Things are getting confusing now, what with juveniles fledging and then returning.
Yesterday we had all three juveniles back on the nest platform, and this morning we had a helpful blog comment left by Nick Shailer in Australia (thanks Nick!) who noted the precise time this morning that our second juvenile had flown from the nest. Noting the exact time-stamp really helped, and this allowed me to 'look' inside the camera and extract some of the video recordings that are automatically made on movement detection.
So below are two clips of the moment of fledging of youngster number two, taken just a few seconds apart.
At the time of writing (2pm), Nick B has just returned from Cathedral Green to check where she was, although by the look of its strong flight (see the second clip below) it seemed likely to be fine.
Nick said he could see one (male) still in the nest platform, one on the stonework below the nest and a third on top of Jury's Inn. Judging by size alone, it seemed likely the Jury's Inn bird was the newly-fledged female from this morning and the one below the first fledging male.
Nick Moyes
UPDATE MONDAY 9 AM: a lovely sunny morning saw one fledgling on top of Jurys, the male still in the nest platform but no immediate sign of the third. I'm sure it will be up there somewhere out of view from the ground. Meanwhile nearby, the small colony of white letter hairstreak butterflies are now on the wing on an elm tree.....good to see them again. More on this in a later blog post (and on the 'pigeons' on the tower).
Really good BBC East Midlands Today TV piece (featuring Ian) was shown twice today already and hopefully will be again this evening. Should be available later to watch on iplayer..but only for a week! Link to follow.
Peregrine Falcons first nested on Derby's Cathedral, England, in 2006. Our Peregrine Project is now run by a partnership between Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, Derby City Council, Derby Cathedral and the Cathedral Quarter. Here is what's happening in 2024. . .
19 comments:
So wonderful to see this! Thank you.
Brilliant! After all that flapping and jumping up and down, it always amazes me how they can just suddenly take off like an expert and disappear in to the distance! I never get tired of seeing that! A great video clip - thanks for posting it.
A dither in the Scrape
Should I go or should I stay?
Perhaps best wait just one more day.
Another good feed and a days more chime,
Might strengthen my wings to the upward climb.
Oh, if only Mum would bring some grub,
I'd know then if shouldn't, should be should.
Bird returned to tower with catch -looks like Mum - and noise from an out of sight juvie, playing drums on the cam audio equipment. Hope any leftovers are brought to the scrape, as the lonely juvie must be very hungry by now.
2143 Think it's Dad who has just arrived with prey. Tug of war between parent and chick, chick happily eating whilst parent perched for a minute and then flew off. Can hear cries from other Juvies but not sure from where.
Been watching to see if he got some food. Glad he has now. Feeling sorry for him up there on his own.
Really enjoyed the videos. Priceless! As a loner he hasn't been well looked after. Took so long in-between feeds. He must be lonely after having company for so long. But soon he too will leave and we shall all be the lonely ones. This is my first journey with the falcons and I totally enjoyed it. Will be back for more next year. Thanks to all for their updates. I hope I see this one leave the nest. I will keep checking.
Tx so much for the videos, Nick M! I must have just missed Nick B yesterday as I drove down and had a fabulous morning watching the antics. No 2 fledged before I got there, but there was plenty to see as the falcon was busy getting food from the stash at the top of the window. She flew to feed the juvie on the roof of Jury's while the tiercel swapped to the cathedral where he sat on a high ledge with a pigeon on the opposite side! They looked like mismatched china dogs either side of a fireplace - and ignored each other.
Later he flew to reclaim the food from Jury's and returned to the middle gargoyle on the top ledge to pluck it further. One of the juvies on the scrape flew to Jury's but didn't get the height needed to land on the J so circled round and disappeared to land somewhere behind the trees - probably on the Silk Mill. The falcon came back and took up her look-out position on the top pinnacle. The Jury's juvie arrived on the cathedral roof and peered down at the tiercel with the food on the gargoyle. The to and fro was a reminder of how the three tall buildings (cathedral, Jury's and the Silk Mill) are key perches in the early flights.
My favourite moment was when one of the juvies decided to come down from the tower to the scrape but did so by spiralling round and round the cathedral! Gorgeous moment and I couldn't help thinking how quickly it had learnt to do THAT! All in all a wonderful morning of watching. Thank you project team!
Hi Caroline - sorry I missed you. Sounds as if you had plenty of action to watch....rather better than on WP day.
Nick B
Hope the last juvie will take to the air today.
We wont be lonely though, even after it does take the plunge. The high elevation of the scrape, tower ledges and gargoyles, will all continue to be used as a base by the whole family, as the parents begin in earnest, to teach the youngsters how to accept their food via mid-air passes, (which we wont see) and learn how to process and eat the food back at base ( which we will see) in the coming weeks and even months!
Hi Lorraine,
the last one is a little bit of a scared y at the moment, he keeps sitting inside and just peeking over.I saw I think an Adult trying to tempt him/her this morning and he almost lost footing chol:):)
This is such a wonderful site all year round.Thanks to dedication of our two Nicks and others.
Kate
Thank you for posting all your updates on the Peregrines. Still one lone Juvie left on the scrape, and if I remember correctly last year it did not seem as though the Peregrine Family wanted to ever leave. It has been lovely to watch. Thank you to everyone for letting us have a peek into the lives of the Peregrines and to watch them grow. Cheers from the U.S.
hi nick
been down to derby cathedral tonight both parents and 2 juveniles on jury inn
cliff. Christina
This poor little guy seems to be so hungry he was trying to eat something left over from yesterday. Has anyone seen him get food since early morning?
Abby Lynn I've seen him fed twice today and may have been more. The female chick has spent quite a bit of time in the scrape with him, Saw Dad come back 3 times, though once he took a carcass away. Maybe they're trying to encourage him to fledge. But promise he has been fed.
Thanks Linda. I've missed a bit today and didn't see him eat. Looks like he's eating now. I kind of thought the same thing. Make him hungry enough to fly out.
1:00am Update. Lone Juvenile is sleeping while an adult is keeping watch a short distance away. Earlier they were very restless, flapping wings and running along the ledge. Perhaps when the sun rises they will be ready to fledge.
4:45am Feeding Time!
Mom came just before 8 am and the little fella was so happy to see her. She fed him and he ate like a little pig. So happy to mom is still feeding him. She seems awfully hungry herself. After he ate he went straight to a corner.
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