A flurry of blog comments alerted me to our third egg being laid on Tuesday afternoon at 3pm Local time (GMT+1hr) Two screen grabs captured by viewers are shown below These were posted to our Flickr group.
And here is the moment of egg laying itself (3pm local time Monday 2nd April). We are aware that most schools cannot access YouTube, so we try to post a micture of videos and still images wherever possible. Scroll down to the bottom and we've posted another video of a beautiful changeover of the female by the male. It shows the three eggs clearly, as well as allowing you to see the size difference between the larger female and the smaller male (known as a tiercel)
From the amount of incubation done since the 2nd and 3rd egg were laid, it seems highly unlikely that we will get a fourth egg this year. Our falcon has laid four eggs every years since 2007, though records show they have just a 50:50 chance of reaching a year old.
It would be great to hear from any school children or teachers who saw the moment themselves, and to know what they thought of it. If anyone needs help in using Derby's amazing peregrines in the school environment, just post a comment/question here, or email us at enquiries@derbyshirewt.co.uk
Here is a clip taken on 3rd April showing our large female peregrine being relieved by the smaller male for egg-incubation duties.
Update: We are still experiencing temporary breaks in internet signal. We've traced this to a faulty power unit on our wireless bridge which sends out our internet signal via radio to the Silk Mill museum, and thence to Derby City Council's networks. A new power supply unit is on its way, courtesy of Gavin at SERCO, but in the meantime we may still experience short breaks as the unit cuts out from time to time and the signal is lost. We welcome comments from webcam viewers if they spot a fault in the connection lasting longer than a few minutes. Because all comments come to us by email for pre-moderation, we soon get to learn of any problems this way.
32 comments:
Brilliant! Hopefully another one to come then the incubating to start in earnest.
Let's hope the weather isn't too cold this week and over Easter.
Good to see that the third egg has arrived.
Yesterday I was watching peregrines in Les Gorges de l'Ardeche.... ....rather different terrain from our Derby birds.
It hasn't rained for weeks down here and everywhere is very dry but the trees are greening up and the migrants pushing north. We visited a migration watch point today but the wind had turned around and very few birds were passing. Yesterday they saw 20 ospreys and 140 marsh harriers plus the first hobby of the season and nearly 10,000 chaffinches go through!
Nick B (DWT)
Number 4 Thursday morning?
Great, number four now on Wed?
I’m still thinking because they ramped up the amount of incubation, near full on, certainly the last 24 hours, between #2 and #3, we’re not going to get a fourth this year, but if we do: With their average of about 65 hours between #3 and #4, that indicates around 10.00 Thursday morning. But they haven’t exactly been going to the averages, and why should they! On the other hand, if that #3 is their last, then a first hatch date should be around 2nd May.
RJ
My guess (based on the level of incubation activity happening so far) is that we're just in for the three eggs this season. Happy to be proved wrong.
Great to see 3 eggs - we have 3 in Hamilton, Ontario too. Hope that both pairs produce another egg each.
Note of interest - here in Canada we have a new 25-cent coin which has a peregrine falcon on the reverse - looks great and it's nice to see them being 'shown' to the general public even if it is on a coin!
glad to see 3 eggs hope we get number 4 Norwich has 4 jan
Most interestng are the thoughts on why there may not be a fourth egg. Every year the knowledge of bird activity increased by these webcams, identity tags and/or trackers.
Is it my imagination or eyesight or even an optical illusion that the egg nearest (just) to the back of the scrape seems smaller than the other two?
@Nick B, if you're trying to make some of us jealous with your stories of migration watching... it's working.
:)
Craig: i missed the migration.....didn't see a thing!
Nick
Poor Mrs Peregrine huddled up in the snow! Can't believe warm sunshine last week and now almost freezing and snow here in Derby. Hope it doesn't do any harm...
Derby snow! Poor Mrs P! Erica asked why three eggs and of course I don't know the answer. One could suggest that maybe she knew something about the weather that we mere mortals didn't know. Anyway here's hoping everything goes OK for the eggs and parents and the snow goes away quickly.
The falcon just left the eggs and flew up to the top in view of the wecam. She then flew back to the scrape as the tiercel was seen landing on the top with food. He moved up to the webcam and sat on the top of it. The falcon is now back on the eggs.
Norwich may have four eggs, but I bet it hasn't a lovely carillion like Derby. I visit your site to see the birds of course but what a joy to hear the bells again after all these years!
- Exile
Here's a question I doubt if anyone can answer...how does she know when she has laid all there are to lay? Or does she start to brood and that turns off the laying mechanism?
Mrs. Grantham Peregrine has laid a fourth egg today, so there is still hope that Mrs. Derby will produce a fourth egg too!
I've not been able to check much over the last couple of days but everytime I have the female is sat on her eggs... does this mean we are likely to only get 3? or is there still time for a 4th?
Rachel: with snow this morning and very cold air temperatures, it makes sense for the female to keep her three eggs warm. And anyway, incubation often starts before the fourth egg is laid...so we will just have to wait and see what happens I think.
Nick B
Rachel: with snow this morning and very cold air temperatures, it makes sense for the female to keep her three eggs warm. And anyway, incubation often starts before the fourth egg is laid...so we will just have to wait and see what happens I think.
Nick B
Thanks for the changeover video, it was good to hear the clocks chimes. As I always say I think the tiercel is just gorgeous1 so compact compared to the falcon. I watched a changeover from Tiercel to falcon earlier today.
I think we might have four eggs!
I think we might have four eggs!
I just seen food brought to the scrape, I got a pic but the camera was having a wobbler. As the falcon lifted off the eggs I thought but may be wrong that I saw four eggs. It could have been the red colour of the food but an not sure.
Tiercel is on the eggs and the falcon is on the tower eating breakfast.
Another very cold day, she looks as though she is keeping those eggs warm.
Definitely 4! Falcon came back around 09.19 to the scrape to resume incubation duties, and four eggs very clearly seen. I’m afraid I wasn’t quick enough on the screen grab.
RJ
WHEN WAS THE 4TH EGG LAYED?! HOW DID I MISS IT?!
We're Aylesbury "first timers" and we "only" have three eggs. But we're "egg-static" about this as it's a 3 times better outcome than last year which was one infertile egg. I'd concluded that it matched Derby's first year so was a typical first successful season size. Maybe this is still a valid conclusion if you do now have four in Derby.
Roman peregrines Aria and Vento have a live web cam AND have hatched chicks already.
link
http://www.birdcam.it/?lan=EN&act=cam&cam=1&gallery=
Thank you so much to the person who posted the link to Aria and Vento in Rome. I clicked on it and what a wonderful sight! The Falcon (Aria I guess) was feeding the chicks and I saw three little open beaks, then - so sad - a fourth little head struggled upwards. Three chicks were sitting on the fourth and it was looking so weak. It finally struggled free just in time to get the last couple of beakfuls before the prey was fully devoured! We have all this to look forward in this Country - can't wait!
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