News Update and Position Statement

Update 20th May 11am: The ill chick has now died and has been partly fed to the other chicks. Please click the comments link at the bottom of this post to read a range of observations by webcam watchers around the world which recount this morning's events.
Update 21st May 8am: both chicks visible while doing a Radio Derby interview about them this morning - and both adults sunning themselves on the gargoyles above the nest too!

Digiscoped photo shows one of the chicks looking perky! Taken 7.30 a.m. UK time, 21st May.

The paragraph below is now out of date as you can see from the updates above:
The three peregrine chicks on the nest platform at Derby Cathedral are still alive at the time of writing. Many of you have been watching closely since a second chick became ill on Tuesday morning. Despite all our predictions, it is still alive and has received much careful attention and protection from the Falcon (adult female). Despite its tenacity, it does seems highly unlikely to survive for much longer.



Not surprisingly there have been many comments left on this blog discussing possible causes and the appropriateness or otherwise of any intervention by the Project Team. It has been a pleasure to read all these views and to appreciate the different perspectives on the subject, even if seeing the chick via our webcams has not recently been so pleasant. Just as with the injured bird last year, we have had to think most carefully about what action we would like to take (and indeed what action we are legally permitted to take.)

The bottom line is that we shall not be intervening nor, unfortunately, shall we be ringing the chicks this year. Read on for further explanation . ..

Despite appearances (and some illness amongst the Project Team and families) we have not been idle these last few days. We share many of the concerns expressed on this blog and in deciding what course of action to take we have consulted with many people: local falconry experts, local veterinary experts, a national urban peregrine expert, DEFRA, Natural England and even Derbyshire police.

Since the near extinction of peregrine falcons in the 1960s, the legal protection afforded to these birds in the UK is amongst the highest of any species. Any unlicenced disturbance whatsoever to a peregrine nest site is regarded as a most serious offence (even if carried out with the best of intentions). In essence, we cannot just decide to intervene as all those involved would be open to police investigation and possible prosecution for disturbing a Scheduled 1 species under the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act. There have been a number of incidents in Derbyshire affecting birds of prey recently, and the police advise us that there would be every likelihood that pressure would be brought to bear for at least a full investigation of each of our roles in such an incident, if not a prosecution for an unlicenced disturbance to a Schedule I species occurring in Derby. We are pleased the police take such a view as it clearly demonstrates how wildlife crime in our area is now taken very seriously indeed.

So, taking the advice of DEFRA and Natural England's Licensing Unit in Bristol, we applied late on Monday night for special permission to remove what we thought would, by now, be a dead chick, and had planned on arranging for post-mortem analysis to be carried out for toxins and parasites. One local veterinary expert suggested that, if parasites were proven, treatment could be offered to the other chicks at the time of ringing later this week, and he even offered to attend. Not unreasonably, our application to Natural England was rejected today on two grounds:
a) that any intervention or treatment to the other chicks is considered to be inappropriate, and
b) that any corpse could be retrieved at the time of ringing, meaning only one short period of disturbance, rather than two.

As with all other aspects of this project, we rely very heavily on volunteer input, and this includes ringing. Yesterday we realised that for the first time since peregrines started breeding here in 2006 our two bird-ringers would be unable to find a mutually convenient evening during the very short window of opportunity available for this task. So we have regrettably had to cancel our plans to ring (or "band") the chicks in 2010.

So late this afternoon we resubmitted our licence request simply to retrieve the chick should it die, without offering any other intervention to the other chicks, and we now await a second response. For a department normally offering a 15-30 day response to licensing applications, Natural England has been brilliantly efficient, and we will fully support whatever decision the national experts make. As a Project Team consisting of three respected organisations we need to show that we uphold the law at all times in relation to UK wild bird protection, even if it differs from that in other countries. Yes, we realise it is unpleasant to see another creature suffer - be they predator or prey, but our hands are tied in what must be regarded as being in the best interests of wildlife conservation. And even if they were not tied, we would still be making roughly similar decisions, possibly going down only to shorten its anguish if we could, as it will clearly not survive to adulthood.

