Peregrines in Paradise - or in Peril? A post by Alice Smith - and the final one fledges.......

Update from Watch Point, Weds. 8th June by Antony Pooles:
An action packed and fab watchpoint today. All three juveniles were about, hurtling round the tower and nearby buildings, honing their skills chasing pigeons in company with the male. Two Red Kites flew over too! Photos by Dave Farmer (gdfotos.co.us) from earlier in the week. Next Watch Point this Saturday 11th June.....

Update Wednesday a.m.: Seems the final juvenile fledged very early this morning. Thanks to you night owls for keeping watch!

Hopefully this morning's Watch Point will locate her.
To read about the previous fledging and falling action scroll down to the previous post!

Watch Point Update Weds. PM by Helen.
It was a good watch point. The female juv finally fledged around 6am on Wednesdday morning, and was later seen by everyone at the watch point, perched on the end of the nave roof facing out towards the Green. She looked very settled until the end of the morning when she then started to do quite a lot of wing flapping and hopping around.  We thought she was going to go, especially when it started to rain but she was joined by one the male juvs and they were both still there when we left.  The two male juvs were perched side by side on the top of the tower for a lot of the time, which was great to see. They are both looking more confident now and made some short flights. We also saw the female juv eating, so she is clearly being supplied with food. I’m sure she’ll be ok. Both adults were also around and were on JI when the team left. 

For those of you new to this wonderful project, it was started back in 2006 and is now managed by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust.
Our excellent project partners are The Cathedral itself (of course) the city council's IT team who provide connectivity to the web cams and Cathedral Quarter, the marketing agency for that part of the city.

The Trust pays all the bills, organises the Watch Points and supports the project in many other ways too (so any donations you make are directed to the Trust and go specifically to this project).

This year we are extremely lucky to have a trainee, Alice Smith, working on the project and in addition, organising site protection work at other much more vulnerable peregrine nests out in the Derbyshire countryside where persecution occurs every year.

Alice has been at the Watch Points and helping with the rescues over the last few days and she has written this post for our blog (and if you scroll back down the blog, she also wrote an introduction to herself back in April):

Hello everyone, 
I’m Alice the new peregrine engagement trainee.
It’s been wonderful to see some of your faces at the Watchpoints over the last few weeks and to read your comments on the blog too!
I’ve been watching our Derby peregrines hatch, grow and fledge (both successfully and unsuccessfully) alongside all of you.
Being in this role has given me experiences of a lifetime; from rescuing a peregrine fledgling that decided to take a swim, to monitoring rural peregrines and running the watchpoints - and all within my first three months!

Unfortunately, throughout my time here I’ve realised how lucky our Derby Cathedral peregrines are. Our peregrines have 24/7 protection with the webcams and are living in a busy environment with people who appreciate them.
However unfortunately, this isn’t the case with rural peregrines. Across Derbyshire, peregrines are at risk. Our county’s chicks and eggs are being stolen and sold for use in falconry in the Middle East.
Sadly, one of Derbyshire’s nests has already been raided this year and video footage of a man stealing wild peregrine eggs has been released by the RSPB.
Watching the parent bird alarm call and lose its eggs is heart breaking, and not something any parent of any species should have to experience. 

Not only this, but once the peregrines have fledged, they still aren’t safe from certain humans. Raptors throughout the country are thought of by some as a pest, a nuisance, and an issue. Believing peregrines and other raptors are a pest has led them to be shot, poisoned, and trapped.

Raptors throughout history have struggled with a conflict with humans. Previously red kites were almost extinct and currently, the hen harrier is struggling for its survival with two males 'disappearing' on grouse moors in the Peak District a few weeks ago, leaving their females unable to incubate the eggs that had been laid. We don’t want our peregrines to have the same fate. 

Peregrine trapped at a Midlands nest site (photo: RSPB)

To combat this Derbyshire Wildlife Trust has set up a Peregrine Protection Team, where nest sites are watched daily. Over twenty volunteers have dedicated their time to protecting Derbyshire’s rural peregrines and we have had the success of watching peregrine chicks grow and escape persecution at one high-profile site which we have been monitoring and which has suffered robbery in the past.  

