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| Screenshot of our new blog design. Tell us what you think. |
Having recently gained Heritage Lottery Fund support for the Derby Cathedral Peregrine Project, one of the jobs we're now doing is redesigning our blog.
We are going to want to accommodate the new content we'll be developing over the next year or so. We also want to incorporate our new logo which has been designed by our latest partner, Derby Cathedral Quarter.
We've already consulted with a handful of people, but now we want to invite everyone to comment on its appearance before it goes live, and to make constructive suggestions for changes or improvements.
This new design (shown opposite) is intended to give us a number of extra features, though not all will be in use or available immediately.
These are:
- Better brand identity by prominent use of our new project logo and roundel.
- Brighter, friendlier appearance.
- Better navigation
- Direct and obvious links to key pages by use of permanent Tabs at top of the home page (e.g. to webcams and FAQs)
- Introductory multi-lingual content (in Polish, Urdu and Punjabi to reflect three of Derby and Derbyshire's most frequently spoken minority languages). Could you help us with this task, or translate content into other languages for us?)
- Clear links to our new Twitter feed: @DerbyPeregrines.
- Clear links to resources for Schools and for children.
- A FAQ Tab for those Frequently Asked Questions.
- External links to other webcam projects and peregrine resources.
- Access to a gallery of work created by local schools, community groups etc.
- Retain and build on links to everyone's photos or screenshots posted on Flickr.
- A single, scannable QR code which recognises the language of a user's mobile phone and takes them to a Wikipedia entry on peregrine falcons in one of 70 languages!
- Allow some of you to become 'Peregrine Champions' and help us blog, tweet and otherwise engage with new communities around Derby with help, support and resources provided by the Project Team. And not necessarily in the English language!
The questions we'd like answers to are:
- What do you like about it?
- What don't you like about it?
- Is it easy to navigate?
- Does the colour scheme work for you?
- Does it display OK in your browser or mobile phone? (Simpler template for phone users)
- Are there important features missing that we should include?
- Is the right side of the home page too full, or do you find it helpful?
- If you speak another language fluently, would you be willing to help create content in that language for us?
- Is the 'comments' box enough? Is there a need for a built-in discussion forum for users to sign-up to?
Our new email address is peregrines@derbyshirewt.co.uk
We look forward to hearing from you.
Nick Moyes
(Peregrines & People Technical Advisor)
Nick Brown
(Lead Volunteer for Derby Cathedral Peregrine Project)
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| Our new roundel, designed for us by Derby Cathedral Quarter |
A juvenile peregrine with prey visible on the tower camera this evening, (17:55). It looked to be male, judging by the size of it. Hopefully it managed to catch the prey itself. One of the adult birds was sitting on the platform when it brought the food in. Very good to know that there's still at least one juvenile doing well.
ReplyDelete2 juveniles near webcam one 2nite at 21.50pm from Christine
ReplyDeleteHi nick b. Just wondered why 2 of our juveniles are still around the tower! I thought That the adults would Have chased them off by now! From Christine
ReplyDeleteChristine Hi: not necessarily. One year we had a juv well into September as I recall. I suspect (but don't know for sure) that the juvs just move away gradually rather than being chased as such.
ReplyDeleteNick B
Thank you Nick for the Aylesbury mention.
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to really hammer the point home that we are all only able to spot and identify the juveniles because of the highly visible leg bands that were put on in addition to the regular metal ones. Our Aylesbury ones are bright orange and one has large black letters "LA" and the other "LB". Some nearby birders at Oxford spotted LB for us and they posted an image on their website, which is here http://portmeadowbirding.blogspot.co.uk/
This to me shows the value of ringing, we would never have known otherwise. Nobody has spotted LA for us yet so please everyone, keep your eyes open!
Oh yes, I should have answered the main question too! I was actually one of "the handful" (I'm honoured!) so have commented directly to the team but YES, I like the refreshed design. I don't know if I'm a peculiar type of customer or not, but I have to say I actually get as much out of the blog as the actual images! I love the way that we ask each other questions and learn that way. So, all the ways of involving more and more people are good in my book. The obvious thing of involving large minority language speakers had never occurred to me, but it's so obvious. I hope you'll include Aylesbury in your "links to other sites"!! :)
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, I find it harder and harder to prove I'm not a robot when posting comments (or do I just need new specs?)
I was in my garden in Allestree at the weekend when a party of birds of prey flew overhead calling to one another. Of course, by the time I'd fetched my binoculars the birds had moved on. My first thought was that they were buzzards, as I've witnessed this behaviour of theirs in rural Shropshire, but then I wondered if they could have been the peregrine family?
ReplyDeleteKate
Hi Kate: they were probably buzzards as you thought since the adult peregrines tend to stay around town and the young disperse individually, not in groups. Buzzards are very noisy at this time of year but of course they are much bigger with longer, broader and rounder wings than peregrines. The young buzzards are very vocal now, making a range of mewing noises.
ReplyDeleteHope tat helps.
Nick B
Thanks for confirming that, Nick. Difficult to tell size as they were v. high, but I think they had broad wings.
ReplyDeleteKate