Because we can never be sure by watching the webcameras if their first flight has been a success, we try and get down to Cathedral Green to check things out for ourselves. Though we rely heavily on others to keep us informed of problems.
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| And then there were three (Screen capture 9am 19th June) |
If you as a webcam watcher see either the fourth bird returning to the nest ledge (which is rare in the first day), or if you see others leave the nest, or if you encounter signs of a young peregrine out of its nest on or above the streets of Derby - do please keep us informed by one or more of the following :
- Ringing Derbyshire Wildlife Trust during office hours (01773 881188) - emergencies only please!
- Leave a comment on this blog
- Emailing the project: peregrines@derbyshirewt.co.uk
- Contacting us via Twitter or Facebook
The microphone on Stream 4 is a good way for us to monitor peregrine activity, and to listen for the alarm call of the adults. Should anyone in Derby encounter a young peregrine, please do not attempt to pick it up. If it's safe, leave it where it is and contact us. Their talons are immensely sharp.
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| 021 on St Michael's - photo Ian Bradley |
This is a dangerous time for peregrines - fledging and the days shortly afterwards are the most challenging, and not all survive. But for us they're also the most exciting.
Update 2pm Wednesday 19th: the fledged bird was soon located on the top of St Michael's church close to the cathedral. He stayed there all morning, watched by the female. The remaining three youngsters peered down or flapped around on the platform while below we held an impromptu watch point, mainly set up for a small group of people from a local care home.
The female then sat herself just below the nest in the shade, a favourite place for her. A very high-flying peregrine, presumably the male was spotted by Christine who also picked out two very high flying cormorants passing over the city. Lower down, four swifts were good to see - this bird is declining fast! One remaining chick had the colour ring 022 on its leg so that one hasn't gone yet for sure...
The next open Watch Point is this Saturday, 11 to 2pm so hope to see some of you down there, weather permitting. How many chicks will have fledged by then I wonder? Update Weds evening: thanks to Ian and Christine for reporting that 021 flew to Jurys Inn sign and then over to the cathedral - so this one seems a very competent flier already! Great news.....
Nick B (DWT)
SPRINGWATCH
Video clips from our project were featured on the BBC's Springwatch programme last Thursday and you can see them (if you live in the UK) at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b02xccpk/Springwatch_2013_Episode_12/ .
The sequence begins about 37 minutes into the programme, after a piece on rabbits.
The collage of video clips from Derby, Sheffield, Norwich and Nottingham gives a good idea of the various nest platforms and boxes and the awful snowy conditions that the birds had to deal with earlier in the season.
The Derby clips include a close up of the female inspecting the new camera, the snow in the platform, eggs and chicks on the platform and night-time feeding. Well worth a watch.....
UPDATE Thursday evening (20th): all four chicks now in the nest platform (thanks Christine, Sally Whale and Linda)) and it's raining cats and dogs - so it's unlikely there'll be any fledging tonight.
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| 021 constrained by a pigeon wire on St Michael's - photo Ian Bradley |
Update 2pm Wednesday 19th: the fledged bird was soon located on the top of St Michael's church close to the cathedral. He stayed there all morning, watched by the female. The remaining three youngsters peered down or flapped around on the platform while below we held an impromptu watch point, mainly set up for a small group of people from a local care home.
The female then sat herself just below the nest in the shade, a favourite place for her. A very high-flying peregrine, presumably the male was spotted by Christine who also picked out two very high flying cormorants passing over the city. Lower down, four swifts were good to see - this bird is declining fast! One remaining chick had the colour ring 022 on its leg so that one hasn't gone yet for sure...
The next open Watch Point is this Saturday, 11 to 2pm so hope to see some of you down there, weather permitting. How many chicks will have fledged by then I wonder? Update Weds evening: thanks to Ian and Christine for reporting that 021 flew to Jurys Inn sign and then over to the cathedral - so this one seems a very competent flier already! Great news.....
Nick B (DWT)
SPRINGWATCH
Video clips from our project were featured on the BBC's Springwatch programme last Thursday and you can see them (if you live in the UK) at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b02xccpk/Springwatch_2013_Episode_12/ .
The sequence begins about 37 minutes into the programme, after a piece on rabbits.
The collage of video clips from Derby, Sheffield, Norwich and Nottingham gives a good idea of the various nest platforms and boxes and the awful snowy conditions that the birds had to deal with earlier in the season.