I just wanted to say a massive thank you to all the people watching on the web cams, volunteering, and donating to protect this amazing species, you’re all doing a superb job!
And thank you for letting me share this amazing (and very eventful) season with you all. It's not over yet!

Alice Smith

 Here are some links you may wish to follow to learn more about peregrine persecution in this county and in the UK:

Links to a local court case:

Derbyshire Police criticised as prosecution collapses against alleged peregrine egg thief in Peak District – Raptor Persecution UK

Peregrine suffers appalling injuries after being being shot & trapped in Suffolk – Raptor Persecution UK

Peregrine found shot dead on grouse moor in Strathbraan – Police Scotland refuse to publicise – Raptor Persecution UK

And you can learn more about the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and the work it does not only to protect raptors like peregrines but in so many other ways. If you live in the county, please consider joining us! 

Home | Derbyshire Wildlife Trust

Finally - watch out for Hen Harrier Day coming up in July!
More on this later.....

Saturday's Watch Point, a rescue, and some stunning photos

Saturday's Watch Point became a rather prolonged affair. Our second male (XL) fledged earlier that morning at 06:45am. And just as it began, a report was received that a bird had landed on St Mary's Bridge, behind the Silk Mill Museum (aka Museum of Making), and had fallen in the river.

Young male, XL, down by the River Derwent.

By the time our volunteers had found it, the bird was standing amongst vegetation beside the river. Another stealth capture with a big box and a large towel soon got him captured. 

An XL-ent capture (Photo Helen Naylor)

We returned via the Watch Point to let the visitors there take a quick look at him, sitting quietly in the box, before once again climbing the 200 or so spiral staircase steps and returning him to the roof of the Cathedral tower. Alice, our new Peregrine Engagement Officer lifted off the cover and gently let him out. 

 

Alice returned to the Watch Point, whilst I stopped to power up my laptop and vainly searched our movement-detection recordings in the camera for interesting clips showing either of the two young males' first flight. By the time I'd done, the Watch Point was almost over, and I stayed to chat with Helen, Alice and Chris for a while.

XL back on the Cathedral tower roof

Just as I was about to leave, a cry went up, and we saw a young peregrine making a graceful descent from the tower. We assumed it was XK, our young female who was still on the platform and the last to leave. But she was still visible, and as the descending flight progressed, we realised it was XL, and that he wasn't going to make it. With unerring accuracy he headed straight for the centre of one of four huge lime trees right next to the Cathedral. Tumbling into the branches, he finally came to rest in good view of the road, and spent the next half hour or so recovering his dignity. Surrounded by so much vegetation, it seemed unlikely he would do no more than tumble to the ground. So we waited to carry out the inevitable rescue.

And waited. And waited. But finally he set off again, this time flying low across a nearby car park and landing at the base of a sloping rooftop, before scrambling his way to the top.  From there he made his way across a flat roof to the top of a wall at the rear of the Dolphin Pub. By now we had volunteers and passers by amassing on the other side of the road, next to the Old Silk Mill pub to watch him. But XL was in no hurry. More snoozing was in order. And we watched and waited for the next three hours.

We waited some more, but didn't feel we could remain there all evening. We had even resorted to reaching up from below with a long pole to wake him up and get him to move up higher. By 5pm, we felt we could stay with him no longer, so we left our details with the police foot patrols and with the staff at the two nearby pubs whose outdoor customers all had a perfect view of him. One of our regular visitors, Ian, also took our details and later that night it was a relief to get a text saying he'd seen XL high up on the power station next to the Museum of Making. He seemed safe for the night.

XL on top of a low roof by Full Street.

On Sunday morning he called again to say he'd now seen both juveniles on the roof of Jurys Inn, being fed by both parents. With female XK still in the next platform, we've spent the rest of Sunday expecting her to fledge, though at the time of writing (7pm) simply sleeping and chewing at the remains of old bird feet seemed to be her preferred options!

Over two hours of snoozing on top of a wall!