We have always said how Derby's peregrine webcams have made us all fortunate observers of wild creatures, and not wildlife managers. We hope this explanation does clarify the situation in which we find ourselves, and we recognise that some of you will feel very differently. Meanwhile, despite the chick's obvious anguish, many of us have surely been impressed to discover just how much care and attention a falcon can give to a chick when it is poorly in some way and is calling out in distress..

Nick M., Nick B, Tony G.
Derby Cathedral Peregrine Project

Of Life and Death

So, as many webcam watchers are well aware, a second chick now looks certain to die. From early this morning it was clear that one of the chicks was on its back, unable to right itself. The falcon (female parent)  did its best to shelter it from the sun, but made few moves to right it, though she was clearly concerned with it all day long. Despite kicking its legs vigorously every few minutes, the chick was not successful even in moving more than an inch or two.  Not surprisingly, many comments were left expressing concern over its welfare, asking about the cause and the solution. The realistic answer at this stage is that there is no solution - this is nature at work, and we must wait to see whether it regains the strength to recover, though this is not likely.

I had planned to find a form of words that highlighted how  privileged we are to be able to see nature at work and to highlight that, with this privilege, comes the need for us not to become overly attached or sentimental. All around us, everywhere we could look, nature is at work in its continuous life and death struggle for survival. But this comment left here earlier today probably does that job better far than I could, so we decided to reproduce most of it here:

"Although it's sad to see a chick not making it, and doubly so probably for the children watching, I feel we should be careful not to react as though they were human babies. This how the natural world is, and most of us living in towns and cities have to some extent become divorced from this reality. Don't get me wrong - I've invested a lot of my own time and hopes, like everyone else , in this pair and their chicks,  and I do feel the pain; but we shouldn't get sentimental . . . "

At around the time the picture below was captured earlier this evening *suggesting all three chicks were receiving at least some food) two of the Project Team met to discuss our course of action. The experts we have spoken to feel the problem probably lies with a "rearing issue", which itself has a number of possible causes.We're still investigating how best to proceed, and will do our best to keep you informed of progress. As we so often say here, these are truly wild creatures whose life and death struggles - along with those of their prey - are playing out countless times across the spring countryside right now and intervening is rarely an option..



We hope you may also understand that for each of us in the Team this Peregrine Project is not our main job - it's an added extra which we're happy to support, sometimes in work but more often than not in our own time. So forgive us if we aren't able to answer every question you may ask, or provide video clips of every moment - no matter how delightful or upsetting they may be. The comments and screen shots many of you are however posting are proving immensely helpful in letting others follow the daily life and death challenges faced by just one city's family of peregrines. And for that we're grateful.

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.

Come on down (Past event)

(Please scroll down for the latest news of the chicks!!)

There was a Peregrine and Cathedral Tower Open Day today, organised by the cathedral staff, between 11am and 4pm on Monday 3rd May, with a (rare) chance to climb the tower and also to view the nest platform and the off-duty adult from Cathedral Green.

Teas/coffees were available and there was a small display about the project plus peregrine masks for childrne to colour in.

Tower tours were at 11am and 12 noon with further ones through the afternoon though the early afternoon ones may well be booked up because a school is bringing two classes along to see what's what.

There were telescopes available for you on the Green with DWT volunteers on hand to point out where the platform is, where the birds perch and hopefully a chance to see the male bring food into the female too.

Bring warm clothing because although the sun may shine and it should be dry, there's a cold wind blowing!

Don't forget to scroll down to the previous post to get all the latest news and photos of the newly arrived chick.

Two Reports on the happenings of the day are appended at the  bottom of  this post. Thanks to our volunteers who generously "manned" the Watchpoint during the day.

The Project Team

Here are some of today's photos you've captured.
Tedgaytor


Twwitcher


Tedgaytor


pigeonfancier



WatchPoint Report part 1.
Watchpoint Report Part 1 - 10.30am to 2.00 pm

Not a great deal to report this morning unfortunately. We never saw the falcon from the ground although, as we were setting-up at about 10.30, one of the adults flew into the nest platform and wasn't seen to emerge (although we were quite busy and may have missed it leaving again). The tiercel spent two long periods sat on the J of Jury's Inn giving good views.