The Derby clips include a close up of the female inspecting the new camera, the snow in the platform, eggs and chicks on the platform and night-time feeding. Well worth a watch.....
UPDATE Thursday evening (20th): all four chicks now in the nest platform (thanks Christine, Sally Whale and Linda)) and it's raining cats and dogs - so it's unlikely there'll be any fledging tonight.
48 comments:
It looks like the fledged youngster is lying settled on the stonework from tower cam. Glad it is safe.
At about 11.05am I think I saw the fourth chick return to the nest and then go again!
we hafe seen one of the chiks flaping its wings .We think it wull go soon.We keep counting how meny chiks there are.
We saw the fourth chick on the stonework below the nest ledge at 13.47. Did it hop down or did it fly?
Class 2M
Gorsefield Primary School
Radcliffe
The fledged youngster, one of the males no doubt, flew to the top of a rather squat church tower near the cathedral. It's called St Micael's and is now the offices for an architect. The bird was still there when I left about 1pm.
Nick B (DWT)
should be St Michael's of course.....it's been alomg hot morning!
Hi Nick
Thanks so much for the progress report about our first fledger. It's reassuring to know that you know where he is and, even more importantly, his mum and dad know too!
Hopefully, we'll get to a watchpoint soon - you have been warned!
Be well, Jane
Hi Jane: good to hear from you and looking forward to seeing you on The Green sometime (though the weather is not looking great for this Saturday someone said).
nick
ps the fledged bird is 021 I'm told....
Lovely to hear they're fledging. My local peregrines had their 4 chicks stolen from the nest earlier this month :( They were 4 weeks old. The parents have been breeding on my patch for a few years so I do hope they will return next year.
18:26hrs on Weds 19th and I'm seeing 3 very enthusiastic flappers on the cams! Darn, you had a fledge today and I missed it!! I KNEW I should have come up to todays small watchpoint! I make the juvs between 38 and 41 days old, so I was confident they were going to fly any time soon. The eggs hatched at roughly one day intervals so I wonder if fledge will be like that? It's such a frantic time for the adult birds, it must be hard for them too having to look after 4 young ones all over the place. I'm sure they'll cope though, what a brilliant pair of parents they always are. And what a great team of watchers and potential rescuers we have too, well done and thanks all.
And PS Louise, so sorry to hear your news. I don't know where you are or which police area you're in, but I hope that it's been reported to your police Wildlife Crime Officer and the National Wildlife Crime Unit. The latter's website is here http://www.nwcu.police.uk/
Juvenile that fledged this morning now perched on the I on jurys inn! From Christine
Some shots of 021 Juvenile on St Michael's church today are on the Flickr page
Ian
Juvenile that fledged this morning is back on cathedral in food stash! Other juveniles just been fed in box! From Christine
Think it was Dad. It's breast feathers are white and looks like Mum is perched on the tower- maybe watching the fledgling out of the nest? thought one of the others would fledge earlier. it was making practice flights along the box and at one point climbed up out and was perching precariously on the angled side of the box. Then Dad appeared with food.....
:-)
What is the nest made out of Louis
Anonymous, the answer to your question is one that Louise should only share with the police and Wildlife Crime Unit. I'm sure you will understand :)
Wow, thank you so much everyone for the updates and photos. Can't believe that the 2 days I've been offline, I have missed the first flight! And I'm on the motorway most of tomorrow :( Next year, I am rearranging my diary from the hatching dates! Greetings, Ian & Christine - could just imagine you tracking all this from the ground. You did a great job last year too. Say hi to Cliff. Wonder if the female chick will be last to go? or the smallest male that was chick 4? Safe journeys to them all.
Hi Class 2M at Gorsefield: sorry I missed your comment yesterday.
What you were seeing below the nest was the adult female. She often perches there when the young are about to fly.
The first (and so far only) chick to leave the nest undoubtedly flew off the platform, not jumped down.
This morning (Thursday) it is wet in Derby and I doubt the remaining three will leave today - but we'll see!
All the best,
Nick
Staffordshire Wildlife Trust had chicks go missing from a watched site, their disappearance and location were publicised a week or so ago. Heartbreaking for chicks, adults and all those who strive to protect them.
Meanwhile the Derby three are still keeping us guessing!
