Updated Prey List

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

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

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!

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

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!!!

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

23rd May...hot chicks!

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!

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

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

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

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

13th May...chicks look well

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

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!

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!

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

24th April

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.

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

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!

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?

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

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?

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

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

Images taken at 03.53am show the 2nd egg.

1st April 2010

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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

26th March 2010

The female birds spent a considerable amount of time in the nesting tray today, between 13.00hr and 14.00hrs. She was seen preening and scraping out the hollow in the centre of the nesting tray.


The picture immediately below this text shows her scrapping out the nesting area. She crouches down, with her tail in the air and wings flat on either side. She then kicks back with her feet to create the hollow in which we hope she will lay her eggs.

Nest Scrapes - 24th March 2010

March 24th 2010

Two nest scrapes are now obvious in the nesting tray, and the tail of the female bird is just visible on the church tower parapet.

First Webcam Images - 22nd March 2010

The first images from the Grantham Peregrine Project webcam, showing the female bird in the nesting box. She was seen to create a scrape within the gravel, which she will soon lay her eggs in.

Welcome to the Grantham Peregrine Blog - March 2010

Welcome to the Grantham Peregrine blog and Diary 2010.

Log on daily to get news and updates from the Grantham Peregrine Webcam on St Wulfram’s Church.