On the Tower Tours, we saw the remains of several prey items including Song Thrush and Little Grebe as well as seeing the tiercel fly off from Jury's Inn at about 11.45 and landing briefly on the nest platform in a rain shower at around noon before returning to his perch on the J.

Finally, to thank people for coming down and for all your donations.

Andy & Chris M.

Watchpoint Report Part 2 - 2.00pm to 4.00pm

Things remained quiet for the first part of the afternoon with the tiercel continuing to sit on the Jury's Inn sign. During a particularly heavy shower he again returned to the tower to take shelter underneath one of the arches above the nest platform for a while, before disappearing. He was later seen back on the hotel lettering. There was a steady stream of people including a large party of school children, as well as some Dutch visitors who were suitably impressed! It was also good to meet several of you who have contributed to the blog. Unfortunately from the ground it was not possible to see the exciting developments taking place on the scrape, as both falcon and chicks stayed well hidden. However, on the last tower tour we were treated to some lovely views of the newly hatched fourth chick, whilst watching the live images on the monitor in the bell ringing chamber. Perfect timing!! The chicks were fed for around ten minutes, after which the falcon then settled back down to brooding them.

Helen, Brian & Margaret

Chick Ringing 2

Here is a video of yesterdays ringing of the four peregrine falcon chicks on Derby Cathedral. It took place at 7pm last night, and was quickly over. Our thanks to the two volunteer ringers - Ant and Martin - who have many years of ringing experience between them. Ant believes we have two males and two females, based on their size and degree of development.



Even before we had left the tower the female was back at the nest platform, though was not surprisingly a little unsettled to begin with.


by Marski2009

Up In Front Of The Beak

With four peregrine chicks at Derby this year, our parent birds are going to be kept busy keeping them all fed. But they did it last year, and there's no reason to fear that any bird will be left out. Often just a bundle of white feathers seemingly huddled together for warmth and support, it can be hard when they come in view to actually count how many we have. Sometimes it's a case of "count the beaks".

The feeding shots below were taken on Sunday evening, three days after the first two eggs hatched and just 24 hours after the last chick appeared. Our adult male was watching over his young brood for a while, and them mum appeared with food which she had probably retrieved from a nearby ledge. It was a reasonably brief feeding session, and she soon left with the food before returning shortly afterwards to huddle up and keep them all warm as sunset approached.

Thanks to Dave Arrowsmith for uploading the top picture -and a number of others - to our Flickr group pool. (Now, instead of racing against time to beat Froona to upload some stunning screen shots, as I used to do, it's now a race against time to beat all 50 members of the Flickr pool!)

Chick Flicks

(Updated Sunday 12: 45 UK time

It seemed that half the world was watching yesterday evening as chick no 4 made its appearance. I think this screenshot captures the exact moment of appearance at 20:48.

Below that is a stop-motion video of this 20 minute episode. And thanks for everyone's comments and feedback, too. No doubt here will be other images posted on our brand new Flickr photo pool from many watchers around the world. )

The three other video clips shown below of our new peregrine chicks were retrieved from the recording equipment inside the bell-ringing chamber of Derby Cathedral’s ancient tower on Friday 1st May. They go back to 29th April when our first egg hatched, and lead up to today's exciting and long-awaited events


The first gives a glimpse of the first egg in the process of hatching at 18:45 on 29th April 2009, with the chick still half inside the egg. We then see Mum nibbling at (consuming?) the free eggshell. Turn up the sound to hear the faint call of the young chick. (Duration: 2min 51sec)





The second shows the two 12-hour old chicks being fed around 10:40 on 30th April 2009 (Duration: 2min 36sec)






The third shows Mum taking a well-earned break, leaving now three chicks alone on the nest platform for a while. Aren’t they cute at this stage? Just wait a few days and boy, do they change! This was also captured on 30th April, but at 18:37 local time. (Duration: 1min 25sec)




Flickr:
This group is really taking off, with some fantastic webcam screenshots now uploaded from around the world. Thank you. There have been some problems reported with people not being able to view all the pictures. This can be remedied by joined the Group itself, after reading and agreeing to the group rules, of course.