Here are some excellent photos taken by Dave Farmer (gdfotos.co.uk) from Saturday,showing one of the juveniles being fed high up on a rooftop and three photos of the female taking off from the camera at the left of the nest platform.
Further text will be added later but please see the comments on the previous post for the latest news up to 10am Sunday 29th. new comments should now be posted to this blog update if you will..

The Project team

Peregrine Rescue

(Update: Saturday am: Female XL left the nest at 06:45 this morning. Female XK remains on the platform as at 10am. One juvenile male seen on nearby Jurys Inn; location of other male fledgling still unknown. Watch Point on Cathedral Green this morning may yield more news, and possibly a third fledge.)

Our previous blog post explained how one of our young peregrines fledged earlier today, but couldn't be found. It was assumed he was somewhere safe on the nave roof, or a nearby building.

However, at 18:45 we took a call from one of the Cathedral volunteers who reported that a young peregrine was wandering across the road and was holding up traffic on nearby Full Street. Apparently, a passer-by had already grabbed it by its legs (not a sensible thing to do, of course) and had moved it to safety.  We advised not to attempt to capture him, just let him find a safe and quiet place until we got there. So we set off into town, ready with a large cardboard box and an old piece of towel, hoping to rescue and return him to the tower.

Luckily, the Cathedral was open late this evening to allow people to visit the wonderful display of hundreds upon hundreds of 'Peace Doves' hanging down from within the building. Meanwhile, we arrived to a scene or perfect tranquillity on Full Street. Young male (Orange ring XJ) was sitting calmly on a wall, with about half a dozen caring people keeping a discrete distance, helping to ensure it wasn't disturbed by anyone or anything.

We slowly approached with the box from behind, and the cloth from in front, and soon had him captive and calm.  We carried XJ up the stone spiral staircase and placed the box on the tower roof. Tilting it so he was slowly encouraged out, he simply stood forlornly and watched us warily.

The parents were by now circling the tower and calling. So, after the obligatory quick photos, we quietly left him on his own, knowing there was little more we could do for him, and that he'd probably be OK to fly tomorrow. We could see no obvious signs of injury (drooping wing etc) and no doubt he'll be brought food by one of the adults and he'll make his way to the tower parapet and fly off in due course.

There is little more that we can do for these wild birds - the parents will undoubtedly take an interest sooner or later, and he'll try to fly again later. Better luck next time! 

Out thanks to everyone who has helped locate and rescue XJ today. Should you encounter a downed peregrine in Derby in the next few days, don't attempt to capture it. Simply make sure it's able to stay in a quiet place, away from cars or people, and get someone to call in to the Cathedral - they have our contact numbers. Or reach out to us via Twitter at @derbyperegrines, or by leaving a comment on this blog. Unless obviously injured, we don't advice contacting the RSPCA helpline. The last time this happened, our bird ended up in Lincolnshire before we knew it, and it took quite a while to resolve the situation. We'd prefer to rescue and return it ourselves, or take it to a local vet if it needs treatment.

 

One fledges today 27 May

It seems that one of the three has fledged this morning and someone is going down to the Cathedral to check things out.
Most of the juveniles fledge successfully, landing on a roof somewhere nearby. Just occasionally they come to ground and have to be rescued and taken back to the top of the tower for a second attempt (which always has been successful in the past). Check the comments for the latest news/updates.
Wendy Bartter has just sent this video of the two remaining juvs being fed:

Meanwhile Dave Farmer of gdfotos.co.uk took these fine photos yesterday:

The Project Team

Watch Point Update: (for 25th May)

This Watch Point report comes from on of our volunteers, Kathryn: 

We had around 70 people come along along to the Watch Point on Cathedral Green on Wednesday Amongst those who visited were a lovely school group, all of whom got a great view of the chicks through our telescopes. It's always nice to be able to introduce new, young faces to our peregrines, as well as to welcome those who have been watching our webcams for some time

There we all are: by the red arrow

One special visitor we were delighted to meet today was Mikeybee33 (we assume his name is Mikey - we forgot to ask!). He'd come all the way from California, and had made a special trip up from London to Derby just to see the peregrines. He told us he'd been watching our webcams for the last 10 years and was pleased to see them for real, and up close.  He also managed to take some pictures on his own phone, and it was lovely to be able to chat with him.

