Technical hitch

On Saturday morning it appeared our picture stream had frozen. Then later on our brand new audio/video stream also disappeared. We're really sorry about this.

We think we've traced the first problem to our hosting company, Streamdays. Many of the webcams they power around the country also seem to have frozen around 22:50 UK time on Friday evening. We're confident they will fix this soon, as their past record on this has been excellent.

The new live audio/video feed from our latest sponsors, Media on Demand, was working brilliantly earlier on, but later started giving only audio, and then disappeared completely. This may have been due to high user demand after our first stream failed. Or something could have happened to break the connection when we re-booted all our equipment inside Derby Cathedral's ancient tower. (Thanks for doing this, Tony)

So until Monday at least it seems we will be without a video feed. Rest assured that our cameras and recording equipment are still working fine. The configuration of that feed will have to be left to the IT experts from Capita early next week as it's beyond the skill of our Project Team.

Meanwhile, here is a lovely video clip of the chicks being fed on 13th May,

And here's below is a jay (Garrulus glandarius) being quickly dispatched after being caught and brought to the tower earlier this week. Peregrines have a special notch on their bills with which they can sever the neck of their prey, and presumably other parts, too. We do see the last moments of the jay in this clip, but it's important to appreciate that these are hunters, and that the killing of prey does happen and is an essential part of their lives. (As is the feeding of the plucked prey to the cute chicks). As we write this, we hear word from Tony, the Head Verger at the Cathedral that the head of what might turn out to be a Little Owl has just been found below the tower. We'll keep you informed on this, too.


Technical hitches inevitably happen from time to time and we do try our very best to sort them out as soon as we can. It's unfortunate that we've had two failures at the same time.

We have had other problems with our pictures freezing during the year, and we may need to buy a new video server if it proves to be an equipment fault here. If you want to help us to do that, then please consider making a donation. The project takes both time and money to run and these are very limited despite the sponsors and donors we already have. To donate please email enquiries@derbyshirewt.co.uk for details of how to get money to the project but please be aware your email will not be responded to until Monday.
Many thanks.
Nick B (DWT); Nick M (Derby Museum & Art Gallery)
PS. If you are a newcomer to this blog please scroll down and read the previous entries to discover the magic of the new streaming service and see other essential messages and news.