Grantham Peregrine Project

Wednesday 22nd June 2011

2011-06-22T20:49:00.003+01:00

It would appear that all three chicks are doing well and one took it's first tentative short flights yesterday afternoon. Today one adventurous youngster made it to an adjacent house rooftop - hopefully it will make it's way back onto the church. Now is a good time to see them at the church, as they spend most of the time perched up on the parapet wall and can be seen from the church grounds below.

17th June 2011

2011-06-17T21:38:00.001+01:00

The Peregrine chick's have now left the nest tray. To see the birds live, please visit St Wulfram's Church, Grantham.

For the Lincs Bird Club Barn Owl Webcam sponsored by Northern Optics, please click here.

10th June 2011

2011-06-10T15:40:00.002+01:00

The chicks have grown very quickly over the past week. Unfortunately they are now quite mobile and spend most of the time away from the nest tray and out of view of our camera. However, mid afternoon today, I noted that two were back in the tray (sheltering from the rain) and I was able to grab the image above. They now look virtually fully feathered.

7th June 2011

2011-06-07T11:43:00.001+01:00

I haven't seen the adults feeding for a few days. They don't need to visit so often now. A pigeon carcass can provide a good feed for all. So I was pleased to see the female busy today at lunchtime.

6th June 2011

2011-06-06T17:13:00.002+01:00

Two of the youngsters have more clearly developed feathers today. However, all three are in excellent condition. Experienced parents produce good, healthy chicks!

4th June 2011

2011-06-04T13:09:00.001+01:00

The chicks are starting to change into darker plumage and are getting quite adventurous.

3rd June 2011

2011-06-03T18:57:00.001+01:00

It has been a hot day and the chicks are taking advantage of the sheet of plywood we fixed to the south end of the nest tray to provide shade.

31st May 2011

2011-05-31T21:55:00.001+01:00

It didn't take this adventurous chick very long to find her way out of the tray!

31st May 2011

2011-05-31T10:30:00.002+01:00

The chicks seem to have grown very quickly over the bank holiday weekend. They will soon be exploring the area outside the tray.

30th May 2011

2011-05-30T17:55:00.002+01:00

Short video of feeding time during constant rain, with everyone looking very wet on the 30th May 2011....

27th May - nest visit

2011-05-29T20:33:00.003+01:00

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

21st May 2011

2011-05-21T13:45:00.003+01:00

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.

20th May 2011

2011-05-20T17:22:00.001+01:00

Sometimes when I click on the peg cam , I wonder just who is watching who !

19th May 2011

2011-05-19T12:06:00.004+01:00

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.

16th May 2011

2011-05-16T07:55:00.005+01:00

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!

15th May 2011

2011-05-15T20:42:00.001+01:00

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.

15th May 2011

2011-05-15T15:15:00.002+01:00

Nature red in tooth and claw!
At 3pm the chicks had obviously fed well!

14th May 2011

2011-05-14T07:41:00.002+01:00

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!

11th May 2011

2011-05-11T11:59:00.003+01:00

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.

10th May 2011

2011-05-10T16:13:00.002+01:00

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.

9th May 2011 - Feeding Time

2011-05-09T16:36:00.001+01:00

A 5 minute video of the female peregrine feeding the two chick's at 1400hrs.

9th May 2011

2011-05-09T15:01:00.001+01:00

The male and female Peregrine at the nest site with the 2 chicks.

9th May 2011

2011-05-09T12:17:00.003+01:00

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

2011-05-09T07:35:00.002+01:00

This is the first photo of the new chick. It's only a record shot. There will be better ones later.

8th May 2011

2011-05-08T18:41:00.002+01:00

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.

4th May 2011

2011-05-04T20:56:00.003+01:00

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.

4th May 2011

2011-05-04T12:58:00.001+01:00

The long wait is almost over......

15th April 2011 - The male and female peregrines

2011-04-15T11:59:00.005+01:00

On the 15th April at approx 1100hrs the male peregrine was observed to be taking a turn at incubation. Looking at the two pictures below it is clearly possible to see the size difference between the two birds. At 1120hrs, we were able to video the birds swapping incubation duties.

The male bird in the nest tray at 1121hrs on 15th April 2011

The female bird in the nest tray at 1159hrs on 15th April 2011

Video from the 15th April 2011 showing the male and female switching over incubation duties.

