Only 56 preying days to Christmas......

Just a quick reminder that you couldn't think of a better stocking filler than our DVD 'The Peregrines of Derby Cathedral' now could you?

Even if you have your own copy (which I'm sure most of you do by now) there must be friends or relatives who'd be interested to snuggle down by a fire on a cold winter's day and watch what happens up on the cathedral tower in the heat of summer?

The price now is just £6 per copy excluding postage and packing - so do get on the buzzer and speak to someone at our Derbyshire Wildlife Trust office (01773 881188) and they will post one to you at the drop of a hat (or of a prey item if you prefer!).



Speaking of prey, our peregrines are now turning their attentions to birds that have moved down from the north and east to spend the winter near Derby.

One such is the golden plover and I found an almost complete corpse under the tower only the other day. I also read that there is now a flock of 500 of these birds feeding in fields about six miles from the cathedral and just beyond the city boundary - well within the peregrine's hunting range.
The photo shows the tail of a golden plover - what beautiful feathers these lovely birds have!

Lapwings, fieldfares and redwings will also feature on the menu shortly I have no doubt.....as will night-flying woodcock and maybe some rarer night-fliers such as quail and some coastal waders moving from one side of the UK to the other.....we'll just have to wait and see what turns up!

Nick B (DWT)

Children and peregrines

Last summer many schools used the webcam images to show their children what was happening on the cathedral tower....and there is so much educational learning potential quite apart from the sheer enjoyment of watching peregrines at the nest!

The drawings here are by infants from Brigg Infant School in South Normanton.

Their teacher, Helen Naylor has really used the peregrines in so many ways with her class - and the artwork they have produced is great for children so young, even if the cathedral (and the birds) appear in some interesting and lively

shapes!

Last summer the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust organised some family events at the cathedral aimed at children between about 7 and 12 and these went down very well.

The Wildlife Watch Club, the junior branch of The Wildlife Trusts, used our Derby peregrine story in their national magazine more than once.

If you have children of this age then why not join the Trust as family members or just join your children into Watch Club? Details are on the Trust's website at http://www.derbyshirewildlifetrust.org/.

The national Trusts magazine, called Natural World, will have a feature article about our peregrines in the next issue which is due out shortly, so if you belong to the Derbyshire or another county trust, keep an eye open for that.

Nick Brown (DWT)

Ps. A peregrine is back on East Mill in Belper today, just above my DWT office window in fact (though I can't see it except from the outside....)