first egg hatched on 3rd in 2014 and 5th May in 2015.....so with luck this year it will be also be around 2-5th.
Nick

Heather said...

Wondered if anyone has news of female peregrine 030 last sighted on an ospreys' nest on Rutland Water. I seem to remember it was occupied last year by a lonesome male osprey unable to find a mate and wondered if he'd been more successful this year. If so I guess 030 will have had to find new living quarters!

Vicky said...

She is awake and looking around. Maybe looking forward to a changeover.

Nick B (DWT) said...

Heather: no further news of 030 I'm afraid. You're right the osprey platform was occupied by a male who failed to find a mate last year. I've not heard if he is back but it may be worth looking at the Rutland Water osprey website to find out....their web cams are excellent and well worth watching anyway!
Nick B

Kate said...

Heather here is link http://www.ospreys.org.uk/webcam/

to Manton Bay Web Cam at Rutland, where Maya and 33 are incubating three eggs.
Click on the tabs across the top for wonderful information links etc.
Kate

Kate said...

Teircel on the far end with what looks like a frull crop. Pic on flkr

Unknown said...

Tiercel just took over.

Unknown said...

Lots of loose white feathers in the scrape tonight, are they from whatever was lunch?

Heather said...

Thanks for link Kate. Good to know that the ospreys Maya and 33 have returned safely once more, enjoyed watching them last year. They're lucky to have such a good supply of fish nearby.

Interesting article, with photos, on Sheffield's peregrine site about the different coloured eggs in various peregrine nests. Nothing very conclusive unfortunately, but they mention that Lincoln Cathedral's peregrines are one of the unusual 2% that have laid a clutch of 5 eggs! Not very good weather for our pair at the moment and hopefully they'll be spared the snow that's forecast.

Vicky said...

She is facing the wind and her feathers are getting ruffled but I don't think she is getting wet. You can see the rain coming down or maybe bits of snow or ice. But she seems to be ok with it.

Kate said...

she has just turned as I type. but Nottingham maybe worth keeping an eye on, she has turned several times and seems fidgety

vicky said...

I think we have the best webcams! All is quiet now but windy. This next few days promises calmer and warmer weather.

Kate said...

10. 50 ish change over...... pic on flkr

Vicky said...

He is on the eggs now. Had a bit of a time to get them all under him.

Vicky said...

I thought he was covering the eggs but a few minutes ago he flew in and they had a staring contest for a couple minutes with her doing some chupping and then he hopped on to the slate and stood there for a minute. He came over to her side and she finally got up and left. So NOW he is covering the eggs.

Unknown said...

Female currently on the eggs, the male has been grooming himself on the far ledge for at least the forty minutes that I've been watching! He chirped and flapped at the female once but she didn't wake up. He's just now put his head under one wing and gone to sleep himself, still perched on the edge! I've been trying to catch a changeover every day for 2 weeks, and this is the first time I've seen them both on the scrape, so I'm up on nightwatch until Mrs. Peregrine wakes up!

Vicky said...

Hi Hazel, I have only caught a couple. Hard to catch them. She is awake but he's not around. Another couple weeks and there will be lots of action.

Wendy Bartter said...

Hazel, I never managed to have enough time to watch for a changeover either so I did a 24 hour test record session which left me with 48x30 min sessions to pour through to extract changeover footage (labour of love that!) but I got some & just have to edit & upload to YT tomorrow then can post for you & all to see! Was a very interesting project as I did wonder how many breaks & for how long the Mrs DP actually got ... hers is the real labour of love & devotion to those precious eggs!h

Unknown said...

A lovely sunny morning, chilly but promising a good day ahead. Mrs. P. on the eggs and Mr. on the far ledge scratching his head at 8.41 am. Could be a changeover soon but I can't hang around to see it!

Heather said...

MrP arrived on scrape and very quick changeover with much chirruping as he settled on eggs. MrsP seemed to be panting before his arrival so perhaps she was feeling rather hot in the sunshine and glad to perhaps go and have a wash somewhere.

