This morning both adults and one of the juveniles were all together on the Jurys Inn sign in Derby that faces east towards Nottingham - sitting out of the prevailing wind......
Apologies for the picture quality!
Apologies for the picture quality!
The juvenile is bottom left, the tiercel (male) top left, and the falcon (female) bottom right.
Nick B (DWT)
Ps It occurs to me subsequently that they won't perch there after dark when the JI signs are so brightly illuminated.....so perhaps it's not surprising they are back on the tower in the evening as reported by several commentators...
77 comments:
So nice to see them together. Wish I could just pop back whenever I wanted to and check on them my-self. Thanks for posting that picture. Has there been any recent sign of the other young bird?
Love the pic Nick B.
One on the tower cam right now.
Hi Derby Museum
In reply to your earlier question, yes, of course you have my blessing to use my comments in any way you wish. I'm delighted, it's the least I can do in repayment for all that you've done and continue to do. I hope it helps - speaking as an employee of a local authority that has to make £27 million savings over 3 years, I know the challenges you must face. I hope to be able to come up again and see you all very soon. Love that picture of the birds on Jury's sign, they certainly have taken to it in a big way. Hey, and guess what I saw in Bucks today ... a pair of peregrines! Hurrah!!!! They love us in the winter but don't stay around to nest.
Big love and hope to see you soon!
That is brilliant! I think they are trying to get through to the Jury's maybe we can zoom in on the tower webcam!
What a fab picture! They're obviously all ganging up on Jurys Inn to try to get them onside and prove sponsorship next year would be a good investment!!
Oh my! Looks like an advertisement!
:)))
Is there a chance that the adults could leave the cathedral and nest on the jurys inn, they seem to spend more time there than on the tower. What would happen to the project if they did.
Is that cute or what?
If I were Jury's management, I'd hang that photo in their lobby.
two on the tower cam
What a pic! Looks like we need the 4th webcam... and Jury's Inn should be the one to set up the cam for us. :) Jennie in Hong Kong.
Anon,
It's just my guess, but it doesn't look like there's a suitable place at the Jury's building for a nest.
Just to let the project team know, i have been passed the jurys inn on many occasions, and the peregrines have been perched on the lettering after dark when the lettering is lit up. hope this helps. Andy.S. Derby
Must be warming the backsides then.....perhaps that's the attraction!
NB
I just read about the UK flooding. Is that affecting Derby?
@Karen Anne - no, the heavy weekend rain was in the North of England - in our beautiful Lake District in particular. Although more heavy rain (10cm/4") is expected there later today, further south in Derby we are just a bit wet and windy. (and some like me a bit poorly from colds!)
The last time Derby was affected by flooding was late in October 2000 when, amongst others, The Silk Mill museum was affected by river water backing up.
Our thoughts are with those affected in Cumbria who have had a difficult time this weekend.
Somebody's very "up close and personal" right now!
@Karen Anne, as Nick says, it's Cumbria aka The Lake District, that's bearing the brunt. For the last few years, around this time, we've been getting disaterous flooding. It's a total lottery who gets the bad luck. A few years back, Carlisle got it, then the Hull area and do you recall Boscastle, way down in the south west - and others. One thing I'm sure of is that it's all part of this terrible climate change scenario and it scares me as to what will happen next. I've visited Cockermouth, it's where the poet William Wordsworth was born. I've bought books from a lovely little shop that I saw on the BBC News website yesterday with its entire stock of books ruined - the waters reached the ceiling of the ground floor. The weatherman says the rain is going back to Cumbria today and another weather warning is issue. The poor souls, it's utterly wretched. I'm not complacent, but I like to hope that living on chalk geology, as I do, that I may be spared this nightmare.
Peregrine showing close-up of a very beady eye on 'pud cam'!!
A very nice close up of a peregrine hugging the tower cam! :D
come on Jury's how can you resist them ? :)
Does anyone know if there are peregrines' in the Hammersmith area of London?vf only I was standing on the tube platform (it's overground)and I'm sure a young falcon flew past ! I couldn't be certain and was desparate for a closer look but the train arrived!
it looks like a feeding peregrine on the nest, through a spiders web lol
Hi, Sue,
I'm right on the water in New England, so sooner or later climate change will get my house. I just hope it's after I've croaked :-)
I worry about the hurricanes and big storms, because a foot or so change in sea level makes all the difference in how far inland the water gets.
Peregrine feeding on prey item on nest shelf. An early meal on a dark winter morning!
lovely shot on the tower cam
one on the tower cam
nice shot on the tower cam
one up close on the tower cam
A real ghostly figure on the towercam! I wonder who it is. Will put on flickr
I see Jennie has already posted the same pic. It does look very strange.
Well done Jennie!
What is that in front of the pudding cam? Jennie, HK.
To echo Jennie's question, what is that on pudding cam? It's now 7:30pm local time, all is dark except for the white, ghostly "thing"
Seems likely to be a prey corpse that the birds have deliberately put there so they can't be spied on any more...I jest.
Nick M will try to get up the tower next week and see exactly what the problem is and sort it out - but may take a day or two to get a chance when the weather is Ok and he has the time...