One satisfied visitor - all the way from California

"Taking photos through a bird scope with one’s phone is not as easy as I’d thought."

As to the birds themselves: Well, there was a lot of activity on the nest platform to be seen, with considerable movement back and forth across its length, and lots of wing action. With all their exercising, it looked as though the young peregrine falcons might leave at any moment, although they've all got a fair bit of white fluff still visible in places.

We reckon that by our next Watch Point on Saturday they may well be ready to fledge, so it'll  be a great chance for anyone who has not yet seen them up close to pop in to Derby and catch a glimpse of them if they're able.

NESTCAM 2 Issues: 

NESTCAM 2 UPDATE: We've been getting more and more reports of users with iPhone having difficulty viewing Nestcam2, whilst still being able to watch Nestcam 1. We spoke to our webcam hosting company today, and they inform us that latest version of the iOS Safari browser is no longer compatible with the encoded video format that comes from that camera. Meanwhile older iOS version seem not to encounter any difficulty.  (Different make cameras apparently have to be treated differently at their end, and they aim to create an script to solve this problem later this year)

RECOMMENDATION: Ideally, please use Chrome to view both the camera stream, or check if any other favourite browser, other than Safari, will work with them both. That said, we have been told other browsers still don't work for some people. Please leave a comment below if you're still not able to view them with other browsers, ensuring you tell us your device, its operating system version and which browsers don't work with it.

Photos from the ground and two Updates

Update 24th May: the NEXT Watch Point is tomorrow Wednesday 25th.....will one fledge while the Watch Point is running? If you go you might see it happen....
See Wendy Bartter's latest video capture made today showing just how little fluff is left on them and how active and flappy they are!

UPDATE: Watch Point report for Saturday 21st. by Helen: 
All three chicks were fairly active during today's Watch point and could be clearly seen through the telescopes set up below on Cathedral Green. The young birds spent a lot of time preening, sending a shower of white downy feathers down from the platform on at least one occasion. They were also frequently seen exercising their wings. The adult female spent much of the time perched on the platform, whilst the male bird kept watch from one of the gargoyles at the top of the tower. Both adults took to the sky a few times and were spotted high up above us, before disappearing out of view for a while. One young boy arrived at the watchpoint carrying his own toy peregrine and was clearly thrilled to see the birds for real. Along with his sister, they were soon both able to spot the adult birds in flight, much quicker than some of the watchpoint volunteers! He made the most of the telescopes and left with a huge grin on his face. It was a real pleasure to see such enthusiasm. There was an international feel to the watchpoint today with visitors from near and far stopping to look through the telescopes, including people from Italy and Ukraine. There was a large group of cyclists from Alfreton Cycling Club who were on their way back home but managed to get great views of the birds. It was another very successful morning with a total of around ninety visitors. 
(Thanks to our noble volunteers: Helen, Gillian, Chris and Andy)
Ps. Don't forget to give us a donation if you can - details are below in red!


Dave Farmer visits the cathedral from time to time with his camera and takes superb photos of our birds from the ground below. Here are two he took on 19th May showing one chick flexing its wings and the adult male feeding another.

Can you suggest a caption for this photo? if so, leave your suggestion in the comments for this post.
(Both photos by Dave Farmer (gdfotos.co.uk)

Meanwhile... A small request

We (Derbyshire Wildlife Trust) run this project for everyone around the world so you can watch the whole breeding cycle of our famous peregrines on Derby Cathedral for free. However, this does have some cost implications, mainly around maintaining the webcam service and running the Watch Points.

So, if you have enjoyed watching our web cams please consider making a donation towards those costs . These amount to somewhere in the region of £2000 per year.
We get no other funding, but have been able to rely on our faithful webcam watchers and Watch Point visitors to help us run the project.

There is a tab on this blog which helps you decide how you want to donate.

If you drop by one of our Derby city centre WatchPoints you can even pop a few coins inside the head of our life-size peregrine falcon.

