Watch Points begin this weekend

WatchPoints
You'll be pleased to know that we've been planning our summer Watch Points on the Green behind the Cathedral.
These will give visitors to Derby the chance to see our birds close up through telescopes which we provide. There is no charge but donations are always welcome, of course.
Watch Points have so far been arranged for every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from this Saturday (15th May) until at least mid-June and probably later, depending on how the chicks fare and exactly when they fledge.
Watch Points start about 10.30 a.m. and end at 1.30 p.m. when the sun moves off the east face of the tower.and starts getting in our eyes! If the weather is very wet on any one morning, then our volunteers may decide not to set up at all. They have no shelter there - so please bear with them.

We hope to see many of you over the next few weeks - do make yourselves known to our volunteers who will be only too keen to provide information about the birds and the project itself.


Other Things to Do in Cathedral Quarter
After watching the birds, why not drop into the Cathedral Centre on Irongate for a warming drink and food and perhaps also visit either or both The Silk Mill Museum by the river or the City's main Museum & Art Gallery on The Strand. You can purchase a DVD about the project from either venue (and sometimes also from the Watch Point).
The Watch Points are organised and run by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and its volunteers.

The Project Team

PS Check out the Big Screen in Derby's Market Place from now onwards - our falcons will be live there every weekday from 1.15-1.45pm. and 3:15 to 3:45pm. More times will be added later we're told.
The live webcam in Derby Museum & Art Gallery is currently out of order whilst we await a replacement monitor, but the webcams are often available to watch on request at the reception desk of The Silk Mill.

Report on the first Watch Point - Saturday, 15th May:
The watchpoint went well today and the weather remained dry.
We were busy to begin with and had visitors from the local area, Leicester, Northampton and from Italy!
During the first one and a half hours the male was present- mostly perched on one of the gargoyles and seen eating prey. The female stayed on the nest platform for a lot of the time and had a couple short flights but kept the chicks in her sight.The heads of some of the chicks were visible on occasions. The tiercel left at about noon and didn't return before we closed. After the male left, there was less activity and there were few sightings of the chicks or the female who lay low on the platform.She appeared to be slightly disturbed by the people on the tower tour and made an appearance soon after 1 pm, circling the tower before settling back on the platform.
Celia & Helen.

Wow! Big Audience; Big Screen; Big Wait

Wow!
Firstly, may I say how heartening it's been to read so many of your comments left on the last few blog entries. It's clear that many of you, like us, are on tenterhooks, wondering when the chicks will take flight. Will they; won't they? They certainly haven't yet.
It's been grey and wet in Derby for the last day or so, and set to get worse. Typical - we have a major Springwatch Festival at Osmaston Park in Derby on Sunday from 11am - 4pm, so now we've fingers crossed for good weather there, too.


And Wow!
Look at that screen! No, it's not a fake picture, it's Derby's newest piece of technology - a giant screen for broadcasting local and national events in our city's Market Place. It went live with our video stream yesterday, taking fast-moving pictures direct from Derby Cathedral's webcam - and quite a few heads were turning to make out what on earth it was showing. You know, of course.

The Big Screen's offical launch is next week, but they sneaked our birds in before they have their own offical launch party, high up in the skies over Derby.

And wow again!
This time, Barry, one of the regular peregrine watchers outside Derby Cathedral couldn't contain his excitement yesterday after seeing our female stoop at high speed in a 45 degree angle above the tower to take a bird. She missed her quarry, but her power and speed obviously impressed him greatly. Our birds rarely hunting right over people's heads in Derby city centre, so this was a lucky sighting, indeed.

And finally, wow! Over 155,000 visitors already. Earlier this season the project team members each bet on how many hits we'd have before the birds fledged. Last year, when we put our webcam plans together, I estimated 30,000 visitors overall. Later, my bet went up to 125,000. Wow - it's so good to lose sometimes.