It's pouring cats and dogs in Derby this evening - so you're not missing much......
Nick B (DWT)
Thanks, Nick B.
We were wondering too about the "ghostly thing".
Oh! The Colin's photo of Cathy on his blog!!! :D
I'm taking a quick peep (in my lunch break) from work, where I don't have all my "favourites" etc. I'm keen to take a look at Colin's website for the latest pictures of 010 but I don't have the address handy. I think Colin must qualify for a "key link" by now! Any chance it can be added sometime?
Cathy looks great.
No thingummies on her feet? That is kind of nice, not to have those. From her beak, it looks like she's just had a snack :-)
Colin's Blog is at http://derby-falco-peregrinus.blogspot.com
The picture he has posted up there isn't Cathy - looks like an adult female - presumably ours, but Colin does post lots of different photos, as you'll see.
Anyway it's a beautiful photo and love Cathy's mom too.
Right, couldn't spot neither rings nor jesses on her feet!
Thanks for that, Derby Museum. I found Colin's site before reading your advice - and I squinted for AGES at the picture thinking 010 must have had a miraculous recovery to perfection and have lost her ring en route! It's still the best of news though that she continues to do well.
The "ghostly thing" is still on pudding cam - I bet it's nothing exciting, just a piece of litter or something!
I see there is prey in the right hand side of the nest ledge
My guess would be a common snipe.
Nick B (DWT)
prey on thr tower cam
I see the ghostly figure is now gone from the towercam. Has it been removed and if so what was it? I think it could have been a feather from some prey...
Well done to the team if they have got to the cam to remove it!
As you will have noticed, "pudding cam" is now working again. I nipped up the Cathedral tower at lunchtime and found the corpse of a woodcock draped over the top webcam, which I eventually managed to flick off with a long pole. Interestingly, this bird was caught on camera being brought back to the ledge on 27th November at 19:30 local time. ie in darkness. The clip shows the adult peregrine setting off in darkness, returning soon afterwards. Unusually, we could see the prey had not been despatched quickly, as the bird's bill moved two or three times before it was killed. This proves conclusively that our peregrines do take prey flying in darkness. Twenty mnutes later this bird was unceremoniously dumped over our camera lens. Pictures to follow, I hope.
The prey item curently in view on the tower ledge is a redwing. Other prey items included about four golden plover, snipe a blackbird, and possibly a jack snipe.
Well done and thank you! for removing the 'woodcock' from the webcam on such a cold day.
They do seem to be stocking up their larder, they have prey in the scrape, prey (a redwing) on the stonework at the top and I’ve just watched one with prey on the other side of the scrape maybe that could be the woodcock removed earlier, Could this mean a bad winter ahead!
well done Nick, you do see life dont you :-) lovely to have the view back. Loved the way you said "I nipped up", I am sure there was more involved then that.
Hi Phoebe: I doubt the number of cached prey items has any link to what the long term weather forecast might be.
My hunch is that peregrines cache food when they manage to catch more than they need. Whether they make more kills as a response to a cold snap or impending fog or rain is an interesting point. Can they sense a few days of poor weather approaching? Who knows!
And I suspect that fog or prolonged rain hampers peregrines finding and catching food much more than cold, clear weather when
some birds may be weaker and more easily caught.
So, whether a cold couple of days such as we've just had induces increased lardering is an interesting point....I doubt anyone has studied that!
Nick B (DWT)
I've just driven past Jury's Inn, and could see a peregrine on the last letter 'n'of the lettering, on the south side - the one you can see from the webcam. I checked when I got back home, and there was also a peregrine close up on the gargoyles.
Joyce in Derby
lovely shot on the tower cam and one on the nest with prey
Hi Nick B
Thank you for your reply. I have always believed that the birds have more sense than us when it comes to forecasting the weather. I also think the birds know when to store food. It could be, as you said, there was more food available so they fill the larder. It must take more energy in the winter weather so may be they need more to eat.
Good to see them still about. I see you were right about the prey on the webcam! Many a true word spoken in jest…
@ everyone: Does anyone know if all four have been seen recently?
Phoebe
more prey in the nest
three!! on the tower cam
I wouldn't like to be a pigeon near the cathedral right now...
3 peregrines visible on pudding cam !
one with prey on the nest ledge
One feeding in the nest, a late snack maybe
Nick, you said: "So, whether a cold couple of days such as we've just had induces increased lardering is an interesting point....I doubt anyone has studied that!"
This is very interesting indeed. I can't tell about peregrines in Italy because the cam are offline in this season :(. We only saw Aria&Vento in Rome lardering a lot when they have chicks who, when able to move, always walk to the cache to feed.
Will try to catch some info about in Ohio.
@ Phoebe. No, we (Italian watchers) never saw all four recently.
one on the tower cam, one on the nest ledge
@ Gio
Thanks for the info, I wonder if all four are still about.
There's a nice view of two on the tower cam right now ! :D
I see that a peregrine has been seen recently on the famous crooked spire in Chesterfield, a town some 20 miles north of Derby. Plenty of images of the spire on 'tinternet'.....though not of the bird on it needless to say!