Or you can send a cheque payable to Derbyshire Wildlife Trust to its office at Sandy Hill, Middleton by Wirksworth, Derbyshire DE4 4LR.....or phone the office to discuss other methods on 01773 881188 but PLEASE SPECIFY YOUR DONATION IS FOR THE 'PEREGRINE PROJECT'.
Thanks in advance,

Nick Moyes, Alice Smith and Nick Brown
for the Project Team

Watchpoint Report (Wed 18th May)

 Here is a report on today's Watchpoint on Derby's Cathedral Green 

It's written by Anthony Pooles, on of the two volunteers who set up the telescopes alongside Alice Smith, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust's new Peregrine Engagement Trainee:

Both parents feeding the chicks at the same time
 - something not often observed

Some ladies of leisure stop take a peak at our peregrines
before heading off to the theatre together.

A lovely couple of hours in brilliant weather on the Cathedral Green today saw 54 visitors take a look at our rapidly growing Peregrine family. Many of the visitors had come into town to see the Cathedral's fantastic 'Peace Dove' installation and took the chance to visit the Peregrines too!

The male and female were about for most of the session and showed really well for our visitors. The chicks (now in their fairly untidy phase of tufts of down mixing in with juvenile plumage) showed on occasion, despite having had a fairly big double feed just before the Watchpoint began at 10:30am. 

Whilst some visitors are fascinated to see the world's fastest
bird species, others seem less impressed.

Most visitors got to see one or two tufty heads at least! One chick seems a bit more advanced and had started to do a bit of wing flapping - strengthening those muscles for when they start to fledge in 10 - 14 days time.

Mid-way through, four Buzzards passing over caused some irritation, the female alarm calling and the Male (who had been away for 10 mins) appeared amongst them, diving at a couple and leaving them in no doubt that they should move on.

It was nice to see three or four Swifts around the tower and a pair of Grey Wagtails flew over on a couple of occasions.

Helpers present today: Alice, Anthony and Kathryn.

Latest videos:

19th May 2022 

Peregrine Watchpoints 2022 and an update

Report on Watch Point Saturday 14th

In excellent weather, the Watch Point was deemed a success by Gillian and Helen, our two volunteers!
They reported that they were kept busy with lots of visitors, including a police officer, a very young ballerina, several guests from a wedding party and many children who asked some lovely questions!
Probably half the visitors were already aware that the birds were nesting there but for the other half it was a new discovery.
The chicks were visible on and off throughout the morning, and were seen flapping their wings on several occasions. We had great views of the female as she perched on the edge of the scrape, keeping a watchful eye over things. The male who had been sitting on top of one of the cameras earlier on, was in hunting mode. He arrived back with prey around lunchtime and circled the tower several times. He then flew over to the nearby hotel, where he was seen busily plucking it. We expected the chicks to be fed but the male must have decided to keep the prey for himself on this occasion, as he didn't return! The female flew directly overhead and was later seen high up above the tower. 
The next Watch Point is on Wednesday - full details are below.
This video made by Wendy Bartter today shows how big and mobile the chicks are now:

(Note: For full details of the three chicks that were recently ringed, see previous post.)

For those of you lucky enough to live near Derby, you might like to drop by on a Wednesday or Saturday morning from now until 18th June and say 'hello', and to see the city's peregrine chicks for yourself.

From 11th May until 18th June 2022 we'll be running public Peregrine Watchpoints events every Wednesday morning and Saturday morning.  All our summer Peregrine Falcon Watchpoints are free and run from 11am to 1pm on Derby's Cathedral Green. 

Watchpoint Dates in 2022

• Wed 11 May (today's event cancelled due to wet weather)
• Sat 14th May
• Wed 18th May
• Sat 21st May
• Wed 25th May
• Sat 28th May    (fledging expected from around this date)
• Wed 1st June   
• Sat 4th June
• Wed 8th June
• Sat 11th June
• Wed 15th June
• Sat 18th June (final one!)

Full details are on this website by selecting the Watchpoint' tab (or dropdown for mobile viewers)  

Ben Fogle pointing out where to look
(we can't guarantee he'll be there, though!)

Ringing Day 2022 - a report

TL;DR: Our three peregrine chicks have now been ringed. We believe we have one female falcon (Orange ring, Black letters: XK) and two males (Orange rings, Black letters: XJ & XL).

