Saturday, 18 May 2024

Watch Point well supported and the second was today

Monday 27th: Wendy's YT video of the chicks today shows them getting their feathers:


Saturday 25th May Watch Point report:

There were more than one hundred visitors including some who had been last week and others who came back for more later on!
The birds were less active until late on when b
oth adult birds arrived back so there was more to see. 

               The male looks on as the female feeds the chicks. Photo by Joyce Sawford.

The male retrieved some cached prey from one of the alcoves on the 'window' which he seemed to leave on the scrape. The female was then seen feeding the chicks. From the ground it looked as if all three chicks were getting fed and this was confirmed when checks of the web cams were made on mobiles.

There was also an art group present who were sketching.  One of them, Tom Burley, produced this quick painting of the watchpoint:



The next Watch Point is on Saturday 1st June and the last on 8th June. Do come along if you can.....


Report on the first Watch Point on 18th May:

Over 180 visitors, including many children, visited the first watch point event today (18th).
The weather was great and the birds performed well.
Huge thanks to our volunteers for giving up their time today and to Cathedral Quarter for the use of a gazebo and funding support as well!









The Project Team
This project is managed by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust with great support from The Cathedral staff, Cathedral Quarter and the city council's IT team.

56 comments:

Nattalie said...

It is so amazing to see one of the baby's feeding its self when parent bought food back both parents are there too soo sweet nattalie from sunny skegness

jay said...

all 3 just had a big feed nearly a whole bird about 45 mins

Anonymous said...

Was wondering the ringed feed we regularly see in the nest are they identifiable?

Wendy Bartter said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

14;25 feeding time all 3 fed well smallest one retired first but fed well ,parent left 14:56

Wendy Bartter said...

Much longer feed at 14.33, all seemed eager ...
https://youtu.be/foFLCsgOIYw?si=mlrFt3EKM31m0DNs

Wendy Bartter said...

Just been through that feed again and seems that the littl'un doesn't get enough and gives up too quickly!

Wendy Bartter said...

Feed at 09.43 had to be re-edited, new link here
https://youtu.be/fK7xWy7kzCg?si=EFusvKXIdpZzM-o-

Wendy Bartter said...

This feed at 18.35 had already started, both adults present, looked like male feeding chicks & female continually screeching at him (sound a bit muted due to 2x speed), he was going to fly with the prey but it seemed to get caught on ledge & she quickly grabbed it ...
https://youtu.be/9F55oihrVvc?si=Yh-C_cN-zJDh6cbL

Anonymous said...

This mornings feed saw one of the chicks have a whole pigeon leg @ 08.17am. Amazing to watch as it was almost as long as (s)he is.

Wendy Bartter said...

This feed at 13.41 was quite substantial, tbe chicks are becoming very loud ...
https://youtu.be/C1GcB71j0EA?si=iqbDqtGygAGa4DHV

Wendy Bartter said...

Wish I had been recording that!

Wendy Bartter said...

Part of a feed from 17.44 ...
https://youtu.be/o-KSZ66OySg?si=aEaojgazeLGxJyUq

But not too long to wait for next two prey items at 17.55 and 18.04
https://youtu.be/vjMxFDFLQyA?si=kOY2AKkKTY29XWOk

Anonymous said...

Horrible wet day today. Are the chick's waterproof with their fluff?

Wendy Bartter said...

Feed at 12.26 ...
https://youtu.be/v5jJH_nzFr4?si=QmMpQl4hBvFWmUgq

Wendy Bartter said...

Another feed at 14.42 ...
https://youtu.be/SzpTILwbmyM?si=a43ycWTm8Y51aBSY

Wendy Bartter said...

Female feeds chicks leftovers at 16.54 ...
https://youtu.be/71bJqppgJHU?si=IMkNuP2gEbuiEBjR

Wendy Bartter said...

The chick down is not waterproof, female has been saturated several times today!

Wendy Bartter said...

Looked like a decent feed at 11.59 for 20 minutes ...
https://youtu.be/WFZZmIzRuiA?si=a-PToROGYNWLvrmj

Wendy Bartter said...

Another reasonable feed at 17.46 ...
https://youtu.be/u8xfETzZoRw?si=hJUIphfnJYRKDtrW

Margaret said...

Do you think the chicks might eat a leg with a ring on it? If so, do they then sick the ring up again?

Merlin said...

I don't think they would eat it- an interesting thought, though! Watching Ospreys at Poole, second chick just hatching- parents not good at feeding them yet!

