Comments were made by some blog readers on Tuesday about apparent feeding by the male of the female whilst she was nestling the downy white chicks. Not recollecting seeing this behaviour before, I went up into the cathedal tower today to check the footage. And sure enough, there was the evidence for all to see. So I've retrieved and embedded it below for all to see.
For those with a weak heart or sensitive ears, I offer the following safety warning: "May Contain Bells"
79 comments:
Really interesting to see this feeding behaviour. Great to see all the videos and updates by Nick M. This year I think your coverage and updates are even better.
Jean
What a fascinating video clip. As well as the feeding, it makes the size difference very clear seeing them together like that. Thank you for all the work you are doing to help us share in this drama.
Nick M - Thank you so much for that wonderful video! It confirms what we all saw and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it, and with the bells too! You deserve a 'gold star' for that!
Again thank you so much, it is very appreciated.
Delightful video of the tiercel feeding the falcon. I notice that she was making small chirps - asking to be fed, and did not attempt to take over. Maybe it was the romantic music, the cathedral peregrine equivalent of a violin player by the restaurant table?
Oh! What a time to lose my internet connection for 40 hours, with the uncertainty of the number of chicks being debated, and such wondrous scenes to observe. Thanks to all for Blog comments and Flikr pictures - I am busy catching up.
The chicks had breakfast at 06:20, brought by the falcon. When she flew off with the leftovers, the tiercel flew in and inspected the brood. They were both there for a minute - I am not sure which one is sitting now. Please can we have a ribbon on one? or paint his tailfeathers yellow? It is so hard to tell them apart when you only see one.
Both birds were in the scrape again at 06:47 48 - I am not sure if it was not another parent to parent feeding?
Many thanks for retrieving the video clip. What a lovely moment for us to be able to see. Always something new to be learnt no matter how long you've been watching the webcams!
Yet another feed at 0730! They are not going hungry!
Just watched the feeding video - fantastic! Switched back to the webcam and lo and behold our male is feeding Mum again. What a start to the day!
I've been worrying all night about our chicks and the rain last night was absolutely torrential in Belper. Hopefully, all is well and we haven't suffered as Nottingham did last week.
Be well, Jane
07:42 The tiercel is feeding the falcon again. Pic on Flickr.
Glad to see you back REJ.
Do you think that the Tiercel feeding the Falcon could just be an extension of the instinct to feed the chicks? I know it is a hard mistake to make but as she was sitting on the chicks did he see her as just another "mouth"? Lovely to watch anyway!
Thank you Nick M! This new footage of the tiercel feeding the falcon on her cloud of babies is a joy, bells and all :) Judging from this and other clips, they waste very little of the prey. The chicks were left for a moment just now and all lifted their heads. They are becoming livelier by the day.
Anyone noticed the cluster map recently? It is red hot with visitors. Well done to all concerned for a great project and blog.
Thank you Nick M. for the wonderful footage of the tiercel feeding the falcon! I was lucky enough to be watching when it actually happened, but to see it again, complete with bells, was amazing to watch. Love your 'health and safety' warning by the way - it really made me laugh!
The falcon is feeding the chicks while the tiercel is sat on the tower.
That feeding video - AMAZING!!! Thank you Nick M. for retrieving & embedding it. You chaps are terrific, all this gives so much pleasure & all the time we're being informed & educated - like the BBC's Charter!
Is this another "first" for Derby? This behaviour may not be unique to the Derby pair but I've not heard of it anywhere else. "Our" two are so well bonded,it's magical to witness. Mind you I had to smile at the end where the tiercel finally hopped over to the falcon with the prey in his right foot & put it in front of her, as if he'd got tired of feeding her himself. Or maybe she'd signalled, somehow, that she preferred it that way? Whatever, it was a charming finale. I'm sure the children will be enchanted by this video.
Just done a weeks 'catching up' absolutely brilliant. Heartfelt thanks to all concerned, every moment a pure delight!!
Our little family is having another feed and they all look brilliant. Mrs P must have done a wonderful job last night as it rained non-stop for 10 hours yesterday. Happy days!
At last a feed where we can see the chicks!
I see the tiercel is on the corbel below the scrape, I wonder if that is where the falcon stashed the food.