With the right compost, anyone can grow their own peregrine falcon at home!

Knowing where a young bird has ended up after it has fledged from its nest site is incredibly important for scientists and conservationists.  Whilst modern GPS satellite tracking can give us untold insights into migratory bird movements, it is expensive and impossible to do with large numbers of individuals. The simple use of a numbered ring placed on the leg of a young bird in the nest can be an effective way to try to keep track of how birds move around. However, the return rate (number of birds ringed to number recovered) is extremely low. For over 100 years we have had armies of ornithologists capturing, ringing and then releasing birds in large numbers across the planet. So, even with low returns, the vast amount of data we now get back is incredibly useful and informative.  

Today, it was the turn of the 2022 cohort of three young peregrines on Derby Cathedral's tower to be adorned with their own numbered rings. One, a standard grey metal ring would go on their right leg, whilst a second, much larger plastic ring would go on the left. Bright colouring and bold lettering should help future observers identify the individual bird and report its whereabouts, even when observed from a distance through a telescope. This is far better than waiting for a bird to die or be recaptured and for its metal ring to be read and reported.

This morning, at 9am sharp, I met up with Chloe Pritchard and three fellow ringers Jake, Ingrid and Mike outside Derby Cathedral. Operating under Chloe's bird ringing licence, I (with no ringing experience) am permitted to abseil down to the nest platform that we first installed back in 2006 and to collect the chicks for them to ring.

It's always an anxious moment, stepping over the parapet. I've done it dozens of times now, but it's still a sheer drop below. So harness and buckles are checked, ropes are thrown down to the nave roof and their anchor points checked. Tie on. Then it's time to go. Mike, an experienced ringer and climber himself, helps me start the abseil by confirming my checks and then positions my 11mm diameter rope on the edge of the parapet once I've climbed over the lip and stood on a small ledge on the far side. A quick final check, and I lean back and my full weight is taken on the rope. It's about trust in one's equipment and experience. I let the thick rope slowly slowly slide through my abseil plate with a gloved hand. My other hand grips a Petzl Shunt into its open position. This is a device which, when released, grips the rope firmly and would lock me in position. The trick (as I have learned from one previous unfortunate experience) is not to accidentally release the device until one gets right down next to the platform and into position. As soon as it locks on that rope, it can be a devil to release again - once even requiring the deployment of my ancient prussik loop in order to free myself.

Nick prepares to abseil from the top of the tower. (Photo: Kayleigh Wright, 2021)

                 

But all went smoothly today. I was soon down at the platform, finding three slightly nervous peregrine chicks now huddling together into the far corner of their nest platform, hissing gently at my unwarranted arrival. I locked and tied myself into position and got out my red bag for lowering the chicks to the bird ringers in the Clock Room below. 

I also got out my new secret weapon: a large cloth!

Now, I have to be honest: I am still not that experienced in handling peregrines. As a retired museum curator, I am much more used to handling stuffed birds on display bases. For the last two years we've rung our chicks rather late in the season and they were real feisty beasts, lying on their backs and striking out with their talons at anything in front of them. I'd learnt not to use gloves as its quite hard to extricate their talons from the fabric, instead dropping a small piece of fabric for their claws to lock on to. But I still struggled to handle them with ease. Today however, ringer Mike gave me the answer. "Use a big cloth and simply cover them all with it. That calms them down - then take them out one at a time". 

As luck had it, we found we did have a cloth with us that was big enough to use. It was a bag Chloe used when ringing Barn Owls, but we cut down the seam to make one large sheet, and I was ready to try this new approach. Almost instantly I became an expert in handling these normally feisty chicks! They instantly became calm, and allowed me to pick each one up in turn and gently place them into my bag.  Once done, I clipped the bag of eyases to the end of my other rope, and informed the ringing team I was slowly lowering the precious cargo down to them. 

Down below it required a hook on the end of a long cane for the ringers to reach out of the Clock Room window and bring the dangling bag of bemused peregrine chicks inside - such is the overhang of the tower above it. Once inside, Chloe and friends got to work, each, I understand, sharing in the task of weighing the birds and then placing two rings on each white, fluffy chick.

