Wednesday Watch Point Update: first a big thanks to Margaret and Brian Hobby who have run every Wednesday's WP since 25th May! They were assisted today by Margaret, one of the Cathedral Quarter rangers who has taken a special interest in the birds.All four juvs were in view plus both parents. Several of the juveniles flew about and they seem to be ever more confident - it was good to see that.
People came from Stoke and Lichfield especially to the WP and it was good to see them. Mo & Pete came down from Belper (sorry to miss you) and a Dutch couple came to Derby from Whaley Bridge where they are staying to visit the Silk Museum only to find it closed!
They ended up at the WP and we had a good chat as well as showing them the birds. They reported that the first pair of white tailed eagles to nest in Holland have one chick.
Today (Friday 1st July) sees another Watch Point taking place, with the last
Today (Friday 1st July) sees another Watch Point taking place, with the last
one tomorrow, Saturday 2nd July. The young have been flying about today, following their parents and noisily begging for food - so there should be plenty to see.
Saturday's Watch Point: please see the comments for an update. It was good to see many old friends & supporters - Jane and John from Belper and Joanne from Mickleover among them.
Saturday's Watch Point: please see the comments for an update. It was good to see many old friends & supporters - Jane and John from Belper and Joanne from Mickleover among them.
The photo to the left was take
n by Jon Salloway last week and it shows the falcon with a headless moorhen. Teal feathers
n by Jon Salloway last week and it shows the falcon with a headless moorhen. Teal feathers have also been found under the tower recently, showing yet again the variety of the prey they take.
The second photo, also by Jon, shows a juvenile trying to catch a bumble bee (or maybe a big fly)...its first faltering step towards catching prey. Peregrines will catch very small birds but, as far as I am aware, have never been seen taking an insect.
The peregrine's smaller cousin, the hobby, regularly takes insects such as dragonflies and cockchafers in the air - more on hobbies in later post perhaps.....
Donations for the project are still trickling in but we are still well off our target so if you've enjoyed watching the breeding season unfold here in Derby, do please consider sending a donation. Details of how to do so can be obtained by scrolling down a few posts....
Nick B (DWT)
26 comments:
We can see two peregrines. One is sitting on the tower and the other one is on the camera! We think they are both juveniles. They must have been eating a lot because we can see lots of feathers in the box. We can see the wing of the one sitting on the camera! The one on the tower keeps on looking up into the sky. We think it is quite hungry.
Just returned from ''The Green '' it was wonderful to see the juveniles in flight, they all look very strong. Good luck and god bless and we look forward to next year.... x
9.24a.m. one peregrin on the scrape and one at the puccing cam
Is that a dead peregrine or prey on the pudding cam??
Neither Terri !!!!!!!
The juvs do lie down and look rather dead but they are, as the saying goes, 'just resting'....so don't worry Terri.
Rather changeable here today - oscillating between bright hot sun and dark grey clouds with some rain. Hope tomorrow and Saturday will be better for the last two WPs.
Nick B (DWT)
The pud cam lens seems to be somewhat cloudy - I think because the juvs have been leaning on it! Nothing we can do about that now since you either have to climb over onto the outside to get to the lens or try to abstract the whole camera unit, neither of which are possible while the juvs are up there and so close by. We don't want them disappearing away from the tower as happened last year.
Nick B (DWT)
OK, and I take it that's prey dangling in a rather macabre manner infront of the left camera view?!
I have tomorrow off work. If anyone's going to tomorrow's WP you may be unfortunate enough to see me.
I see what looks like some prey hung out to 'mature' on the rhs webcam!
There is one juv in view on the pudding cam.
what is hanging off the left camera? is it just feathers?
There a very warm juv on the tower, wings slightly open to cool itself.
I'm wondering if that is prey hanging (?) on the bottom lefthand view of the lefthand webcam. If it is it seems to being watched by a falcon on the pudding cam view.
14.47 Just got back from the Cathedral Green.
It's been a nice day out, although if you're going to tomorrow's Watchpoint, take a jumper or thin coat. When the sun goes behind that cloud it's rather chilly.
Saw all the juveniles and both adults. One of the juvs brought in food, although we are unsure whether (s)he caught it or was passed it. We certainly didn't see any adult with food.
I am just about to finish work and there is a very noisy peregrine which has been flying around for the last half hour or so, it has landed on the last "N" of Jurys Inn but immediately taken off again. The magpies on St Michael's Church don't seem too bothered by it! Does anyone know if any of the youngsters from previous years have been seen? It would be interesting to know if they have found nesting sites and are breeding themselves. Pam, Derby
The juveniles wing is in the way of the camera so I can't really see anything at all! I think it is the female. I wonder when the adults will come back.
Hi Pam: no, we have no news of any of the young from previous years. It would be nice to have one breeding somewhere else but so far, no reports have been received.
Fingers crossed....
nick B (DWT)
Kitty: the tiercel was on the scrape ledge earlier today.
@nick b......has the ''thing'' on the left hand camera of the scrape been identified with the scopes today ?... It sure looks very odd. The juves seem to be very photogenic on the pudding cam... x
Oh I can just see an adult sitting on the ledge of the scrape LHS the prey hanging over is covering the full view. S/he is just visible on the left of the prey.
Could someone please pass that juvenile a chamois leather cloth while it's up close against the camera?
Watchpoint report for Saturday.
We arrived at 10am to perfect conditions.A bonus for the final watch point of the year.
As we walked up Irongate we became aware of 4 birds flying above calling to each other. This caused many shoppers to stop and look up at them. This was the 4 juveniles getting excited that mum was returning with food. They are now becoming confident flyers and are difficult to distinguish from their parents in flight.
All 4 young and both parents were seen at various points of the morning.
We were treated to at least one bird being present and visible on the cathedral throughout the session and most of the time more.The juveniles provided some good aerial displays during the morning with one thinking she could fly off with a large prey item for herself, she had to land on the silk mill roof and finish eating it there.
Dad arrived mid morning with more food and left it for the chicks to help themselves.
The prey item obstructing the vision on the webcam appears to be a feral pigeon but is hard to identify accurately as is is mainly obscured by the webcam itself. This was probably dropped when the young were trying to learn the art of plucking and may be retrieved when required on a wet day.
Over 100 people visited the watchpoint today. As always, some visiting for the first time and others who are now old friends. Every year the time we spend doing the watchpoints seems to go quicker, however the pleasure remains ours. Thanks for the donations and the kind comments and we hope to see you all next year. Chris, Andy and Helen
I was on Cathedral Green about 08:45. I joined six or seven others with their cameras and telescopes trained on the birds. We could see the falcon on the top of one of the pinnacles, with one juvenile on the grotesques on the east face, and another one on the north face grotesques. At about 08:55, the juvenile from the east face then flew off and we watched it chase a pigeon past Jury's Inn and Rivermead House, but it didn't catch it. Several pieces of pigeon could be seen on the floor outside the main cathedral door, but the dead bird remains draped over the right hand camera on the nest ledge.
Found: one small pair of binoculars has been left at a Watch Point at sometime. If anyone claims them please indicate the make etc in an email addressed to me to enquiries@derbyshirewt.co.uk
Thanks
Nick B (DWT)
The webcam view is close up and personal - 'get outa me face' s/he says!
One peregrin on the high cam and another on part of the scrape. 9.30p.m. sunday
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