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.

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!

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.

15th May 2011

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

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!

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.

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.