I agree it's difficult to catch them changing over as he can sit on scrape sometimes for hours looking busy preening and keeping his feathers in tip top condition before he attempts to push her off 'her' eggs. Guess I just got lucky this morning!

Wendy Bartter said...

My vid compilation of changeovers as recorded on 18th April can be found here ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtAX2sC7tvQ
it reinforces just how ritualistic these lovely raptors are (shame that I could not get the sound) & I had to capture my footage from stream 1 as it is the most continuous but is more of a slideshow format ... It would have been better from stream 4 for more detail & flow of movement but needs such constant refreshing! I hope all of you who keep missing the changeovers will get some enjoyment from this!

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
kate said...

Thanks Wendy am just about to view,as we all know how difficult to capture the change over, have a couple pics on flkr. but so much better when in Vid format.

Much appreciated
Kate

Unknown said...

Nottingham has a chick

Wendy Bartter said...

That's grand news Marie, many thanks for letting us know!

Jessica said...

Yes! Just seen the changeover. What a treat. Windy up there this morning!

Heather said...

Wendy,
Thank you so much for your hard work capturing all the changeovers in one day. Seemed as if there were eight altogether but I may have been mistaken. So MrsP does get quite a few "toilet breaks" after all.

Great news Marie about the Nottingham chick, now the interesting part begins after the long brooding period, hope all goes well.

Kate said...

Nottingham have two chicks will put pics on my flkr

https://www.flickr.com/photos/99180967@N04/?

Heather said...

Anyone noticing picture and audio freezing every few seconds? Might be my end as wifi has been playing up lately.

Heather said...

Very quick changeover with MrP chiirruping to eggs whilst settling down. I'm having a senior moment and can't remember why they do this. Is it some sort of communication to the eggs or are they just pleased to be brooding them?

Unknown said...

Hi Heather. Yes I am having the same problem. I noticed it yesterday for the first time. I thought it was my WiFi.

Unknown said...

Hi Heather. Yes I am having the same problem. I noticed it yesterday for the first time. I thought it was my WiFi.

Unknown said...

Denice and Heather - I'm getting that freezing & juddering on Cam 4 as well. Definitely not anyone's wifi!

Vicky said...

I just checked on the Nottingham birds. Haven't seen the chicks yet. Mom is on the nest and dad is standing guard. About 10 more days and we should see a chick too at Derby.

Heather said...

Another quick changeover on what looks like a rather wet morning. Problem with Cam 4 seems to have sorted itself out, fingers crossed for now. Perhaps one of the Team did a bit of tweaking or it's just one of those imponderables of modern technology. A few feathers in scrape, a large grey one but don't think peregrine.

Unknown said...

Looks like a third chick has hatched at Nottingham.

Unknown said...

Oops, I was wrong, there are 4! Just witnessed a feed - two are stronger, larger and pushier than the others. Hard to see them all when being fed, it's like a rugby scrum!

Kate said...

Yep! definitely four Nottingham , last one hatched lunch time today.
Sheffield could be early coming week. and Exteter looks fiddgety.scooping gravel up.

Nick B (DWT) said...

I gather that the Notts peregrines are also on TV for an hour each day (10 - 11 AM on Notts TV, Freeview 7)
Footage is from the nest cam stream that you can also see online of course.
Nick B

Vicky said...

Mrs P got off the eggs and sat and preened on the ledge for a few minutes. While scratching her leg she scratched against the metal and it was quite noisy. She is back on the eggs again. She is starting to rock the eggs harder now. He is not around.

Vicky said...

Mr P is sitting on the edge and she has her back to him. Maybe there will be a changeover soon. He's chirping at her and now she's preening. Well, I guess she decided its not time for a changeover. She just adjusted the eggs again and has settled on them.

Helen said...

Female back on the eggs after a quick changeover. 4.15pm

Vicky said...

I just saw the Nottingham chicks. Saw 3, one was hiding behind the others I guess. Mom just up and left but came right back with food so now she is feeding them. They are so tiny.

