What else to watch while we wait?

As the season progresses, it does seem gradually less and less likely that the Derby Cathedral peregrines will adopt the new nest box that we needed to build for them. This is obviously frustrating for everyone involved with the Project Team who've committed so much time and effort in caring for our birds, not only this year, but over the last 20 years. We know it's frustrating for many of you, too - our dedicated webcam watchers and blog readers.

Along the way, we have tried to address many of the concerns and sensible suggestions that some of you have made on the comments section so that you appreciate the reasoning behind the actions of our volunteer team. 

Meanwhile, there are many opportunities to watch other webcams focused on different bird species around the country, and to learn more about their lives and perhaps return to the Derby web cams for next season.

Here are some links to a few live cams in the UK of  other species that you may find of interest. A few have no sound and all are best watched during daylight hours. Feel free to add a comment with a link to your own personal favourite wildlife webcam.

                                  The (introduced) white storks at the Knepp Estate in Sussex:

The ospreys nesting at Rutland Water:

The exciting spoonbill colony in North Norfolk:

The white tailed eagles nesting in the Outer Hebrides:

A goshawk nest at Loch Garten in the Cairngorms:

and a barn owl nest in Yorkshire:

There are many more, especially of ospreys and peregrines  as you will know.
If not, search for them on You Tube.

Incidentally, peregrines nesting in UK towns and cities have increased massively in the last 20 years.
There are now nesting urban peregrines in almost every English county with as many as 50 pairs nesting in Greater London!
Nest success rates are higher than those in the countryside where threats from egg and chick thieves and from deliberate persecution still occur every year.
To learn more about the persecution of raptors like eagles, peregrines and hen harriers in the UK, check out the excellent Raptor Persecution blog: Raptor Persecution UK .

The Project Team