Anonymous said...

Short feed only small prey only 2 fed. chick at the back had no room to get to the front ,didn't get any feed

Anonymous said...

Parent back with bigger feed. longer feed this time all fed

Merlin said...

Two chicks fine, flapping and preening- the other not well, I think.

Merlin said...

Two chicks fine, flapping and preening- the other not well, I think.
Lovely to see their progress.

Anonymous said...

Am worried about 3rd chick. Not seen it this morning. Other two very active.

Anonymous said...

All 3 are there, two on one side of the scrape and one in other side you can just see the back end of he the chic

Anonymous said...

16.05. Two chicks hunkered down on camera 2. Third chick on camera one having a good feed, feeding itself, no trouble. No adult around.

Wendy Bartter said...

Our chicks are 28 and 27 days old! ...
https://youtu.be/HP4X_fuj2dM?si=v_bPjrWdlyglEaFK

Wendy Bartter said...

All three chicks gather for a feed at 13.16 ...
https://youtu.be/h5zKrzz3M84?si=gBIWqaLBWB-Fwk0I

Wendy Bartter said...

So pleased to hear that you had another successful Watchpoint!

Wendy Bartter said...

This was an exceptionally noisy feed at 18.38 with lots of wandering about in the scrapes afterwards ...
https://youtu.be/S_-jyCUWJkE?si=CSseHp9Imcr_wgQ5

Wendy Bartter said...

A little snippet of one of the chicks standing very tall this morning, good to see all of them walking properly now ...
https://youtu.be/VwjNMqidH2g?si=1iQllTYZf-YSv0Nu

Wendy Bartter said...

Feed at 13.54, one chick seems to make a meal of a little bit of prey all by himself in other scrape ...
https://youtu.be/2zUesD7rwVM?si=SoZFp1TwgAx8WT1j

Wendy Bartter said...

A far longer feed here at 16.58, watching to see if littl'un gets enough ...
https://youtu.be/-7Y3H_9Vkak?si=STDKi4D0d37NrMp6

Anonymous said...

When will the chicks fledge, and do they still come back to the scrape for a while before they fly away?

Helen said...

It usually takes between five and six weeks from hatching to fledging. The chicks are about four and a half weeks at the moment so I would say another week or so. They do sometimes come back to the nest platform. In the past they have also tended to perch on the nave roof below or higher up on the tower.

Wendy Bartter said...

Chick preens in close view on cam #1 this morning ...
https://youtu.be/CKwz_HhbDrI?si=n7kNimW-gRiMk7Z-

Wendy Bartter said...

Good feed at 18.26 ...
https://youtu.be/Ncu_I74tv-I?si=VHWq_vn2Xj7iUtLh

Anonymous said...

Does anyone know what the prey was at the20.55 feed with all different colour feathers

Merlin said...

I was just going to ask the same thing- turquoise and white feathers?

Jane said...

Also pink and yellow bits, and the main colour very white.

Merlin said...

Surely no wild bird like that? Someone's escaped pet perhaps...

Anonymous said...

Maybe something like a cockatoo?

Nat said...

I thought the same a cockatoo

Anonymous said...

Or maybe some idiot has died a bird for a pathetic "gender reveal"

Anonymous said...

It's certainly added a bit of colour to the decor.

Nat said...

Well iv googled all sorts and can't find what bird it could of been

Anonymous said...

Big feathers, so a fair sized bird. Any experts out there with any ideas?

Anonymous said...

It's a mystery. Hope it isn't a "painted bird". Could be toxic.

Nell said...

There is a type of macaw called a military macaw that are kept as pets? Got the same colours I think.

Wendy Bartter said...

Not any kind of parrot ... I realised that I had footage of the female bringing in this unusual prey, sent the video to Ed Drewitt who is the go-to man for prey ID and he said 'It’s a dyed white dove - often used in cultural weddings', which I personally find very distasteful, here is the video (you'll have to ignore the encroaching Tesco message)
https://youtu.be/Y9tnOfAT2CA?si=EKbhubPkFP8nmx06

Wendy Bartter said...

Feed from 19.13 yesterday, just the start and finish ...
https://youtu.be/QDhkEba9z_Y

Wendy Bartter said...

Start & finish of a 15 minute feed at 09.38 then chicks moving around ... dreadful strong wind!
https://youtu.be/ys5UjDvY_3s

Wendy Bartter said...

Full feed at 20.09 where we see male bring prey and Female takes to feed chicks
https://youtu.be/SW4TDy9AFjI