It didn't take this adventurous chick very long to find her way out of the tray!
Tuesday, 31 May 2011
31st May 2011
The chicks seem to have grown very quickly over the bank holiday weekend. They will soon be exploring the area outside the tray.
Monday, 30 May 2011
30th May 2011
Short video of feeding time during constant rain, with everyone looking very wet on the 30th May 2011....
Sunday, 29 May 2011
27th May - nest visit
A quick nest visit was made today in order to ring the chicks. The chicks weighed 705, 685 and 610 gms, suggesting that all three are females. Whilst the chicks were being measured, ringed and fitted with individually identifiable colour rings (orange with two letters), the remains of prey items were collected for identification. The unhatched egg was also removed and will be sent off for analysis. The chicks seem pretty healthy and are now starting to grow their wing and tail feathers and they will develop rapidly in the next week or so. They will also become more mobile and in a few days will wander off the nest tray (and out of camera view), but they are likely to return to the tray from time to time
.
Saturday, 21 May 2011
21st May 2011
What a difference the time of day makes!
In the morning the female was covering the chicks to keep them warm in the early morning chill.
In the afternoon she left them alone them to flop in the bright sunshine.
Friday, 20 May 2011
Thursday, 19 May 2011
19th May 2011
The chicks were sunning themselves at midday today after they had been fed.
It's amazing how mobile they have become in such a short time. The eldest chick is only 11 days old.
The remaining egg will be removed when the chicks are ringed under licence next week. If it is still intact and not dehydrated, it will be sent to the Centre for Hydrology and Ecology for analysis. The centre learns a lot about the chemical state of unhatched eggs and this can give early warning of problems with pesticides in the food chain and other important issues.
Monday, 16 May 2011
16th May 2011
At 07-45 this morning I switched on and saw two adult females feeding the chicks! The plumage colour difference was very obvious when they were side by side but the large size tells us they are both females. The bird furthest from the camera is our regular mother, ringed as a chick in Lancashire in 2006. The one nearest the camera is possibly a chick from two years ago that is "helping out" with the feeding. This is our best guess so far but it does seem unusual!
Sunday, 15 May 2011
15th May 2011
At half past eight tonight the falcon was very busy preening. Her time as chief incubator and guardian of the chicks will soon give way to being joint provider of the food, so her feathers must be in pristine condition.
Saturday, 14 May 2011
14th May 2011
At 0740 this morning the female was briefly off the tray and I could see that the fourth egg had failed to hatch. So we have three chicks. Let's hope all goes well and our pair can fledge all three!
Wednesday, 11 May 2011
11th May 2011
Just before 12 noon today there was a feed and three chicks and an egg were in view!
After everyone had their share the carcass was dragged away and the female returned to brood them.
Tuesday, 10 May 2011
10th May 2011
Just after 4pm the female left the tray for two minutes and , as the snapshot shows, there seems to be two chicks and one egg. I can't see the other egg so I guess it is behind the chicks.
Monday, 9 May 2011
9th May 2011 - Feeding Time
A 5 minute video of the female peregrine feeding the two chick's at 1400hrs.
9th May 2011
We have two chicks! This morning they were seen on the big screen at the Church by eagle -eyed Lynda. The falcon was feeding the chicks at the time.
9th May 2011
This is the first photo of the new chick. It's only a record shot. There will be better ones later.
Sunday, 8 May 2011
8th May 2011
The great news is that the female has a chick! At 2pm today Sue, one of our many out-of-county observers, reported an eggshell and she confirmed this at 1715. Derek from our peregrine team also saw the chick when the adult moved.
Well spotted you two and thanks for reporting it so swiftly.
Wednesday, 4 May 2011
4th May 2011
Yes,the waiting is nearly over! At 1414 today there was a changeover of incubation duties and the four eggs seem to have survived intact. In a few days time we should have the first chicks. Then the excitement begins after what has been a very quiet month.
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