Update on fledgling from yesterday is up on right hand pinnacle as seen from the green! From Christine
We have just watched the Spring watch clip... it was very interesting because we saw how the peregrines survive in different ways. We saw the bird that was buried in the snow, but we thought it was dead. We were very pleased when we saw that it was ok. It was very exciting to see the small bird in the nest box. Luckily for the bird it escaped before the chicks could eat it!!
It is very nice to see that our first chick has fledged. We hope that all the chicks will start to fledge. We hope that they stay safe and dont get into too much trouble!
Looks as if a second chick has left within the last hour (thanks Linda). Will go and have a look for it asap and report back!
Nick B (DWT)
Linda - there are now three in the box plus an adult feeding them and Ian tells me he can see one juvenile below the platform (yesterday's fledger) - so wherever that youngster hid away, he or she is now back in view (they do climb up the strap and the sides when they start flapping!)!
So we can relax awhile......
Nick B (DWT)
All 3 juveniles are still in box asleep! Christine
Yesterday while at school I saw the chicks getting feed with what looked like a duck. Now I can't recognise which are which because they look so big.
15:45 hrs on the 20th and, peering through the murk of stream 4 I THINK I see three juvs still. They are all patiently waiting, standing perfectly still. If they had a notice that said "please feed me" I am sure they'd be holding it up.
Yes Holmesdale School, I thought the stories about the birds at other places was very interesting too. I wasn't surprised that the mother peregrine was OK in the snow - peregrine falcons are very tough birds, but I was amazed that she kept those eggs warm and they hatched out. What a great mother bird she is!
1719 and it looks like all 4 chicks are in the nest being fed by I think it's Mum! Nice to know the fledgling from yesterday is ok.
Linda
All 4 juveniles in nestbox being fed by adult! Christne
About 20:10 Derby time, and indeed, as the blog said, four youngsters together again in what looks a very wet scrape. Didn't expect to see the fledgling back again!
Congratulations to everyone involved in the Project. It has been an excellent year so far.
And many thanks to Superbrad for yet more terrific photos
Deb from Canada.
The four juveniles are still together in the nestbox, 3 on the rhs and the fourth on the left-hand rim of the scrape. They all look very well
08.30 Only 3 in the nest this morning and it looks like Mum watching over them.
And four again!
Hello Nathan. It is difficult to tell the difference between the juveniles and the adult birds sometimes, especially if the juveniles have their backs to the camera. If you look carefully you will see that the juveniles have a cream coloured tip at the end of their tails. The juveniles are also much browner than the adult birds. The stripes on the adult birds go up and down but on the juveniles they run horizontally across their body. I hope that helps!
16:26 only two visible now.
Yes, I agree anonymous - I was just taking some screen grabs but got interrupted and couldn't believe I'd missed it! Just going over timings on grabs again now to try and pin down roughly when... when do you reckon?!?
3 fledglings at 16.05ish and 2 on platform and one of corbel below at 16.25.
Fantastic Julie - I'm so pleased for you! Just posted a few screen grabs on Flickr though perhaps someone got THE moment? Hope so :) With food arriving etc, must have been plenty to see from the green below. Btw, we're so lucky to have such fab photographers helping out from here... just love the detail on the professional-looking shots on Flicker that you've all posted. Thank you everyone.
@ Nathan and @ Sara, just to put it right, the adult birds have horizontal stripes and the juveniles have vertical streaks up and down. :-) everything else is right.
Phoebe
Thanks to everyone for your helpful comments and emails about what has been happening today. I was out of county until 5pm but meanwhile Tony and Dawn Grantham raced into town about 4.15 when they heard one juvenile was on the ground outside a nearby hairdresser's shop. The bird flew up into a tree and then very strongly upwards and away round the back of the Silk Mill.
When I was down there just now, one juv was on a pinnacle above the nest and two in the nest still plus both parents present too. So I'm sure these two fledgers will be fine. Christine and Cliff are spending the next few hours down there so they will keep an eye open and report back.
Nick B (DWT)
Checked in a couple of hours ago, and two falcons were still there, excercising their wings... Now, both have gone... I wish them all the best...
still a lot of excercising maybe one will be leaving the nest today
She's gone at last 06.54 she was still there when i first looked an hour earlier
This morning i saw all the males on the tower.
has the flew awey or is it sitting at the side of the corner ?
i meen has the female flew away or is it sitting at the side of the corner?
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