Nick B
The webcams are not working, they stopped at 9pm on 6Dec. Jennie, Hong Kong.
Thank you Jennie. Unfortunately I can't restart our video server from my remote location today, so I'll pop up the Cathedral Tower on Tuesday lunchtime and try and restart the equipment manually.
Nick M.
Hi
Interesting to read about the range of prey items - and to see that the "ghostly thing" has gone. I'm a traitor - I visited Lincoln at the weekend, partly due to their peregrines but mostly because of their fantastic Christmas market. It's remarkable (yet totally understandable) how peregrines act as "birds of pray" and choose cathedrals, isn't it? Anyway, unfortunately, no Lincoln peregrines were at home, but there was masses of evidence - both of the "whitewash" variety and the bones and feather variety. I could only make out pigeon feathers (the bones were picked absolutely clean) but the cathedral guide told me that snipe is a favourite prey item. I'm glad Jennie has noted the camara freeze - I was worried that it's getting dark so much earlier in Derby than here!
Sue,
I guess now it's always night time in Derby :-)
Sue in Bucks (Scout) said:
"It's remarkable (yet totally understandable) how peregrines act as "birds of pray" and choose cathedrals, isn't it?"
Yes, it is, Sue! :D
There is a pair nesting successfully on the Cathedral's tower in Bologna from 2006. They raised 4 chicks the past season.
Some photos when we gathered there (Paolo Taranto was with us) on November 10th at
http://www.birdcam.it/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4319&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=60
The Main Square with the two peregrines coming and going is great.
Thanks Nick for another visit up the Cathedral Tower. Just take your time, I'm sure viewers from all over the world can bear with it. I know it's not a nice thing to go up the narrow, spiral staircase in such a cold weather. Cheers, Jennie of Hong Kong.
Thank you Nick for resetting the webcams, it looks a nice bright morning in Derby City.
Evidence of a good meal remains in the nest.
prey on the tower cam, in the triple shot it shows the morning but on just the tower cam it is not
working
@Pax Canada - thanks for bringing this to our attention. I've restarted the video server again, and it seems OK now.
Nick M.
Hello all
Just a quickie from work (in my lunch break again) so I don't have the facts to hand (or in my head) but, speaking of Lincoln, it occurs to me to recall that their Lincoln's significant dates (ie egg laying/hatching etc) this year were exactly the same, to the day, as Derby's. As fact that I find absolutely fascinating and amazing!
Thank you Nick M, keep this up and you wont need to go to the gym! :):)
It was an an armchair reboot today, Olive. I was able to start it remotely via my PC. (But I deed keep fit by cycling to The Sanctuary Bird Reserve at pride Park in my lunch hour, instead!)
"First Mom" of migratory whooping cranes in the U.S. shot to death.
Some of you may have read about the project to reintroduce endangered whooping cranes to the wild as a migratory population in the Eastern U.S. by training first year cranes to fly behind ultralight aircraft to get them imprinted with the migration route.
This takes intense work each fall and winter, with the Operation Migration staff and volunteers spending months getting up at 5 am for the best winds, camping out on the route in trailers, usually in wild areas, and people along the way letting them use their landing fields and so on.
Probably the crucial step in reintroduction is getting the cranes to reproduce in the wild. Whooping cranes have to be 5-7 years old (I think) to start reproducing. So far one family, called the First Family, in this migratory population has done so.
Last week the Mom of the First Family was found shot to death. It's impossible to describe what a tragedy this is.
It follows by about a month someone breaking into the group's hanger at their northern base and vandalizing one of their ultralights, possibly irreparably, and other belongings, causing about $30,000 in damage.
Here's their Field Journal logging the current migration:
Field Journal
I hope it is okay with the Derby folks if I say that OM could use donations. They have a Give a Whoop campaign where people can contribute $10 at:
Give A Whoop
Or larger amounts on their MileMaker page at:
MileMaker
Those take paypal, or checks can be mailed to their Canadian or U.S. addresses:
Operation Migration Inc.,
174 Mary St. Suite 3,
Port Perry, ON., L9L 1B7
Operation Migration - USA,
1623 Military Rd., PMB# 639
Niagara Falls, NY 14304-1745.
I hope it is okay to write this, Derby folk.
Pax Canada
Prey on the tower cam, looks like a foggy morning
One on the tower cam, hiding round the corner
About caches.
I could get these suggestions. My friends in Ohio believe that peregrine falcons have the ability to sense weather conditions and accomodate their hunting and eating habits to them.
They also believe that they are very opportunistic-- even if they have just eaten they don't seem to pass up an easy kill.
They often see them eat some of the prey and then cache the rest, and they also see them visit several different cache spots searching for food and then go out to hunt when they don't find anything left. So, their guess would be that most established peregrine pairs have some food stored most of the time in all weather conditions.
I think this is interesting because monitored many times.
It should be good to put together all the observations about peregrines all around the world to encrease our knowledge of them.
Gio,
Froona's website has a lot of info. We are slowly translating it into English in her memory. It's at:
http://www.falcoperegrinus.org/
One on the nest ledge
December 26, 0725 hrs - one peregrine perched on clock tower
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