Identified remains of Peregrine prey collected at St Wulfram's Church

2011-04-13T08:24:00.001+01:00

A full updated list of the identified remains of Peregrine prey collected at St Wulfram's Church can now be found at http://www.lincsbirdclub.co.uk/Articles/Grantham_Peregrine_project.html

Freddy Johnson visit on 9th April 2011

2011-04-11T09:47:00.001+01:00

Thank's to Freddy Johnson for this report:

I visited St. Wulfram's Church, Grantham for nearly 2 hours today (Sat 9th April - 12.15 -2.00pm.) Having parked in the nearby Watergate Car Park, I initially scanned the South-facing side of the Church and immediately spotted the male Peregrine perched at the end of the nesting ledge 'parapet', about 15-20 feet from the nesting tray area. He remained in that general area for the whole of my visit.

Inside the Church, the female could initially be seen on the screen to be sitting tight on her eggs. She later changed position close above the nest from time to time and I could catch glimpses of the eggs. She remained almost motionless for some periods, except for snapping at the occasional persistent bluebottle. On other occasions, she stared intently straight into the camera lens and it felt quite surreal to have this magnificent predator fixing me with a steely glare, seemingly only 2 or 3 feet away. As Andrew indicated in his post, the (Sharp) widescreen TV gives pictures of great clarity and definition.

There were no birders around during my visit but plenty of people stopped for a chat both inside and outside the Church, including the Assistant Priest, the Reverend June..

The Coffee Shop inside the Church is a great boon for a relaxing snack with a good selection of cakes including a delicious Coffee Cream cake topped with Walnuts.(opening hours : 10.00 - 4.00pm on Wed, Thu, Fri and 10.00 - 1.00pm Sat.)

A very pleasant and interesting visit - highly recommended. Many thanks to all the organisers.

Freddy

Sunday 10th April 2011

2011-04-10T12:56:00.002+01:00

The female is now sitting on a full clutch of 4 eggs. There will be very little excitement now until about the beginning of the second week of May when the chicks should hatch.
She will be fed by the male during incubation and he will occasionally take a turn at sitting the eggs whilst she has a fly round.

Friday 8th April 2011

2011-04-08T07:35:00.002+01:00

It was nice to wake up this morning and see four eggs at half past seven. The fourth would have been laid much earlier than this. Did anyone see it?

Live Images on NEW television supplied by Belton Garden Centre

2011-04-07T08:56:00.003+01:00

The handing over of the new television, supplied by Belton Garden Centre to show live images of the St Wulfram's Church Peregrines – 6th April 2011. From left to right - Andrew Chick (Lincs Bird Club), Will Dean (Belton Garden Centre), Mrs Peregrine (TV Star), Val York (Churchwarden, St Wulfram's). The church is open and the television is showing live images. The coffee shop sells great cakes!

4th April 2011

2011-04-04T21:24:00.007+01:00

The proud mother with her 3 eggs (see her head just in the bottom left of this video still at 1931hrs).

The female is moving the eggs at this point to get herself comfortable for the night.

4th April 2011

2011-04-04T19:33:00.005+01:00

At 1930 hrs we could see that the third egg had been laid. In fact we found out later that it was laid by 1520 today. Susan Yates in Lancashire spotted this when the female briefly left the eggs at that time. Well done Susan!

2nd April 2011

2011-04-02T08:32:00.006+01:00

The 2nd egg arrived at 28 minutes past midnight on Saturday morning (2nd April), during a very windy night at St Wulfram’s Church.

Video still showing a single egg at 00:25hrs on 2nd April 2011

Video still showing TWO eggs at 00:28hrs on 2nd April 2011

1st April 2011

2011-04-01T17:28:00.002+01:00

It's well past the 57 hours and we still only have one egg!
As I said previously, these girls have a mind of their own!
Surely egg 2 will be this evening?

30th March 2011

2011-03-30T21:06:00.007+01:00

It is normal for the female to leave the egg(s) at this early stage. She may be away for an hour or two. Rest assured that she will cover the clutch during rain showers. Should a corvid be foolish enough to get too close there will be a swift return to safeguard her eggs.
Eggs are laid at 2 to 3 day intervals. In fact it can be as accurate as every 57 hours!
This would mean the second egg arriving between 9am and 4pm on Friday. We will have to wait and see. These girls have a mind of their own so she could be later than this!

30th March 2011 - 1st Egg

2011-03-30T07:58:00.008+01:00

We think the first egg was laid on the 30th March 2011. It was first spotted by Bob prior to 7am, and we know the tray was empty at 23:00 on 29th. If any insomniacs out there have a more accurate time, please let us know.