Comments left on the blog today have suggested that anyone uploading pictures needs to ensure they have their privacy setting so that their pictures are “open to all". (I hope I've got this right!)

Update:
Latest image taken at 19:20 on Saturday evening shows the fourth egg with some definite cracking around it.

Interruption to pictures

The ringing of the chicks happened today from (17:47 to 18:45 local time), and there was an interruption to the service which normally lets you see and hear the birds while it took place. This meant the pictures were frozen for an hour or so.

Update: Ringing was successfully completed by 18:45 (with just one abseil rope getting a bit stuck for a while). The Streamdays image stream has now returned, though we still only have audio on the live stream. The parent bird returned to the nest platform immediately the ringers had left, which is what we would have expected.

So, what have we got? Well, a phone call from the tower has just reported that Ant and Martin (our two licenced ringers) believe we have three male peregrine chicks and one female.

As well as making the ringers feel less "under the spotlight", we were concerned that someone watching the web cams may not be aware that ringing was taking place (human arms and legs would suddenly appear at the platform) and could think there was an attempt to steal the chicks and panic and ring the police (though we have already given notice to Derbyshire police that ringing would be taking place today).

Now that ringing is complete we'll let you know in more detail how it went, and also post photos of the chicks as soon as we can....and at least the dangling prey item obscuring the view has been removed!

The photo here shows one of the two 2007 chicks with its numbered colour ring. It also had a small metal ring on the more distant leg. The colour ring is big enough to read the number through a telescope but loose on the leg and in no way a hindrance to the bird. It means that, should this bird perch somewhere where someone can see the ring and read the number, eg on a building in say Nottingham, we will know where our Derby offspring are. Even if they can only see the (unique) colour, we will know it was a Derby-bred bird (peregrines colour ringed elsewhere have a different colour).


The metal ring is a standard ring which simply states 'contact Brit. Museum' and has a unique number such that if the bird is found injured or dead or is recaptured, its exact identity and origin will be known.


Colour rings do fall off sometimes, the colour fades and the number becomes difficult to read, so both rings are essential to maximise the information we can get back from these chicks in the future.


The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) organises and supervises the ringing of wild birds in the UK. See their website for more about bird ringing in general. They are fully aware of what we do at Derby.

And Then There Were Three!

Three chicks have now hatched - just like in 2006, which was the first year our peregrines nested on the side of Derby Cathedral's Tower. The pictures below were taken at noon today, after Mum had sat on the chicks and eggs for so long that I suspect many of us thought we'd never get any work done. But a brief departure by the adult, followed by the male's arrival gave us the evidence we needed.

STOP PRESS: Someone over in Holland is doing an absolutely brilliant job of presenting our pictures in slideshow form! After viewing the pictures below, do please nip over to Froona's blog where she has built a special page containing over 100 pictures of today's feeding highlights from Derby (Are we jealous? Only slightly, but mostly grateful) We'll aim to bring you some video clips of this weekend's special events in the next 24 hours.





















A few minutes later a brief moment of feeding allowed us to capture this lovely close-up of our three new arrivals, before Mum returned to brood them and they were once again hidden from view.

Thanks to Veronica B. in Cornwall, we have a picture of the third chick taken around 09:53 this morning, showing the very wet new arrival. As with all our pictures, click to enlarge.

Webcam pages:
Because little is happening on the far side of the nest platform right now, I've changed our second webcam page to show just the tower camera, where we should be seeing the male on guard and preparing food for the chicks below. I hope this full sized picture meets with most people's approval, but we'll return to the multi-feed view in due course.

Follow these links to:

read an overview of the peregrine project,

add your name to our mailing list

find out about the brand new DVD: "The Peregrines of Derby Cathedral")

see many more pictures on Froona's very detailed blog over in Holland (both from our webcams and from many others around the world)

Second Peregrine Chick Hatches

It comes to something when you have to send viewers over to Holland to see pictures of our second chick hatching!!!