More amazing video! Sorry for the anthropomorphizing, but I've watched the falcon feed herself without any trouble (whilst taking care to feed the chicks), so to my mind, this is peregrine love. What a treat. Thanks from Carol in SF
Fantastic video - great to see the male feeding the female. What a devoted couple they are. They truly deserve to raise a nice healthy family. The weather in Derby was apalling last night and so relieved to see they have weathered the storm. Let's hope this rotten weather is going to improve soon.
Mary T (Belper)
sent my last comment without putting my name on - sorry!
brilliant footage- very humbling
The falcon was away for 5 minutes and brought something big and juicy for the youngsters. She has just stopped feeding them and is having quite a job to get them all covered - they are growing very fast. mmm Perhaps it is him not her :)
Lots of comments about the bad weather. The Notts singleton is doing fantastic now, it's a huge monster, the upside of the horrible situation being that the one chick gets five star service and thrives. It's a worry with the other sites but they seem to be coping. Less well are the small birds in my garden. The wet, cold spring seems to be prodicing very small broods, the chicks are cold and hungry and don't make it. I have a robins nest with just 2 chicks and a blue tit nest with just one chick.
An earlier comment spoke about the cluster map - I looked and it's so interesting. Sorry to be dense, but whet is the red dot smack dab in the middle of the Pacific - Hawaii?
I laughed out loud at the cheeky "bell warning" :)
@Sue We think the red dot in the middle of the pacific is a regular blog visitor from The Cook Islands. We'd love to know who they are as they are clearly visit our blog regularly (according to our statistics). Hawaii would be much farther north.
Pics of the midnight feast the chicks enjoyed are on flickr. Was just off to bed when I caught the feed! Lucky chicks!
Breakfast was served just after 5am. The parent had it's back to the camera, sorry no chick-pix.
See Flickr for graphic on feeding frequency so far. Feed duration is mostly about 10 minutes.
08:30 Tiercel is on the chicks, falcon is on top of the tower cam and feathers are flying, it would suggest she is using the wecam as a plucking post.
More great screen-grabs from Phoebe and Rej (AT) on Flickr and they've put up a very interesting chart of the feeds recorded so far. Thank you both of you! I wonder if the number of night feeds go down as the chicks get older and can store more food in their crops at a time?
@ Sue. Glad all's well with the peregrines in Aylesbury and that you enjoyed the Cluster Map. Did you click it open and look at all the cities and countries listed and the number of hits? You can even spot the flag of the Cook Islands near the bottom of the list. Wouldn't it be lovely if they said hello?
I've just watched the wonderful video of the male feeding the female. I think they make a perfect couple.
I loved listening to the accompanying cathedral bells.
Thank you to Nick and his team who make it possible for so many folk to peer in on the 'private' lives of our peregrines.
THREE babysitters? I've just had a peek at Aria and Vento in Rome having not peeked for ages and was delighted to see the stunning adult feathers almost through on the 4 young. We have much to look forward to! Then I noticed 3 adults along the ledge behind the nest. I've got a screen grab for Flickr but it looks like the tiercel is on the raised perch at the back and perhaps 2 falcons are nearer the camera? One assumes that he wouldn't tolerate another tiercel? Could this be a young female from last year hanging around the nest? They've all been there for 30 mins since I opened the window so no signs of the third bird being chased away. I am 'off piste' going to Rome but hope you don't mind since it may be more interesting behaviour.
PS. After I'd posted two Rome screen-grabs on Flickr, I looked across again and all 3 babysitters had flown... and I missed what happened! That'll teach me not to take my eye off the birdies. Must do some work though now...
Absolutely fantastic video, super to watch. Great to see the little ones growing up. They do look small compared to Notts but that one is so much older.
Lovely to hear the bells in the background.
Caroline, with regard to the Italian peregrines, Aria and Vento, the third bird is Ariane, a last year's female that the pair did not drive away. She feeds her young siblings and babysits them while the parents are away. She also sits with them both sometimes, so you will see three adults. Apparently this is quite unusual, but very interesting to watch.