26th March 2011

2011-03-26T20:44:00.002Z

The female roosted in the nesting tray overnight on the 26th March 2011.

25th March 2011

2011-03-25T18:53:00.002Z

Video - 25th March 2011

Video - 25th March 2011

25th March 2011

2011-03-25T14:07:00.004Z

The female is spending some time on the tray each day - especially around the middle part of the day. From her behaviour we hopefully may get the first egg early next week........ fingers crossed!

24th March 2011 - Female at the Nest Tray

2011-03-24T13:50:00.001Z

24th March 2011 - Close Up Images

2011-03-24T13:08:00.001Z

24th March 2011 - Video from the nest tray

2011-03-24T11:45:00.003Z

The female Peregrine in the nest tray on the 24th March 2011. (apologies, she just starts to scrap a nest hollow when the recorder stopped!)

The female leaving the nest tray on the 24th March 2011.

22nd March 2011

2011-03-24T09:40:00.001Z

A picture captured by Jason Fathers from Wildlife WIndows on the 22nd March 2011

9th March

2011-03-09T12:17:00.002Z

Following a period of some technical difficulties, we are now back on-line with the webcam, thanks to Andrew's technical expertise this morning. His reward was the first person to see the female sizing up the nesting tray.

Peregrine's tail - Jan 31st

2011-01-31T13:29:00.002Z

Just letting us know that the birds are about - one of the birds tail can be seen in this image take on Jan 31st.

2010 Breeding Season Download

2011-01-31T12:54:00.003Z

A complete PDF of the 2010 successful breeding season can be download at http://www.lincsbirdclub.co.uk/Articles/2010_Peregrine_Blog.pdf this document is in PDF format and approx. 1MB in size.

Grantham Peregrines' Nesting Tray Returns, Jan 27th 2011

2011-01-27T14:25:00.002Z

Welcome to the Grantham Peregrine Blog 2011! The nesting tray has been returned to the tower of St Wulfram's Church, and it is hoped that the Peregrines themselves will return soon.

Updated Prey List

2010-08-16T16:36:00.002+01:00

For an updated list of prey recovered from St Wulfram's church, please follow this link - http://www.lincsbirdclub.co.uk/Articles/Grantham_Peregrine_project.html

Juveniles now fledged

2010-06-26T17:14:00.002+01:00

The two juveniles took their first flights around Tuesday 22nd June, and today (26th) are now flying very well as the picture above shows:-

24th June 2010

2010-06-24T13:36:00.002+01:00

The image server used at St Wulfram's has been moved to a barn owl nestbox north of Sleaford, to see live images of the barn owl, please click http://www.lincsbirdclub.co.uk/owlcam.html

21st June 2010 - final video footage!

2010-06-24T13:29:00.003+01:00

This is the final video footage from the nesting tray at St Wulfram's Church. Taken on the morning of the 21st June 2010, it shows the fully grown juvenile peregrines and their new found freedom! It is unlikely they will return to the nesting tray again! However, on the morning of the 24th June both youngsters could be seen sat on the parapet at the front of the church. Later that morning the adult bird was watched soaring over Grantham ASDA!

23rd June 2010 - Webcam Update

2010-06-23T14:58:00.005+01:00

The Webcam: The Peregrine chick’s are no longer using the nesting tray provided at St Wulfram’s, so the image server has been removed and is now being used at a Barn Owl box north of Sleaford. Both Peregrine chick’s can easily be seen from the church yard, they are often seen sitting on the parapet just above the nesting box.

The screen is still working inside the church, so visitors can still live images of the tray, and also buy a coffee and a cake at the church cafe! (Details of the Barn Owl cam will be published soon.)

14th June...plenty of food!!!

2010-06-14T19:30:00.003+01:00

There looks to be plenty of food about judging by the state of the nest tray!
Here the chicks are being fed their most common prey, a feral pigeon.
Soon the chicks will be standing around on the parapet above the walkway and there will be excellent views from the grass on the west side of the Church.
The Bird Club hope to run another pegwatch in the grounds on Saturday 26th June.

New Video - Feeding Time

2010-06-08T14:21:00.002+01:00

Video from the 8th June 2010, feeding time at St Wulfram's church.

WARNING - turn down the sound on your computer, the birds are very vocal now!!