Carefully fixing the ring to an eyas's leg

The eyases have it! The eyases have it!
The chicks ringed and ready to be returned to their nest.

Meanwhile, whilst literally left hanging about above them, I had time to clean the webcamera lenses and do a bit of tidying up of the nest ledge. The one egg that hadn't hatched (or was it the remains of one that had?) was still there as a broken, empty shell. I considered bringing it with me, either  should it ever be required for scientific analysis, or for use in our peregrine talks. But such is the legal protection of all things related to Peregrine Falcons that it would require a special licence from Natural England just to retain it and to prove it hadn't been acquired illegally. It simply wasn't worth the hassle of getting into trouble with the law in that way, so I left it there on the platform. Doubtless, it will disintegrate as the three chicks grow and begin to explore and eventually rampage around the nest platform in the coming weeks.

Soon, a call came over the walkie-talkie. It was time to haul up the three newly-ringed birds. Honestly, you don't realise the heat that three growing and not-yet-feathered chicks give off. It's immense ; their collective warmth could be easily felt through the bag's fabric as I brought it back up and placed it onto the ledge. One by one, rather like some ageing magician dangling from a curious piece of theatrical apparatus, I was able to pull each chick out of the bag and let it rest calmly for a few moments before returning for the next, and then the next.

One of our webcam watchers, Wendy Bartter, captured this footage from our live webcams as the chicks were returned to the nest platform.  

Each peregrine now sported two rings, but most noticeable is the bright orange ring: 

• GY48415, Orange band, black lettering XK  - Most likely a female, with weight of 692g
• GY48416, Orange band, black lettering XJ - Most likely a male, with weight of 580g
• GY48417, Orange band, black lettering XL - Most likely a male, with weight of 519g.

18 day-olds back in their nest. And an idea of the size of the egg

So now it was time to leave these beautiful living things to themselves. Unless one of them is unfortunate enough to fail to fledge first time and needs rescuing from Derby's streets, I shall never touch them or be close to them again. They'll be on their own - and that's just as it should be.

We are all of us lucky that technology allows us to get a brief and close-up glimpse into the intimate lives of these creatures.

But nature can be harsh, and our webcams sometimes shows that. We must be prepared to see that, and accept it for what it is. None of us know what lies in store for these three-week old birds. There are many out there who would willingly kill or poison a peregrine falcon to stop it spoiling their sport or their hobby. But we can keep track of them and, should any of our chicks have their rings spotted by an eagle-eyed observer, we may know what befell of them.  Indeed, whilst composing this report, I was contacted by the London Peregrine Project with a suggestion they might know something about one of our birds from a previous year. We eagerly await what they can tell us.

I'd like to end this ringing report with a tribute: 

Sadly, Dave Budworth, a hugely experienced bird ringer and entomologist who has ringed our peregrine chicks for the last few years, died very suddenly and unexpectedly earlier in February this year. It was an absolutely huge blow to the natural history community in and around Derbyshire and a great loss of a long-standing friend and collaborator for me, too. We both had a love of biological recording, and would spend hours on the phone discussing the intricacies of using the Recorder 3.3 database, and how we could map and use my botanical records to find new sites for insect species that he was interested in finding and recording. At his funeral, Dave's coffin was entirely covered with marvellous glossy images of birds, and the service was packed not only with his extended family, but also by many naturalists from around the county who had come to pay their last respects. 

Dave was training a new bird ringer, Chloe, and she helped out with the peregrine ringing in 2021 under his supervision. Now that she has attained her full ringing licence, we are delighted that Chloe stood in and rung the chicks for us today, and we look forward to working with her in the future. It is the passing on of skills, knowledge and understanding from one generation to the next that is so important in helping us address the implications of today's climate and environmental emergency. In a very real sense, Dave Budworth was with us today.

Nick Moyes
Derby Peregrine Project Team

(This post will be updated in the days ahead)

Viewers' Video Clips

A number of you have made video clips from our webcams and put links to YouTube in the comments. Here are one or two you might enjoy watching: