Update 31 May - young male found sitting on nearby roof looking fine.
Please see new post for more detail.
Update 30th May|
The male chick is still just below the platform this morning with the female hunkered down out of sight from the ground. Please read the text below explaining what the situation is.
Update May 29th: the project team is aware that one of the chicks appears to have been blown or pushed onto the tower just below the platform. We'll keep checking the comments for further news but if the chick has found a ledge it can perch on, it should be OK and will be fed by the parent birds. Certainly we could not abseil down either in this gusty wind or without risking the other chick jumping ship as well, making matters worse. And in addition we would need to get permission from Natural England to visit the nest since this is a Schedule 1 species with special protection.
Yesterday's Watch Point went really well with visitors from Canada, Austria and Turkey dropping by as well as many interested youngsters, according to WP volunteer Gill Foxcroft.
The next one is THIS SATURDAY 31st MAY so do try to get along if you can.
May 25th
Yesterday's Watch Point went very well as described in the previous blog entry (scroll down to read about it).
The next one is this Wednesday, 10 am to 2pm on Cathedral Green and the following ones are on
Saturday May 31st and Saturday 7th June.
Photographer Luke W came along to the first one and took some excellent photos which you can see some of below.
To see the whole set go to his Flickr folder:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/
If you are enjoying the web cams then please consider making a donation specifically to support this project which relies on donations from web cam watchers and watch point attendees.
There's a tab on the blog home page labled 'Donations' which tells you how you can donate.
The Project Team
This Project is managed by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, aided by The Cathedral, Cathedral Quarter and the City Council's IT team to whom thanks.
167 comments:
Luke's photos are fantastic! However, they also suggest that the nesting platform is in need of a serious repair, at least before next year. It looks like the whole of the base of the nesting platform is sagging, and in danger of dropping out! I assume the platform will survive the rest of this season. It looks like a similar repair has already taken place at some point (i.e., new screws) but the base is sagging again.
If my calculations are rite the chick's are 35 and 36 days old so not be long before they fledge eeeek 🙊
Great pics from Luke, thank you
Managed to catch some action this morning, very little baby fluff left and they are both very active and inquisitive ...
https://youtu.be/013aRjUGsh0
Time is flying by Nattalie, we must make the most of the time left before they leave the nest🤔
We now have ledge perching eeeeekkkkkkk not be too much longer now
Looks very confident preening on the edge this morning!!!
Iv been watching all morning and I thought he was off at one point so much wing flapping going on and running back and forth
Thanks Graham. I noticed that too. The project team are aware of it and will be looking into it.
Apologies, just realised that I published the above comment anonymously!
I wonder if we'll have another year where one fledges and then finds his way back? Weather forecast for Derby is awful today, poor floofs sitting in the rain.
Some footage of the chicks safely in slate scrape with Mum watching over them ...
https://youtu.be/ZC3cMRsmRoM?si=Ycq-R_LM0cwGKMPv
Thanks for the response Helen. At least I now know that others are aware. I'm sure that platform is fine for the rest of this season (it will not be long before the youngsters will have fledged), but an assessment and repair could well be warranted come the autumn.
At 16.45 on Tuesday, the apparent female chick was perched (precariously!) on the edge of the platform again, contemplating the view toward the River Derwent.
Oh my goodness I could see an early fall from the little one trying to go up the side of the scrape eeeeek🙈
They're certainly very active and are providing great viewing oportunities. They almost seem to know that they are on show!
It's fascinating to notice, how over only a few days, the chicks have become increasingly aware of a whole world beyond the nesting platform.
My heart just skipped a beat! The male chick was standing on the very edge of the nesting platform when the female chick backed up into him (I think she might have been taking a poop over the edge). The male chick wobbled back and forth for a few moments after the bump, but thankfully managed to retain his balance. Phew!
It' a very nerve-racking time when we have no fingernails & very thin hair🤔
Both chicks in the footage here with one, possibly male, on the front ledge ...
https://youtu.be/trsO-kd9wLU?si=x8asC_xXfBJoizrI
I have the advantage of living on riverside and hear them every day. Such a sound and can see everyone looking up. Hope more people take an interest. Can see the platform through my binoculars but this site is so amazing for information and close up view. Thanks for all your work.
A little out of sequence as I managed to post on the previous page ...
Stranger in the camp? No, is our big girl chick! The amount of growth and change in just over five weeks is amazing ...
https://youtu.be/8F2HpvH24OA
The little boy sat there one leg up proud as punch he's mastered ledge sitting why big sis is very wobbly and flapping away
Did anyone see where the male baby went? They were screaming to be fed i left the room for a few minutes and when i got back only the female?
Ohhh wow I must of blinked and he's gone woooooow
I have been watching literally all day waiting for him to go lol
I'm thinking he's above just in the middle of the scrape as I can hear movement and lil lady is sleeping
If you look at the pics it's pic 4 where all 3 are sat but parent in the middle
He's underneath at the gravel end, keep seeing his wings flapping
Yes i just saw him hes under the nest if you watch the second camera i just saw his tail feathers pop out thank goodness. Also dad was on the ledge below him and mum above for a while
The project team is aware and will keep a watching brief. If the chick is indeed just below the platform and has a ledge to perch on, it should be OK and the parents will feed it there.
There's no way we could abseil down to catch it and certainly not in this gusty wind and also without permission from Natural England.
Yeees just seen him pop his tail out again bless him it's always the males that fall/get blown over bless them
He was so agitated this morning when mum came with no food in fact i havent seen any food coming recently and then he must of lost balance
Hi, I saw the chick fall off the ledge. It was moving along the ledge when it got to the metal bar dividing the sides it jumped pasted that then carried on along the ledge. Just before going out of view I could see the chicks wings rapidly flapping then disappear. Then the other chick that was on the other side rushed through to see where it had gone. It must of lost its balance and maybe the wind didn’t help.
No food at all since about 9am when 2 lots came within 10mins of eachother
The remaining chick has been lying down where the other chick fell off. Seems like it’s waiting for it to return
Food in for baby girl just now she snatched off parent lol
So distressing to read this news as he's far too young to be out of the scrape, just hoping that he will be ok
Oh My Goodness, I hope he's OK 😱
Has anyone seen parents go to him at all iv been away the last hr
I have been looking for quite a while now Nattalie and seen no sign of him on cam#2
Here is footage of the big girl self-feeding this afternoon and warning Dad to stay away ...
https://youtu.be/9_LkC8ynDUk
He's just under the female position now Nattalie
So sad but watching the other little one and as annoymous says looks as though one of the adults aware.
sorry that was me Kate forgot to click from anonymous Doh!!
under the scrape now flapping
Are the adults feeding the male chick that has fallen from the scrape? I’ve seen no evidence that food is being taken to him.
I wish I could see what you can all see, because I can't see anything off the platform that resembles a bird.
half speed snippets of our little male on ledge under scrape just after 16.00 ...
https://youtu.be/ghpGVnQBaEg
Look at my video below and you will see where you should be looking
Good spot Kate
On checking through footage I had I did see him a couple of times, video below
Thanks Wendy , hopefully yes, tis him, I think he is sheltering under neath , bottom left of cam 2, and the other one can see him hence she is looking around, I personally think the adults can see him as well.
It's good to see that the male chick is still alive, but he seems to be in an extremely vulnerable position. His current location, the ledge beneath the nesting platform, looks like it's quite a severe slope. I can't really see how either of the adults would be able to perch on the slope (for more than seconds) with a substantial food item and feed the chick. Or, at least, that's the impression given by this high resolution photograph of the Cathedral tower:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Peregrine_Falcon_Nest_on_Derby_Cathedral_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2892331.jpg
Well iv not heard him or seen his lil bum or wing flaps for the last couple of hours now
Ah okay, got him. If the wind drops overnight maybe he can glide safely to somewhere better.
Me neither and adults have taken prey to scrape only
Yes twice prey came in
He will probably flutter down on to the stonework ledge below (where the female often perches) or onto the roof of the nave where the adults will be able to feed him. They usually know exactly where the young birds are when they've left the platform. Hopefully he has settled down for the night.
I did wonder if he was just out of sight . Keeping fingers crossed for him
Yes he must of settled for the night I can hear him this morning
Other is on the ledge edge this morning, doh! wish it would stay IN the scrape.. and hope like helen that i one underneath,t will flutter down to onto the stonework.BUT not while other is perched as it
might attempt to imitate. Doh!
Just seen the male still under the scrape but not seen him being fed.
He's moved along to under the bar position , and tuther is back in the scrape
07.15 poked his head out to preen will try post flickr
What looks like the male adult brought some food to the nesting platform at 09:52 that was immediately snatched by the female chick, which subsequently ran to the other side of the platform with her prize! The adult wanted to feed to the chick, but the female wanted nothing to do with him! Teenagers! The adult looked genuinely quite bemused! There was even some apparent displacement activity, with the adult male picking up and dropping some of the gravel.
Did the male chick get any food?
I dont believe the male has been fed since 9ish yesterday as the adults don't appear to be able to get to him. He is at this moment screeching under the platform and the dad is sitting above completely helpless
Surely the parents could pass some food to him where he is? If they don't, then my guess is that, rather than starve, the male chick will emerge and flutter down somewhere where he can be fed (as Helen said).
Sadly, that's exactly my reading of the situation. As I wrote yesterday, the "current location [of the male chick], the ledge beneath the nesting platform, looks like it's quite a severe slope. I can't really see how either of the adults would be able to perch on the slope (for more than seconds) with a substantial food item and feed the chick. Or, at least, that's the impression given by this high resolution photograph of the Cathedral tower:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Peregrine_Falcon_Nest_on_Derby_Cathedral_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2892331.jpg "
That's sad to hear. I fear for him in that case. I see a bit of him occasionally. He must be going frantic.
My concern is thatas he becomes weaker from hunger that he falls and.......
The male juvenile was ok this morning when I made a quick visit down to the cathedral. He was wandering around just below the platform and doing some wing flapping, looking quite strong. At one point he was just below the other youngster in the platform on the right hand side. The adult female was also perched just a short distance away from him but she then went into hunting mode further away from the tower. Hopefully the adults will lure him into a bit better position when they bring some more food in.
Fingers crossed. But he surely can't go too long without food at his age? Been over 24 hours now.
I'm sure I saw an arrival below the platform at 06:35 on camera 2, and the tail then visible (only the tip) was all grey and dipped regularly as though ripping strips for feeding.
I didn't see any food when it arrived, nor did I see a departure. In view for several minutes
Chick has moved back and forth a couple of times, facing tower but flapping happily.
11:33 - a bird is perched at the far end, below and beyond the platform.
Can't make out whether juvenile or adult, but can't see any brown - limited quality shot
It's an adult, with a nice clean white throat and breast - unlike the chicks, which are sandy brown.
It's an adult, just seen the juvenile under the platform at the opposite end - near camera2
Oh yes. I see it now but like you I can't tell if adult or chick. Visisble on camera 2.
Two now underneath the scrape. I can't tell from my pictures but are they both adults or has the male chick managed to move?
You're right. Two birds still present below the platform at 12:56, but they are the two adults.
Thanks Graham. I was hopeful but not optomistic that the juvenile had managed to reposition himself.
1.00 pm - I just saw the male chick flapping about beneath the nexting platform, so still present in that location.
*nesting platform
Male chick very clearly visible now and screaming at the adults.
Now at same level with the adults?
He just got down to his parents
They should be able to feed him more easily there.
The male chick is now very visible and sat - apparently in a very stable position - beneath the nesting platform. The male chick keeps looking at the two adults perched on the ledge further below. It looks like the adults might be able to perch on the slope and feed the male chick; however, it's fairly common for chicks that fall out of the nest (or potentially even the nesting platform) to be totally ignored by the adults. In this case, it seems impossible that the adults are not aware of the location of the male chick, and perhaps explains why they are perched where they are - although neither adult seems to showing any interest in the male chick.
Yes! The male chick has now dropped down to the same ledge as the parents. The adults will certainly be able to feed him from there, if they want to do so. Perhaps that was what the parents 'wanted' the chick to do, and why both adults were standing in that location.
Cute views of our big Girl chick and Adult flying off from other scrape maybe chasing something?
https://youtu.be/myNUOnhMEc0?si=nXbMILB8l_C-luRj
Three birds sitting on ledge below platform. Loose definition when enlarge picture on my tablet so not sure which is chick. Think mum is the top one.
The chick is the one nearest to the camera.
Footage of Parents and male chick on the mouldings, great that he has made it to there, hopefully parents can feed him ...
https://youtu.be/bBCRYpNNnSQ?si=JgetRkMyZU4lGhFW
Distinguishable by his fluffy head and light fringed tail
maybe parents will continue to feed, he is sitting after preening, onthe ledge in line with the bar on the nest
I guess the parents will be returning with food soon. That'll be the test of whether they feed both chicks or just the female in the nest. Tense or what!
I am positive that they will keep feeding him. The adults are used to feeding the youngsters when they have left the platform. The juveniles naturally leave the nest at different times too so there is often a mixture of young that have fledged and others still in the scrape. The adult female spent a lot of time on Wednesday perched to the right of where he is now and I have also seen them take prey there before. It's great that he has made his way to a better position.
Yet more food has just been delivered to the nesting platform, all for the female chick's benefit. The male chick continues to be totally ignored. It's difficult to understand, as it's obvious that the adults are aware of the male chick's location, having both adults spent at least an hour perched on the same mouldings, only two or three metres away earlier this afternoon.
Oh no the boys gone I literally answered a call and cam back to see food and parent but no boy
Pheeew he's there again
Yes, this certainly seems to be a better location, at least as far as food deliveries are concerned.
Don't do that! This is stressful enough! LOL.
A couple of times during the feed upstairs he'd hopped to the moulding(s) out of view. Really thought he was daring himself to take flight a few times.
Looks like he's moved further along to the next moulding - but still not being fed?
That makes perfect sense, and I so hope you're right Helen. It would surely be lunacy and against natural parental instincts to just ignore the male chick, who is otherwise perfectly healthy.
Awww he's trying to get back up
I see the male chick hopping back and forth but no food for him yet.
He's now ventured up a couple of 'tiles', but now has to operate from the overhanging platform.
He's just gone back under the platform. Closer, but less accessible for the parents?
Height of tower given as 66m.
Moulding to platform maybe up 3m ?
Moulding to roof maybe down 25m ?
Length of roof/runway maybe 40m ?
Go for it, my lad.
The male chick has now flown/scrambled back up one level, back to his position directly beneath the nesting platform. It was obvious that the male chick was aware of the feeding activities going on at the nesting platform above and there was a real effort of flapping and scambling in an attempt to get back to the nesting platform.
And parent just flown off with remaining food ugh
Heartbreaking hearing him cry for food he must be ravenous. Hes been trying to fly back to the nest. I dont think they are going to feed him at this point.
I fear for him sadly.
Mum just fed the female and herself i think hes going to have to fly or die at this point. Its so strange after all the hard work
Please wildlife trust absale down and pop him back in 🙏
On a slightly more positive note, it's clear that the male chick has continued to develop over the last 48 hours, even if he's not being fed. He's jumping between mouldings and flapping about which seems to mean that, even if he does fall from his current location, he may survive, as the flapping about should help to break his fall.
Fair comment Graham but that will amount to the same conclusion if the parents aren’t feeding him.
I don't know about the situation with Peregrine's, but it's not uncommon for the adults not to feed any chicks that leave the nest; it's like they become totally blind to them when they are no longer "where they should be". However, given the investment in the male chick so far (and the good prospect for his survival), it does not make evolutionary sense to abandon him at this stage.
Is there any point at which the admin on site would intervene to rescue him? I appreciate the need to avoid creating a danger for the other chick, and the possible need for permission due their protected status, but it would be a tragedy if a healthy bird was left to perish.
On that front, if the male chick fell from the tower, it may work to his advantage in terms of a potential rescue. At least then any rescue would not really be disturbing the nest of a Schedule One species.
Good point Graham.
His sister using her wingercising on the edge of the ledge ..pics on flickr
Please can someone help him 🙁
I can’t bring myself to look anymore
I don't watch the cameras much once the eggs hatch because I hate watching the poor pigeons being ripped to pieces but I absolutely can't watch any more at all now. I think they should switch the camera off ... no-one surely wants to watch this poor bird die on camera. So sad.
He would die sooner if “the poor pigeons” weren’t “ripped to bits” 🤔
https://youtu.be/2UUg-ERXfsk?si=ZeqW8cDUsQ5Yzf0I
Does anyone know where he is??
Try reading above. Hopefully he'll be ok.
Some footage from around 17.00 showing both chicks and the girl getting fed, have been disappointed not to see any feeding of the little male and no sight of him at all now ...
https://youtu.be/04ke9heUODE?si=mLJ3o0ZLRR_AUqIw
🙏 He can't have come this far to end like this. It's a cathedral roof so I expect nothing less than a small miracle 🤞
Little girl is flapping alot tonight bless her
Im so disappointed with the project as they can go down and ring them but not upset anything but can not help baby boy with food he has come so far and they want a show point tomorrow for everyone to see him perish so my self and grandchildren who have been watching will not now attend
We can only wish and wait for a good outcome Alison
I'm sure there is nothing more they would like than to be able to rescue this little chick but as stated in the blog header their hands are tied by wildlife rules and regs about not interfering or putting any other birds or humans in danger ... the nest is in such a difficult to reach location .. I feel the only chance is for the chick to manage to float down to the nave roof where parents could feed it or it could be rescued without causing too much distress to the other chick ... all this has been said by others but there are so many posts that comments get buried quickly! Please don't hold DWT responsible, there is still an active nest with a lovely fast growing chick to check progress of!
Same here. I'm very upset about the whole situation. Surely under the 1981 Wildlife & Countryside Act, their protection under schedule 1 is of paramount importance, and as such Natural England can Issue a licence to take a Peregrine under take specific circumstances. As a licence was allowed to ring them, surely a licence to safe the life of the boy would be allowed, and if by extension the removal of the young female so the pair could be raised by a raptor specialist. I Understand the reasons given earlier but if the wind is calmer surely something can be done now. The alternative will not be good publicity, particularly in light of the other chicks which have died in other Cathedral areas.
And which they replaced a chick into a nest that had been pushed out though they were alot younger
I do hope that the young bird can be saved
Thanks for all your many comments. The team will go down again tomorrow early to assess the latest situation. If the young male is still up on the crenelations (but perhaps out of sight of the cams) we can't abseil down as explained on the blog itself without endangering the female chick and indeed the male which would likely attempt to fly off and could injure itself in the process (it is not ready to fledge yet).
If it has fallen onto the nave roof we are fairly sure the parents will go down to feed it there. The folk at tomorrow's watch point (10-2pm) will see if that happens or not.
If we are sure the chick has not been fed then we can go onto the nave roof and collect it later and either put it on the tower top where chicks have been fed by adults in the past and from which, when it fledges, it will stand a better chance of survival at fledging.
If the chick is discovered to be in poor health it can be taken to a vet or licenced falconer to look after and release.
These are wild birds after all. Some young peregrines will undoubtedly be falling from their (natural) cliff nests all over the UK every year and some will die unseen by anyone.
Young birds have died in the platform (from disease) in the past and there was nothing we could do about it. Similarly, fledging birds have been rescued and taken back to the top of the tower by the project team at least ten times in the life of the project.
The current situation is novel and presents new problems which we will do our best to overcome. Bear with us.
The project team
Thankyou for your response, I sincerely hope it's not too late. Whilst I agree with your comment regarding others dying from their natural nests all over the UK, we are not as emotionally invested in the unseen, as we are in the seen. Anthropomorphism is sadly a common trait in humans.
The irony is that as we all puzzle over how to get food to the male chick, with possible solutions ranging from drones to Uber, those with the power to do it are there in front of us - the parents! I just can't understand why they don't feed it.
It seems that the best thing that could happen is, by whatever means, for the male chick to go onto the nave - and the sooner the better, so that it still has the energy to soften its landing.
If it stays on the crenellations or under the platform, it seems that it will not end well.
Have posted photo showing the poor little chap looking out at 5.48 am ( where the pigeons have nested in past years) he then went out of sight again.
His big sister was sitting on edge of scrape watching him. Adult arrived with no food.
People, we need to understand that this is nature. It is what it is. I'm sure DWT isn't pleased with the situation, but their hands are tied. Fingers crossed, the male chick will somehow overcome this and survive, but if he doesn't, it's part of the cycle of life and death. The project isn't about raising pets. It's about giving us a window into the natural world, warts and all.
Thanks everyone, two birds on the scrape one each end
One of those two is an adult. Not two chicks?
Thanks Morgan I couldn't add to my post(finger trouble ) sorree so it posted before I could finish. and I was going to say Thanks to Jean for her earlier scap of the lad, as she says where the pigeons used to be,.and agree with your earlier comment ,this is the tough natural world,
Serious question - are humans part of "nature"? If so, is the human urge to help this chick just a part of the cycle of life? Some say that we should just 'let nature take its course', but human activity has many repercussions for nature, some intended, some not. Indeed, it is arguable that these peregrines might not be nesting here at all without human intervention - partly intentional (i.e. the provision of a nesting platform), partly unintentional (i.e. the degradation of natural environments by humans resulting in the increasing urbanisation of wildlife). Arguably, since humans create so many problems for wildlife, the urge (instinct?) to help where we can is something to be encouraged. DWT are certainly not advocating that we just 'let nature take its course'. If they could safely intervene to help this chick, I've no doubt they would. I for one applaud the cameraman who helps an animal rather than merely records it's preventable death, regardless of the fact that they are then no longer creating an accurate record of 'the natural world'. The fact is that human activity affects the natural world in so many negative ways that anything done to mitigate that must surely be welcome.
Both parents on scrape with lil girl and food
Female chick feeding voraciously. No sound or movement from the male though which is somewhat ominous.
I thought the same not seen him or heard him for the last half hr :(
Thank you for the update. It's good to know that the best way forward with this complex situation is being assessed. Although abandoning chicks as soon as they leave the nest (for whatever reason) is common in birds, in this case it seems even more baffling. The two adults have invested so much in the male chick that it makes no evolutionary sense to abandon it at this stage; however, despite the two adults and the male chick all sat nearly side by side on the same row of crenelations yesterday, the adults only delivered food to the female chick on the nesting platform. The male chick desparately tried to scramble back up to the platform himself, with the female chick looking down from the edge of the platform watching what was going on.
All is not lost. The male chick was looking well yesterday, despite his lack of food. The parents did a great job at feeding him before he fell from the platform. Yesterday, the male chick was jumping from one crenelation to another, and managed to flap and scramble his way up to a higher ridge. I'm guessing that the best prospect for the male chich is if he falls from the Cathedral tower - his wings should now break his fall - onto the roof of the Nave, where a 'rescue' might be a more realistic possibility.
Has anybody seen anything of the male chick since yesterday? I haven't.
The female chick spent a lot of time looking down and watching something beneath the platform last night. She was very close to the screen on camera 2, suggesting that the male chick was - and perhaps still is - not visible from either of the cameras.
Male found this morning on nearby roof looking fine!
See new post for more detail as the day progresses.
Watch Point in progress - do come down!
Great news! Thank you! I was actually hoping to get down to the Watch Point today.
Chick on top calling, chick below (far moulding) comes out in response
That is excellent news! Are the adults feeding the male chick?
Haven't fed either, as far as I've seen.
That is wonderful news! So pleased. ❤️❤️❤️
The female chic was fed and ate voraciously this morning (see my post above). But I've not seen an adult even approach the male chic.
Junior just flew off - no reason, but he kept control and good height - veering toward trees.
And then the feed froze !
Oh dear. Not sure if that is good or bad news but probably more vulnerable to predators such as cats, magpies and crows etc. Fingers crossed for the little man.
Both chicks in the nest! Yay!
2.30pm Tuesday 3rd: juvenile female discivered high up on a nearby roof and looking fine. So worry no longer - she'll be fine now!!
Famous last words eh! The female was discovered on the ground by a passerby about 9pm. She was quickly caught and after a quick inspection in which both wings and legs looked fine, she was then taken to the very top of the cathedral and released there. She shouldn't come down again (he says!).
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