New Video - Chick's go Walk-about

2010-06-08T14:16:00.003+01:00

Video from the 8th June 2010, showing chick's walking around the nesting tray and wing stretching.

WARNING - turn down the sound on your computer, the birds are very vocal now!!

7th June....walkabout

2010-06-07T14:27:00.003+01:00

Just two and a half hours after my last blog, the chicks have gone for a walkabout.
They will probably return to the tray later when they're hungry!

7th June.... Four weeks old!

2010-06-07T12:08:00.007+01:00

The chicks are a month old and have changed so much since the end of last week.
The more adventurous chick was thinking of leaving the tray for a walkabout today , but decided to stay put. It won't be long now before they explore the walkway.

4th June

2010-06-04T08:23:00.002+01:00

Thc chicks are developing very quickly now, with their flight and tail feathers growing several milimetres each day. They are also getting more mobile and are likely to leave the nest tray any day now and wander off around the adjacent walkway. In another ten days or so they may be viewable from the church grounds below, as they perch on top of the walkway parapet.

31st May....cool wind

2010-05-31T06:51:00.003+01:00

It was a cool start to today and the chicks were being sheltered from the breeze even though they are getting well feathered now.

29th May....mobile chicks

2010-05-29T14:26:00.002+01:00

The chicks have become quite mobile these past few days and are growing fast. They are now three weeks old. Make the most of these views because it won't be long before the nest tray will be empty as they wander along the walkway exploring their surroundings.

27th May 2010

2010-05-27T08:45:00.003+01:00

The above shows the adult female feeding the chicks this morning with what appeared to be a feral pigeon. Yesterday's image shows that the chicks have been colour-ringed, as part of a national colour-ringing project on Peregrines, so that we are more likely to get further sightings.

Our adult female is also colour-ringed on her right leg. From this we have found out that she was ringed as a chick in 2006 in a nest on an inland cliff on the East Lancashire / West Yorkshire border.

26th May 2010 - ringing visit

2010-05-27T08:36:00.002+01:00

A quick visit was made to the nest site today to measure and ring the chicks. It would appear that our two chicks are both females and look very healthy. The unhatched egg had been punctured - probably accidentally by the female's talons, despite her seemingly being very careful when getting on and off, and turning the eggs.

The annoying cobweb that had been infront of the camera lens was also removed, and the prey remains collected from the church roof to go off to Ed Drewitt in Bristol for identification.

Regular viewers may also notice a change at the far end of the box/tray where an additional piece of plywood has been provided to enable the chicks to get some shade.

Feeding time - 26th May 2010

2010-05-26T19:27:00.001+01:00

This is a nine minute video of the adult female peregrine falcon feeding the two chick's a juv. starling at 0830hrs on 26th May 2010.

New Video - 24th May 2010

2010-05-24T19:00:00.002+01:00

A short video clip showing the 2 chick's being fed by one of the adult birds on 24th May 2010 at 0930hrs.

New Video - 24th May 2010

2010-05-24T18:57:00.002+01:00

Short video clip showing the two chick's left unattended.

23rd May...hot chicks!

2010-05-23T13:37:00.002+01:00

It looks like the chicks are feeling the heat as much as we are today! One of them is now mobile enough to have sought shade in the middle compartment. The unhatched egg remains at the front where one of the adults was trying to incubate it on Friday night at 10pm!

22nd May...watchpoint great success!

2010-05-22T16:25:00.002+01:00

The watchpoint for the falcons at St Wulfran's today was a great success.
There were other Peregrines seen in addition to our nesting pair, as well as a Red Kite, several Buzzards, and two Sparrowhawks. It is amazing how many birds are passing over when you look up! Well done to Steve Lyon, Steve Bulbeck, Alan Ball and all the others who helped out. Special mention for the volunteers in the cafe who served the great cakes and tea.We'll do it again soon. Watch this space.

20th May....keep Saturday free

2010-05-20T15:45:00.004+01:00

This Saturday, the Bird Club is organising a watchpoint for members (and the general public) on the grass outside the west door of St Wulfran's Church, Grantham.

It will last all day and there will be opportunities to view all the excitement through telescopes provided by our volunteers. In addition, the big screen inside the Church will show live footage of the chicks being fed, etc. There is sound too, so you can hear all the action.

The Church is famous for its wonderful cakes and beverages in the cafe by the big screen.

It's going to be a lovely, hot, sunny day, so come down and see the peregrines for yourself.

18th May...a warm day

2010-05-18T15:50:00.003+01:00

The chicks are just over a week old and growing fast. In another week they will be unrecognisable from today's tiny balls of fluff. Soon after that, we should be able to sex them, as the females are considerably bigger than the males. The tiercel has proved an efficient hunter and the chicks can be seen in typical pose for a warm day, spreadeagled flat on the tray with bulging crops. The adults have to continue to brood them at night to keep them warm and shield them from the hot sun later in the afternoon.

New Video from 14th May 2010

2010-05-14T19:30:00.007+01:00

Short video clip of the female leaving the two chicks for a few minutes.

13th May...chicks look well

2010-05-13T07:44:00.002+01:00

It was a cold start to the day. The chicks had a good feed at 7am, then the female left them briefly to remove the prey carcass. She returned after three minutes to brood them. They will grow very quickly over the next few days.

11th May.... two chicks

2010-05-11T16:24:00.003+01:00

This afternoon both chicks looked strong as they enjoyed a pigeon lunch. The remaining egg won't hatch now so we have a similar result to last year, ie two chicks from four eggs. Let's hope they now make it to fledging!

10th May...disaster averted!

2010-05-10T15:43:00.004+01:00

At 2-35pm the male rather clumsily left the nest and booted a chick out of the safe zone!

Luckily the female arrived soon after and gently retrieved her offspring. This is not the first time the tiercel has done this! Alan saw him kick the eggs out during incubation on one occasion.

10th May...one egg missing!

2010-05-10T15:24:00.005+01:00

An interesting start to the day!

At 9-20am the female left the nest for a few minutes. Two chicks and one egg could be clearly seen. It seems likely that the other egg got tangled up and disappeared when the pigeon carcass was removed by the falcon yesterday (see previous blog.)

9th May..chicks are fed

2010-05-09T17:18:00.002+01:00

Just before 5pm the falcon fed the two chicks from the pigeon carcass. She pulled off the tiniest pieces of meat and fed them very delicately to each chick in turn.

9th May: prey on tray

2010-05-09T15:37:00.005+01:00

At 3-20pm I noticed the peregrine had brought a large prey item, probably a pigeon, onto the tray and the two chicks plus two eggs could be clearly seen. She appeared to feed on the carcass, but, as yet, I haven't seen the chicks being fed.

9th May - two chicks

2010-05-09T13:48:00.002+01:00

Male did a two hour 'tour of duty' at mid-day, and I managed to get the above screen-shot at 13:50 during a lightning fast change-over. Difficult to see in the picture, due to the strong contrast between sun and shade that there seems to be two chicks and two eggs.

9th May - first chick

2010-05-09T08:15:00.005+01:00

This morning at 08:00 the female lifted up slightly to reveal a tiny chick and half an eggshell nearest to the camera, but I couldn't see the rest of the eggs/chicks. The falcon has been sitting very very tightly for the past 24 hours. She would be aware that the eggs were hatching, as a chick takes around two days to emerge from the egg after making the first hole through the shell, and she would be able to hear the chicks inside.

Snapshot above shows the falcon with the empty eggshell

3rd May...could be an exciting week!

2010-05-03T15:55:00.004+01:00

If all goes well, we should have some chicks this week sometime.
Incubation in Peregrines varies but around the end of the week could be about right.
In some years, not all the eggs hatch. (Last year she reared two chicks from four eggs.)
Can LBC members keep an eye on the tray from mid week onwards and report any white fluffy balls please?

Peregrine Video - 28th April 2010

2010-04-29T17:10:00.002+01:00

Short video clip of the female peregrine re-arranging her eggs on the 29th April 2010.

24th April

2010-04-24T12:07:00.005+01:00

The peregrines are about half way through their month's incubation now.
If all goes well, the eggs should hatch sometime during early May.
It's not unusual for only some of the eggs to hatch. We shall watch with interest what happens.
Alan captured this picture earlier today of the female slipping off the eggs through her favourite exit at the end of the nest tray . She was only gone for a few minutes.

10th April.

2010-04-10T18:01:00.002+01:00

One difference between the tiercel and the falcon that I have noticed is that their tail patterns are different. The size difference is very obvious in Alan's photos. She is considerably bulkier than he is.
The pair nested in the centre compartment of the tray last year but this year they have opted for the far end. This is because the tray has been moved a few feet further north up the walkway thus enabling the birds to have a view through a hole in the wall out over Grantham! Quite often the female leaves the tray via this hole.

