Update on 11 April: by now our pair should have a complete clutch and have started incubation. Certainly when we have been up to look at the monitor in the tower she has been sitting very tight on her eggs and we haven't yet been able to see if there are indeed four or not. We expect there will be.
The cold winds from the NE and E blowing onto the nest will ensure she stays put as much of the time as she can.....it least it has been dry!
Sometime on the night of 4th April a second egg arrived. Because of the low light levels, the video below is low resolution.
Every year since 2007 we have had four eggs laid, and this year is unlikely to be different. Not all hatch, nor to the chicks all survive to the point of fledging. But we have so far seen over 40 young peregrines take flight since the project began.
We can't be sure (because they're not ringed) but we still believe this is the same female who first arrived in 2006. However, we do know that our male falcon only arrived a few years ago, replacing the previous male, though we do not know what happened to him.
In past years we had to warn our webcam watchers not to be alarmed if they saw two or three eggs lying out in the cold, apparently unattended for hours at a time. This is quite normal for peregrines, who delay the full incubation process until all eggs are laid. This means that they all develop at almost exactly the same time, rather than hatching in a staggered manner like many other species.
Of course, with our current lack of any internet connection from the Tower, we can't bring you these live moments right now, but hope to be able to do so soon. (During this climb up into the cathedral tower to retrieve video clips, we adjusted the focus and resolution settings, so daytime videos should be sharper from now on.)
Oh, and thanks to everyone for their comments in the last post, and especially to Zebra Class who correctly forecasted this second egg. Well done Zebra Class!
While we wait for live footage, you might like to see other webcams managed by Wildlife Trusts elsewhere in the UK - click HERE. They cover barn owls, ospreys, peregrines and more....well worth a look!
Peregrine Falcons first nested on Derby's Cathedral, England, in 2006. Our Peregrine Project is now run by a partnership between Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, Derby City Council, Derby Cathedral and the Cathedral Quarter. Here is what's happening in 2024. . .
12 comments:
Thanks Team
All looking good with the Birds.....
It's all looking good for the birds this year again!
Thanks for all the news, gathered "the old fashioned way" while technology is sorted. I'm even blinder with my own patch project as their IT issues continue into this season together with additional issues. It's great to follow other projects but sad not to have any clue what's happening at Aylesbury. Im so pleased the season is progressing well at Derby with 2 eggs laid so far. That female is at least 13 years old now, clearly she hasn't been reading the manuals on how long peregrines live - or maybe the story is only just being written about urban peregrine lifespans.
Way to go Mr & Mrs P. Egg #2! Hope all goes well for the birds this year again. I still remember the "big" girl one year and the year 2 got pushed into fledging by a sibling. They are wonderful to watch and you have a great team there looking after what we can't.
Looked back in the archives Vicky & found these two ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RxPr4GXyiE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnlvXpawNME
Thanks Wendy for the memories, each year brings its dramas some sad and some amusing. Also thanks Sue for remembering how old Mrs P. Is, as I mentioned previously I'd forgotten but she's such an experienced mum, let's hope she has several more years left.
Regarding other nest sites - I follow, amongst others, are the Rutland ospreys. This year Maya and her mate 33 have successfully returned once more from Africa and are now incubating their third egg just laid (as the site mentioned The Holy Trinity being Easter time!). Interesting to see their satellite journey. Amazing the stamina of migratory birds, I think Mr & MrsP are the lucky ones staying put in Derby for the winter. One wonders how many of their offspring survive though especially with the deplorable persecution in Derbyshire.
Hi Wendy, I tried to click on the 2 youtube items but nothing came up so I will copy them and try again. I'm sure by now #4 is in the nest. So anxious to see the little white balls of fluff.
Vicky
Hi Vicky, have you tried highlighting each link individually then clicking on 'search' ?
For various reasons getting new video clips which might show how many eggs we have is not possible just now. So we must assume that however many there are (and we feel sure it will be four), incubation has now begun in earnest.
The project team
Thanks for letting us know, hope stuff is sorted for hatch time!
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