But earlier on we could do no better than to refer you to the latest entry of Froona's Blog who, like many thousands of you today, is clearly keeping a close eye on events on the ancient tower of Derby Cathedral. The second chick appeared sometime around 17:30 BST (local UK time) - so we're now doing as well as we were this time last year when we also had two chicks and two eggs that never made it.

Eventually we managed to capture the series of pictures below which were taken at a changeover around 19:30 local time this evening.



Earlier today we were sent a picture of Mum and Dad changing over with junior No 1 surrounded by his/her future brothers or sisters. Sorry I can't credit the person who kindly emailed this in - I'm afraid I had to delete the huge email as it blocked up my Inbox, and then I realised I had no name to thank. Thanks also to Chris and David who also sent shots this evening of the changeover above.

Once again please: NO PICTURES OVER 100Kb! At some point I fear my email system may block up, and I can do nothing until we return to work on Tuesday.

(Follow these links to read an overview of the peregrine project, to add your name to our mailing list, or find out about purchasing the brand new DVD: "The Peregrines of Derby Cathedral")

Egg No. 3

We have three eggs now. This photo was taken at 10:30 local time (now BST, as our clocks moved forward an hour last weekend from GMT).

Last year four egs were laid, but only two hatched. Despite this, the parents tried to keep the two new chicks warm whilst at the same time incubating the non-viable eggs for a considerable number of days. Eventually one got broken on the nest and - if I remember rightly - the shell was consumed by the female. The fourth got broken during the short struggle by our ringers (or banders, as they're called in the US) to safely capture the eyass (young chick) for ringing.

In answer to a number of recent questions left in "Comments", Nick Brown (DWT) recently wrote the following. His answers are well-worth repeating here:

"Loads of questions! Here's a few quick answers: By starting incubation right away, owls produce young of different ages. This is an adaptation to a fluctuating food supply (vole and mice numbers are well known to cycle from abundant one year to scarce the next). Often the smaller chicks die (or are eaten by their bigger siblings) and the brood size is reduced to match the food supply. Peregrines by comparison have a much more reliable food supply and usually rear all their 4 (even occasionally 5) young. So synchronised hatching makes sense.The reason the peregrines are covering the first and second eggs is to keep them warm (during what has been a cold snap of weather). Serious incubation - when she gets right down and opens up her hot 'brood patch' on the eggs -won't happen until at least the third and probably the fourth egg is laid.The last egg is often a bit smaller than the first three, so probably is slightly less likely to produce a strong youngster than the others. Some birds sit on addled or infertile eggs for weeks after the 'expected' hatching date. However, if say two of the four eggs hatch, the parents will start feeding these immediately while continuing to brood the other two eggs (and the small chicks). This happened last year on the cathedral. Gradually they just ignore the unhatched/dud eggs and focus their attentions on the two chicks."

On The Edge for a Fledge

Well, it can’t be long before our two young peregrines take that giant leap into the unknown and attempt their first flight. There’s been lots of wing-flapping activity recently, and with each flap we see more white down flying into the air.
Only about four days ago we started seeing the birds tearing and swallowing their own food, so they’re certainly getting more independent.

OK, so when will they fledge, and what will happen?
Firstly, expect to see them standing confidently on the lip of the platform for long periods of time, like these three chicks from last year. Until Sunday, we'd only witnessed the odd foot being placed against it and withdrawn, but then they started standing on the edge. There will be lots more wing-flapping before one of them takes their first flight, and it could then be a further day or so before the second one leaves.

This is the dangerous time. Our two female chicks are larger than males would have been. Last year it was the male who left first, and who flew confidently and powerfully right from the start. But in 2006 both females managed to crash land on their first flights, with one having to be brought back and released on the top of the tower.
This year we’ve placed a “rescue kit” inside Derby Cathedral, comprising some stout gloves, a cardboard box and some rags – all just in case of disaster. The watchers on the Green below will see what happens, and alert us to any problems.