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

Further to Annie/Heather/Denices's comments above, I have received an email from a webcam watcher saying they have experienced problem on Saturday 23rd with one or more of our video stream stop/starting which has made watching the peregrines a rather frustrating experience.
I would welcome any reports if this appears to have resolved itself, or if you are still experiencing this problem. If you are, please tell me how long the problem lasts for, and if there are particular times of the day when this occurs. It would also be helpful to know if this occurs on all the live streams, or just one of them.

Many thanks
Nick M
Technical Advisor
Derby Cathedral Peregrine Project

Wendy Bartter said...

Hi all, caught this very early changeover when I was roaming around at a very silly time this morning ... didn't realise they did swap places in the night ...... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dT6zQSL_Ik

Vicky said...

Hi Nick, I am in Canada and didn't experience the problem at all. I only looked in a couple times for a few minutes so maybe was just catching it between problems. Just checked and the eggs at 6:23 were alone for a few seconds and mom came back. All 4 eggs looking good.

Heather said...

Hi Nick M,
Cam 4 seems to be ok at moment. As Denice mentioned she first noticed problem on 22 April and when I posted comment on 24th at 7.10 a.m the problem seemed to have resolved itself and so far I haven't seen anything amiss. I've only been checking Cam 4 so can't say if this occurred on the other live streams. If it's of any help the problem was interference literally every other second - the mysteries of modern technology!

Kate said...

Morning all
Lovely sunny morning and still quietly sitting.

Hopefully around 2nd May we will see our first Hatch,( me thinks) BUTTTT could be sooner..

WEB cam 4 froze at 06.45.17 for about three seconds.

Kate said...

testing posting again..had four different screens/pages to tick

Vicky said...

Good morning Kate and all - I think the 3rd we will see our first chick. The Nottingham ones are so sweet. Bobbing heads and all. The female flew in with a huge prey. The male got out of her way and walked down the ledge.

Kate said...

Hi Vicky
Sheffield last night could be second this morning

Kate said...

Eggs left alone for us to see a short while ago.
pics on flkr

Phoebe said...

The four eggs were left for a short while, all look intact. Pic on Flickr.

Kate said...

Thanks Phoebe.
Change over at 07.40ish captures on flkr with another view of Eggs, getting nearer CHOL:):)

Kate said...

Tiercel preening far end but falcon in no mood to move, unlike this morning when she shot off CHOL:):)17.30

Kate said...

Evening all tiercel still where he was at 5.30.pm.

Am posting this You tube Clip for our Wendy, as she has been inundated today, whilst also capturing other nests. Do look at this amazing SHEFFIELD Clip of an almost accidental kick out of the nest and then overlooked, and do look at the expression when it is rescued.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9y7PXwxrGc

Thank you so much Wendy...

Phoebe said...

Just watched that Sheffield video. How good is that, she was so gentle bringing it back in. Cute! Thanks Kate/Wendy.

Vicky said...

Dad is on the far edge waiting for his turn. I just watched the Sheffield clip. Wow, It was funny when she noticed the poor little chick. But she got it under her and checked on it too. They are such good parents.

Heather said...

What an absolutely amazing capture and agree it could possibly be the first in the world! Thought at first she was going to ignore it when she started settling down but she retrieved it so well. Hope we don't get too much snow which has been forecast for Friday.

Wendy Bartter said...

So pleased to have shared with you folk, not quite over the awe of watching the event with added bonus of capturing the moment on video! I would like to tell you though that it was Mum who tripped over the eggs & chicks as she left in haste & was the Dad who so, so gently picked up the stranded chick ... that was after he half squished it on entering as he didn't know it was there!

Wendy Bartter said...

Thanks Kate for posting my vid link!

Vicky said...

That really was awesome to watch Wendy. I guess dad is just as gentle as mum.

Unknown said...

Thank you Wendy for that lovely video clip.

Unknown said...

Changeover at 6.24 pm, with a lot of screeching from the tiercel. He's now sitting, having almost turfed the falcon off the eggs.

Unknown said...

She returned to take over approx. 7.10 pm.