Re. clustr map dot in mid Pacific - we did once have contact with someone in Hawaii but this dot is not theirs. I always had the fanciful idea thst it was a loggerhead turtle with wifi connection watching in....
Nick B (DWT)
A Blogger-Head Turtle perhaps Nick?
We have just seen a vidoeclip with the male peregrine feeding the female something wile she was siting on the chicks. We thort it was funny.We have saw that the chicks have hatched and they are very tiny. On the vido we saw the female rigling about because she was trying to get the chicks under the broad patch.
http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/1-000-reward-vandals-attack-eggs-days-hatching/story-16031365-detail/story.html
Caroline - how lovely for the Rome birds to allow a previous youngster to stay around, there must be a reason for it, time will tell.
Rej - hehe 'Bloggerhead turtle' that made me chuckle!
I see the tiercel is struggling to keep his chick under control. The falcon was on the tower cam again, her tail giving the game away.
Nice one Rej!!
Nick
Afternoon tea is served.
The youngsters just had a very long feed. Mum with her back to the camera. There was on good shot but I missed it!
Hopefully another fan was quicker!
That was a long feed! The falcon had been gone quite a while, the tiercel was on the chicks. I know the falcon was sat 'on' the tower cam with tail flashing across the lens. The food looked fresh so maybe the falcon was plucking again on the tower cam. The chicks had a really good feed.
Another feed is underway, and the tiercel brought in the food and started feeding the falcon again. Now the falcon is feeding the chicks and the tiercel is sat on the scrape ledge on the right.
A delightful sequence on the webcams this morning. Just after 5am with Mr.P sitting, the falcon left the tower. At 5:24 she was back with a catch and spent 17 minutes preparing it, and maybe eating some also.
She delivered it at 5:41, and fed the chicks for 15 minutes, when Mr.P returned and proceeded to feed both her and what chicks he could reach for the next 15 minutes! And to think just a few days ago I speculated that he was idle!
Rudolph the red-nosed Blogger-head?
@ Penny. Wow, tx for info re the Italian peregrines. I remember a TV prog about foxes where female relations without cubs helped cub-sit. The suggestion was that looking after young with some of your genes is 'worth it' in evolutionary terms even if they are not your offspring. I enjoyed my peek at Rome but home is where the bells ring :)
@ REJ. Tx for Flickr-ing great screen-grabs of the tiercel feeding one and all. Perhaps this behaviour a side effect of the cold as she's staying put on her cloud of chicks more?
Looks like glorious sunshine in Derby, great for the chicks & I don't suppose the parents mind too much either, after the drenchings they've had!
BTW, 3 kestrel chicks have hatched at Aston, 2 eggs to go.
They have had lots of feeds today. Those youngsters are swelling visibly, and look so cute peeping out from underneath the parents.
I've noticed ther adult are leaving some food in the scrape near the chicks, this could possibly be for when the chicks start trying to feed themselves. It won't be too long until we see them pecking at the food.
13th 05:15 Breakfast delivered and fed by both parents, no-one went short this morning!
13th 09:05 Second breakfast.
It was noticeable that the chicks are getting some mobility, one in particular had eaten well and started creeping away until the lure of more food was too high.
A feed is in progress but one chick's more interested in exploring the scrape & looking out. My, what big feet you have, little one!
The chicks are getting another feed from the falcon. They were very active earlier, roving about the scrape. They look so funny.
The falcon has arrived with prey after half an hour while the tiercel sat with the chicks.
I seem to have lost my blogger login details again!
The falcon is feeding the chicks and the tiercel is sat on the corbel below the scrape. The falcon was gone for over 30mins while the tiercel wait patiently with the chicks. She could have caught fresh prey.
Thank you for the info about the Cook Islands. I was very lazy in not looking at my atlas but even now when I try, they are so hard to locate, just fragments in the South Sea Islands region. The ClusterMap puts one on the back foot bacause it infers the dot is to the "left" of Australasia, whereas the Islands are associated with New Zealand - ie to "the right". It would be so fantastic if whoever it is did make blog contact, we would so like to hear from you! Perhaps the visitor doesn't find it clear how to post a comment?