But when will they fly?
It’s hard to say exactly. We’ve suggested any time between 17th June – 20th June, and it now seems likely to be later than earlier. Do keep watching, wherever you are in the world. And fingers crossed!

Nick, Nick & Tony

Derby Museum, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust & Derby Cathedral

Single parent family

The chicks are being left for quite long periods now. This is normal. They don't need brooding any more and can survive many hours without food.

Of course, our chicks have two parents bringing in food - not so in Dayton, Ohio! Since the mysterious disappearance of their female falcon in mid May, peregrine watchers have watched their male, known to be 17 years old, do a great job in feeding the chicks which he does every 2-3 hours apparently. The photo shows him with his offspring. Check him out at www.boonshoftmuseum.org/falconcam.html.

Thanks to Jan in Dayton for the photo and the information.

Ahhh!!!

Just one of the pictures taken today on the roof of Derby Cathedral during the ringing of the chicks. Isn't she adorable?

Thanks to all involved for a very successful evening

Ringing the chicks - disruption likely

Please note that we will be ringing the two chicks this evening (June 1st). There will be some disruption to the web cam pictures for about an hour while the ringing is in progress. We will disable the cameras, otherwise viewers will see parts of the abseiler suddenly appearing on the platform and will probably start to panic, thinking there was an intruder!

The female will certainly fly about screaming at us. However, only minutes after the chicks have been replaced on the platform, she will return to brood them and life will return to normal.

The licenced ringers, are very experienced at this work. They have been ringing peregrines and other raptors for many years and what they will do tonight is quite routine for them.

More details about the chicks, what sex they are and the details of their rings will follow later.

Note that the photo shows one of LAST year's chicks being ringed.

Gone Walkabout

A visit to the webcams this morning might have alarmed some viewers. Where is the second chick? Thanks to our other camera, it was easy to see that our chicks are now starting to wander about more freely than ever. One walked over on its own to the other half of the nest ledge on derby cathedral's tower before Mum came to collect it. Of course, the other chick then felt abandoned and began calling loudly!

We received some interesting comments on Friday from a viewer, saying that around 7pm local time they had witness one of the parents consuming one of the old eggs. Certainly, one does seem to have disappeared, and we may be able to check our film footage and capture exactly how this happened.

A couple of dozen video clips have just been posted off to Devon, at the request of the BBC, where Bill Oddie, Kate Humble and a huge team of technicians are preparing for this years TV extravaganza - "Springwatch". Broadcast each night on prime-time UK television, it uses live cameras and specialist photographers to capture and broadcast the marvels of British wildlife. Whether they will want to use our footage is another matter. But time will tell.

First Walkabout

After witnessing the chicks first "projectile poo" on Thursday, we saw another first today - an exploratory walkabout, as this series of pictures shows. Click on any shot to enlarge.

TV Stars

BBC Television came to Derby to film at Derby Cathedral yesterday. It was our Peregrines, and those who come to watch them, that were centre stage. A new series called "Nature in Britain" is being filmed this summer, to be presented by Alan Titchmarsh - well known in the UK as a TV gardener and all-round presenter.

Three cameramen, sound recordist, interviewer and producer gathered at the Peregrine Watch Point (now on Cathedral Green every day from 10-2pm) to talk to shoppers and passers-by.

Later, whilst we were filming inside the tower we were lucky enough to see on-camera one of the chicks doing its first "projectile poo" - by 8 days old they can squirt out their faeces some 15-20cm. This is the white mess you see on the wooden sides of the platform, but sadly the activity doesn't quite come across that well with static web images.

There was mild concern yesterday about the adult male's left eye, which he was keeping closed for much of the time, though it did not stop him hunting for food. We'll bring you more news of this in the next few days.

As well as the Peregrine Falcons, two other local wildlife features in Derby were being filmed: the crayfish at Markeaton Brook, and the sand martins and skylarks at The Sanctuary - which is the city's first bird reserve, right next door to Pride Park Football Stadium.