Update Saturday 12 March: a second egg is visible this morning - thanks to Jean and Angela N for the heads up! It looks to be a lot paler than the first egg and we recall that last year, the first egg was also very pale and failed to hatch. We hope this one is OK!
After days of delays due to weather, and having to keep away whilst an essential survey of the stonework after a small piece of stone had fallen off a few days ago, we finally managed to get access to the tower today to clean the platform and cameras. Nick M abseiled down to do the work, whilst Nick B monitored from inside, and gave feedback from our monitors via walkie-talkie.
We finished around 2:30pm and, to our great surprise, the female returned to the nest platform very soon after we left and promptly laid her first egg of 2022, fully eight days earlier than last year (17th)!
These screenshots were captured by Kate in Devon just before 5pm:
The clean up went well. As you can see the gravel was cleared of prey remains and some new gravel was added. The scratched camera cover on the Axis camera (Nestcam 1) was replaced, and the camera itself being slightly lowered and angled so the whole of the gravel side of the nest platform is now in view.
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| Checking the online cameras prior to readjustment |
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| Camera cover replacement and adjustment |
16 comments:
Is there a reason the camera has been angled to prevent seeing any of the slate area?
Wonderful work Team. It seems Mrs P was waiting for the cleaners to come before starting her next clutch. :)
@anonymous In a way, yes, but it wasn't intentional. Right at the end of the day, just as we were leaving, and when we'd been unable to see nestcam2 online at all, we attempted a hard reboot of the camera. We left, thinking that we'd simply have to come back another day to attempt to resolve the issue. (we also found a poorly connected ethernet cable going into out switch, and fixed that, too.) I'm not sure which one it was, but we got back home and found nestcam2 online again. But the reboot process took the lens position back to its central point, no longer looking down on the platform.
We will have to go back another day and resolve this, but for now we're simply grateful that we managed to get the platform and other camera issues addressed before nesting started.
Thank you for your question.
I did say she would lay when platform was cleaned. well done. Waiting with anticipation for more eggs.
Well done Team.
Good S/cap on Flickr,of the 'very speckled Egg'as Mrs was away maybe for a comfort break.
Hope the School children, are able to view , and participate again this year.
Fantasic work team and great news, so pleased to hear. Things are really hotting up at Aylesbury now, which over the years has almost been the "twin project" with Derby. Our female bird this morning is on the gravel, shuffling round and scraping at it. So strange to see that coincides with your first egg-laying.
Hi @Sue. Great to hear yours are in sync.
I'm a bit worried about the egg, I've seen mama bird sitting near it but not on top of it, asleep on the ledge completely apart from it, and absent altogether without the male having taken over. I remember the old female never seemed to be off the eggs unless the male was there to take over. Can peregrine eggs survive this way?
Hi anon: - don't worry. Full incubation doesn't start until the third or even fourth egg is laid. This means that they hatch close together and the chicks are more or less the same size and get fed equally. The egg can be left cold for days but will still develop once incubated.
The Project Team
we hav seen a egg for the first time. the perigen sat on the egg. we will look to morow to see if ther is an uver egg.
Hello Badger Class: it is great that you are watching the peregrine falcons with their first egg!
Eggs are laid about every two days so maybe there will be a second one later tomorrow (Friday) or during Friday night/Saturday morning hopefully.....
The Project Team
Still the one egg so far and I think the tiercel is on the egg at the moment. Good to see him doing his bit :)
Just seen that there are 2 eggs this morning
Saw the second egg at 7:38. Where can I send the screen grab?
Lovely shot of mum looking back
Hi Angela: please send screengrabs to peregrines@derbyshirewt.co.uk
Thanks
The project team
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