The next question that conmes to mind is "how does ClusterMap actually work out where people come from?". In the Uk for instance, I see several cities and towns, but I must be lumped into "Buckinghamshire" as I don't see an "Aylesbury". I don't recall ever telling you (or being asked) where I am, so how does it know?
The "Aylesbury Two" are thriving, some "proper feathers" are starting to come through. The scrape is getting into a yukky state.
There are ominous looking clouds seen across Derby viewed from the tower cam! It is raining somewhere nearby.
Chicks are due another feed very soon.
Well that was a good feed. Pics on flickr. The rain was over my house, I had a beautiful double rainbow and the pot of gold was in the field opposite! hehe
15th Tuesday: The falcon delivered breakfast at 5:13.
The youngsters continue to grow at an amazing rate - and yes what big feet!
OH! and now a second breakfast at 05:40 looks like a busy day.
3rd breakfast 08:40 They are starting to look a bit more bird shaped now, not just balls of fluff.
The left side cam seems to have frozen at 09:24am.
The multi view has a better time heading.
@Phoebe
You are on the ball this morning!
I'm working "behind the scenes" on the video server, trying to get beter date and time settings in advance of our new, exciting audio-visual stream which I'm trying to get set up.
Something I did must have locked up the server, though I can see and her it fine at my end.
Unfortunately there seems to be a glitch in the date/timeheader for the Quad Stream. If I put spaces between the words they look fine on the video server via my VPN, but on the public-facing steam they have percentage marks instead of spaces.
I may have to resort to a fullstop to make it look better.
Keep me informed of how it looks - this kind of feedback is really helpful.
Nick M.
The left cam is now working and the time is better displayed. The Derby Cathedral heading still has % in. I take it someone is fixing it :D
Hi NIck M, I am going out soon and am setting up auto grabs so won't be able to comment further just yet. The time is 10mins slow. Time and date look good now.
Time is showing again after the AM time on the left cam only.
Please can you set up some "Simple Person's Guide to Sharing" notes. I am particularly interested in Twitter. I don't understand the basics of what it is, let alone how to use it. I could probably research it, but in a busy life, time is a luxury that I don't always have.
@ Phoebe and REJ, tx for your ongoing grabs on Flickr. The cloud of chicks is becoming bigger and wrigglier! Yesterday, there were 3 chick-tails in a row but I've only just posted the pic.
Re feet: when I peeked at the Nott'm chick, I found the falcon sitting on the raised edge giving a perfect view of her hugely strong feet while the chick tested its wings, so I posted that too. The chick then fell over its feet but ;) How come peregrines don't bust their knuckles when they strike prey at huge speed?
Good luck with the new technology, Nick M!
Times look OK to me on both cams, but percentage signs still in header on left cam, as Phoebe identified. Tx again.
Well done - whover was busy zooming in with the webcam! I got a few nice screenshots of the youngsters dozing.
@ Nick-M ... you could try the underscore character, thats what I use when the system insists on replacing spaces. Like_this.
@rej Glad you found the zoomed in pics useful. There's only me with access to the cameras, so you'll know I'm online if you see the pictures change.
'fraid we're stuck with a poor header on the single video feed. The only way around it would be to do a complete factory reset of our video server -something I am very, very loathe to do for such a small irritant.
@SuePeregrino
We will be using Twitter more and more in the future to share topical comments and links to other peregrine events and news. I already send some related tweets out under my own name, but we will soon be getting active with a derbyperegrines twitter account.
So, rather than re-invent the wheel here is a simple introduction to Twitter for first-time users.
http://www.wikihow.com/Use-Twitter
and here's another one:
http://michaelhyatt.com/the-beginners-guide-to-twitter.html
Let me know how you get on.
Thanks Rej
I'm not going to try any more changes at the moment. It seems be causing our mpeg4 feed and live audio/video feed to freeze up (which we're currently testing behind the scenes). I've not yet got VPN access to reboot those encoding PCs remotely, so it puts an unfair load on the Council's IT contractors, SERCO, who are doing all this for us for free.
I have used underscores in the past to some effect, but will wait to try again later on.
Nick M.
Thanks Nick for the Twitter info. I've printed the tome and added it to the pile of "stuff to do"! Hopefully to be tackled when I get finished writing my Employment Law assignment!!!
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