10th April

2010-04-10T17:42:00.004+01:00

As Bob says, there will be little to report for a month whilst the four eggs are being incubated, and very little to see other than the female sat continuously on the eggs. Although the male will bring food for the female, he will also occasionally take a turn at keeping the eggs warm to allow the female to take a break. The composite image below, shows the difference in size between the smaller tiercel and his mate.

7th April - 4 eggs!

2010-04-07T08:21:00.007+01:00

Alan got this snapshot at 0750 this morning.
The clutch is now complete and things will be fairly quiet for a month whilst the eggs are incubated.

6th April - 4th egg?

2010-04-06T10:04:00.008+01:00

I was hoping to have posted news of the fourth egg by now.
Last night at 2049 she was acting as though she was laying an egg, but unfortunately she wouldn't stand up for long enough afterwards to reveal the whole clutch. The way she is sitting tight I assume she has begun incubating a clutch of four eggs.
Let's hope for some chicks in about a month's time!

3rd April - 3 eggs

2010-04-03T16:56:00.003+01:00

Just as the Cambridge crew crossed the finish line to win the boat race, the female left the eggs for a few seconds to allow us to confirm the third egg.

3rd April - 3rd egg?

2010-04-03T12:43:00.002+01:00

From her behaviour, I suspect that the 3rd egg was laid just prior to 12:30 today. It was not possible to confirm this when she briefly raised herself up, and we will need to wait until she moves again. If we do have the 3rd egg, we can expect her to lay her 4th and final egg (assuming she has four) just after 9pm on Easter Monday.

1st April

2010-04-01T08:09:00.003+01:00

Well done to Jason who spotted the second egg (bang on time!) and managed to grab a shot.
Jason supplied the cameras so perhaps he had inside information as to the best time to "get up in the night!"
Hopefully, egg number 3 will be laid around lunchtime on Easter Saturday.

1st April 2010 - 2nd Egg

2010-04-01T07:46:00.002+01:00

Images taken at 03.53am show the 2nd egg.

1st April 2010

2010-04-01T07:30:00.003+01:00

Ist April.
Well it's half past seven and she's sat tight all night with a keen west wind blowing over her!
I checked at 2am, 4am, 5am and 6am, but she was giving nothing away. But from the way she's sat I think we might have an addition! Fingers crossed!

31st March

2010-03-31T18:36:00.004+01:00

The Derby Cathedral birds now have four eggs and the interval between each egg being laid was remarkably synchronous at 57 hours.
If our female were to follow suit, we could expect a second egg on Thursday at around 4 o'clock in the morning. It will be interesting to see when she does actually lay.
We are relying on members and friends to make a note of major happenings, such as when they notice a new egg. I shall be watching the screen as often as possible but I need to sleep sometimes!
The team are very grateful for all the messages of support for the project that we have received.

30 March

2010-03-30T15:16:00.002+01:00

It is quite normal for the female to leave the egg(s) for an hour or two as they are not being incubated at this stage. She will usually cover them in rain showers. She will be nearby, out of camera shot, keeping watch.
Eggs are laid at 2 to 3 day intervals. A complete clutch will normally be 3 or 4 eggs.

30th March 2010

2010-03-30T07:39:00.004+01:00

The female briefly left the nesting tray this morning, leaving the egg clearly visible. She won’t start incubation properly, until the full clutch is laid (in about 7 day’s time.)

29th March - it's an egg

2010-03-29T19:59:00.008+01:00

It may seem strange that we could finally confirm an egg after it got dark. The egg is dark red, but in infra-red light (which the camera automatically changes to at dusk) the egg appears bright white and could be seen briefly when she turned around at 20:00 hrs.

29th March - first egg?

2010-03-29T19:15:00.008+01:00

At 19:00 hours today........is there an egg? She had been sat at the far end of the nesting tray for some time when she stood up to reveal what looked like an egg. She was calling to her mate who stood on the parapet wall just out of view. It's difficult to tell from the image below.....if it is an egg, she's chosen the end of the tray furthest away from the camera.

28/03/2010

2010-03-28T14:18:00.003+01:00

Female at far end of nest-tray from 12:20 to 14:00. The female bird returned later to the nest tray after dark and roosted there.

27th March 2010

2010-03-28T10:02:00.002+01:00

Today the female bird spent up to half an hour sat on the church tower parapet at approx. 9.00hrs.