Two hours after writing the post below, the female laid her first egg (at about noon on 17th), a day earlier than last year!
Thanks to Vic P and Jean for spotting it so quickly!
We expect her to lay three more at roughly two day intervals to complete her clutch.
Note that it is normal for the egg to be left on its own. Full incubation won't begin until the third or fourth egg is laid.
See some media coverage here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-68594839
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| Screengrab by Helen Naylor |
And a later one made at 17.27 showing the egg very clearly:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Last year the first egg was laid on 18th March and that's tomorrow.
Wendy's video's (see the links in the comments to the previous blog post below) suggest the female is showing all the signs of being ready to lay.
Mating will have been taking place though this doesn't occur within sight of the web cam but usually higher up on the tower, often on the 'bottoms' of the grotesques, the 16th century animals carved by the stone masons in the shape of a dog, a lion, a pig etc.
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| 2023 photo of mating by Dave Farmer (easyphotography.co.uk |
And below is a old photo of a lion grotesque.
BTW, a grotesque is a carving of an (often mythical) animal but with no actual function. A gargoyle is a grotesque with a hole running through it and out of the mouth which drains water off a roof above.
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| A lion grotesque by Gareth Walker |
Who will spot the first egg and when will it be laid?
We should soon find out!
Talk worth attending!
There's a talk about The Peregrine this Friday (22nd, 7.30pm) in Derby for the county bird club by the authors of a brilliant new book on this falcon.
£2.50 entry. Details: Meetings and Trips (derbyshireos.org.uk)
The Project Team
This project is managed by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust in conjunction and with the excellent support of Derby Cathedral, Derby City Council's IT team and Cathedral Quarter.
Ps. This spring, two trainees at the wildlife trust, Emma Harpham and Chloe Davenport-Kelly will be delivering assemblies and sessions about our peregrines in a few selected primary schools in the Derby area. If you are a teacher at one and would like a visit, do get in touch. (peregrines@derbyshirewt.co.uk)
29 comments:
Brilliant, here we go! Chris m
Bit late to the party, only just heard the wonderful news,
Was extremely lucky to get this footage of our FIRST EGG ...
https://youtu.be/KKBGRokZpPg?si=oYOsWpUz7QUaixnu
Well done everyone, and the Team
Fingers crossed,
will it be Three or FOUR ??
Our female stood up to reveal another chance to see this first precious egg at 17.27, she had a preen then dozed off still standing, hoping her injured foot is not giving her pain as she incubates ...
https://youtu.be/rgRsdrFZpTM
Hi Jean, been to flickr and saw your great pics, thanks for posting there as I am unable to do so as not a member any more!
Hi Wendy, unfortunately I can only get pics from camera 1.
Tried Chrome etc but still can’t get camera 2 on my iPad.
That's a shame Jean, thinking it must be something to do with iPad, I have no problem with my Sansung & laptop which are both using Chrome ... did you try Puffin?
Looking at the egg in the bright sun it look quite white but is actually very pale with pink blotches much like last year's first two!
Bonding from this morning ...
https://youtu.be/qABLUBz7dGc
Jean, I get video on both cameras on both firefox and chromium browsers. (Chromium is the base product from which chrome was developed.) I have a laptop using a Linux operating system. Hope this helps.
Thanks for the suggestions, I will try them and report back.
Male brings prey at 13.09, female flies off with it, male looks at egg and then perches on ledge for a while, doesn't attempt incubation then flies away ...
https://youtu.be/eEaoXKadFiA
They have barely been incubating the egg. Every time I have checked today either a bird has been perched on the edge of the scarpe, or neither of them have been there :(
I think they start to incubate properly once the second to last egg is laid? It ensures that hatching is around the same time for them all. I’m sure someone said that a few yrs ago?
Hi; incubation will not start until the third or even fourth egg has been laid. This ensures the chicks are all about the same age since there is never a shortage of food for them unlike with barn owls which do incubate immediately so that the chicks are uneven aged. In poor vole years the younger owl chicks starve and/or get eaten by their bigger and older siblings...an unpleasant mechanism perhaps but evolutionarily a clever one ensuring maximum survivorship.
Usually, all peregrine chicks survive to fledging unless there is disease or one of the parents dies.
We are on egg watch again today, I am thinking it could be between 4 and 8 p.m.🤞🥚🥚
Female had been calling for ages and male finally brings prey, she still takes her time to seize it from him ...
https://youtu.be/w2J2q903UTQ
She just sat up then stood and had a shuffle around but couldn't see what was underneath, wrong view and may have to wait til morning!
There have been a few moments when she could have laid another egg but no reveal that I could see so maybe a surprise in the morning?
Not yet, she moved at 22.52 to reveal only the one egg! I am shutting down now!
Possibly 07.30 ish pic on flckr
Well done Kate. Better pic than I could get.
Morning Jean not great but she was certainly standing as if going to drop, so do you agree we have 2nd Egg..
Hope our Wendy has it on Vid
What is the foot injury people keep referring to?
Hi Kate, yes I think I could see the edge of a 2nd egg behind her leg.
Waiting to see what Wendy has to say now
The female seemed to be having trouble with one of her feet, tending not to use it for perching. Whether this will affect her long term we don't know. For now she will be fed by her mate so she doesn't need it to catch food until after incubation, hopefully giving it time to recover.
Nick B
Please post any new comments to the new post we have just put up about egg No. 2. Thanks.
Ah OK, thank you for the clarification. I was worried! Fingers crossed for healthy chicks!
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