Still three on last Watch Point day

Update 15th June:
Watch Point volunteer Helen went down to the Cathedral on Sunday morning and reported seeing all five birds looking fine!

The Sunday Times (16 June) had a short article in the print edition about peregrines on UK cathedrals with a mention of the Derby Cathedral birds included. 

There's a much longer, online article with many more photos and quotes but it is behind a £1 /month paywall.

Update 14th June: all three have fledged successfully with at least one returning occasionally.
If you've enjoyed watching the webcams do please consider making a donation to keep the project going for next year.

There's a donations tab on the top of the blog landing page.

Many thanks and see you all next year!

Ps The web cams stay live all year round and the adults remain close to and sometimes on the nest platform.....

Update 11 June:
More photos by Dave Farmer, taken yesterday, show the now confident male, XRL on the tower's stonework shouting for food:

And looking down on the world below:

Update 8th June:

The Watch Point was slightly disrupted by other events going on nearby but our volunteers stayed through to the end so a big thank you to them and for helping out at all four Watch Points. Thanks too to the DWT staff who helped and to John from Cathedral Quarter who organised the gazebo.

Volunteer Helen summarising the morning said:

A very active morning. The adults and all three juveniles were showing well all the time. There were several occasions when we thought one of the young birds was going to fly. One of them fluttered up to the right hand side of the platform and briefly perched at the side of the camera bracket, before dropping back down on to the scrape.
One of the big females looks ready to go. Lots of wing flapping and head bobbing. We could clearly see the difference in size between the male juvenile and the two bigger females when all three were perched on the edge of the platform.
A red kite drifted overhead, prompting the adult male to fly from it's perch half way up the tower. One of the adult falcons very nearly caught a pigeon just to the left of us over the buildings but the pigeon just managed to swerve out of the way at the last moment. There was also a tussle with the local gulls to add to the scene!

Wendy Bartter made this video today:

And on Friday, Dave Farmer took these photos:

                               Showing the difference between the adult on the right and the juvenile.
                                                                Photo: Dave Farmer

                      One of the bigger female juveniles looks out on a busy Cathedral Green below
                                                     Photo: Dave Farmer

                         No sign of any white fluff now! Photo: Dave Farmer

The Project Team
The Project is managed by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust support from partners The Cathedral, Cathedral Quarter and Derby City Council

Return to the nest, the last Watch Point tomorrow and a request

It seems the young male that fell off on Tuesday has managed to get back to the nest platform with all three juveniles present this morning (Friday 7th).
Thanks to everyone who sent in comments.
When a juvenile leaves the nest platform, it is rare for it to return so quickly so this was quite a surprise.
This screengrab is by Kate and shows all three this morning:

Meanwhile the final Watch Point takes place tomorrow, Saturday 8th and by then, who knows what might have happened.
So do come down to the Cathedral if you live nearby.
DWT trainee Chloe and our excellent Watch Point volunteers look forward to seeing you!

This project comes to you free and 24/7. It costs between £2-3000 to run each year and we rely to a great extent on donations from web cam watchers. So please consider sending a donation if you have enjoyed (and are still enjoying) watching.

There's a donations tab on the blog landing page.

Many thanks in advance!

The Project Team
The Project is managed by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust with support from its partners The Cathedral, Cathedral Quarter and the City Council IT team.

First chick leaves

Early yesterday morning (about 6 am, Tuesday 4th) the smallest chick (colour ring XRL, probably a male, the smallest of the three when ringed) accidentally fell off the platform but ended up on a chimney above Irongate nearby.
It should be fine but checks will be made to see where it has got to.
Thanks to Nick M and local watcher Cliff for eventually finding it, aided by Jessica from the Cathedral to whom also many thanks.

One of Cliff's photos:

And here is one of Dave Farmer's photos taken on Monday when all three chicks were still present:

The Project Team
The project is managed by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust with great support from its partners, Derby Cathedral, Cathedral Quarter and the City Council's IT team.