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.