APRIL 2023

1 Apr – the female remains on the eggs until 3:55 when she flies out, but returns ten minutes later. She leaves at pace at 7:30; possibly in response to an intruder. She returns at 8:05. She walks to the ledge at 9:50 for a few minutes, calling to the male, then returns to the eggs. She eventually gets a break when there is a changeover at 11:00. The male remains on the eggs until the female returns at 16:10. She flies off at 16:45 and the male lands with plucked Feral Pigeon prey. The female snatches it from him, and they both fly off. She is back on the eggs at 17:25. At 21:10, there is a change in her posture and a few minutes later, the THIRD EGG of the season is laid. She covers the eggs and remains until midnight at least. Incubation Time: Female 17h:35m; Male 05h:10m; Total 22h:45m.

2 Apr – the female remains on the eggs until 6:10 when, for the first time, she exposes them to confirm the third egg. She leaves and is replaced by the male but for five minutes. On her return, she does not realise he is there and is startled when he flies out. She is off again at 6:40 and the male takes over. He leaves at 8:40 as the female flies in. She leaves quickly, calling, at 9:00, returning at 9:25. The male arrives at 10:10 carrying fresh Feral Pigeon prey which is taken by the female. He flies out and she leaves with her meal. She is back looking well fed at 10:55 and resumes incubation. The male arrives with another Feral Pigeon prey at 14:35 and takes it into the box for the female. Strangely, she ignores it and flies out; he incubates the eggs. At 16:10, the male flies out and the female lands and decides to feed on the meal brought in earlier, then resumes incubation. She flies out at 18:40 and is replaced by the male. She returns an hour later looking well fed with a full crop. The male sits on the ledge for a few moments then flies off. The female remains on the eggs until midnight at least. Incubation Time: Female 18h:00m; Male 04h:40m; Total 22h:40m.

3 Apr – the female remains on the eggs until the male flies in at 6:05 and takes over. She returns two hours later but the male is reluctant to give up incubation. The female stands over him and calls loudly. He relents after ten minutes and flies out. He is back at 11:25 and there is a quick changeover. The female returns at 15:20 and remains incubating until 18:30 when she flies out quickly for five minutes. At 19:05, she walks to the platform and the male flies in. He takes over duties, but she does not fly out, rather she stands on the platform for five minutes calling loudly. She then displaces the male and resumes incubation. Incubation Time: Female 17h:40m; Male 06h:15m; Total 23h:55m.

4 Apr – the female remains on the eggs until 6:15 when she flies out. She returns a few minutes later but immediately leaves and is replaced by the male. She is back at 9:35 but he is reluctant to give up incubation. She calls continually and he reluctantly leaves as she resumes. She flies out again at 11:05 but returns five minutes later. She is off at 12:45 but returns after ten minutes to resume incubation. The male takes over at 14:05 and the female returns at 15:20. She leaves briefly at 16:30. Her demeanour changes and 15 minutes later she lays a FOURTH EGG. She waits for it to dry, then gathers it into the clutch and resumes incubation. She remains on the eggs for the rest of the evening. Incubation Time: Female 19h:00m; Male 04h:35m; Total 23h:35m.

5 Apr – the female stays tight on the eggs throughout the night until 5:55 when there is a changeover and the four eggs are seen together for the first time. She returns at 8:45 looking well fed but quickly leaves. She is back ten minutes later and calls to the male who again is reluctant to give up incubation. He calls back but after ten minutes she forces him from the eggs. At 9:30 the male arrives carrying fresh Feral Pigeon prey. He stands on the platform calling to the female but she has already eaten well and so he consumes the meal. He flies off with the remains after ten minutes. There is a changeover at 13:35 and another at 15:50. The male is back with the pigeon remains at 16:20. The female snatches it from him and flies out knocking him from the ledge. He returns and resumes incubation ten minutes later. She is back on the eggs at 17:55. The male makes a brief visit at 19:20 but the female remains on the eggs until midnight at least. Incubation Time: Female 17h:00m; Male 06h:50m; Total 23h:50m.

6 Apr – the female remains on the eggs until 3:10 when she walks to the ledge and flies out but quickly returns. The first changeover is at 6:20. The male remains until 8:50 when he flies out; the female flies in a few minutes later. At 10:20, the female flies out and the male takes over until 12:20 when he leaves on the female’s arrival. He is back for a short changeover at 15:35 as the female returns at 16:05. She is off again after an hour, but returns a few minutes later. She flies out at 18:05 and is replaced by the male until she returns at 20:10 remain for the rest of the evening. Incubation Time: Female 17h:40m; Male 06h:05m; Total 23h:45m.

7 Apr – the first changeover of the day is at 6:00 when the male arrives. He flies out 40 minutes later and the female returns. He is back to incubate at 9:20 and she leaves calling; they swap again two hours later. The female leaves at 13:45 and does not return for 30 minutes. She is off again at 14:55 and the male takes over. The female returns at 17:35 looking well fed. Again, the male is reluctant to give up incubation. At 19:10, he returns carrying Redwing prey, but the female flies off without accepting it, so he follows her.  She is back a few minutes later to resume incubation, obviously having not fed on the presented meal as she has already eaten. She remains on the eggs until midnight at least. Incubation Time: Female 17h:35m; Male 05h:50m; Total 23h:25m.

8 Apr – the female remains until 5:25 when she suddenly gets up and flies out, returning a few moments later. At 5:40, the male lands and she leaves for him to take over incubation. The female is back at 10:05 and the male reluctantly accedes to her. The male tries to land at 14:40 but is surprised by the female walking onto the platform. He does a circuit, she flies out and he takes over incubation. The female eventually returns at 19:50 to take over the night shift. At 23:10 an intruding female with rings (BTO and un-readable colour ring) landed on the platform. The resident female rose up and forced the intruder out, then returned to the eggs. Incubation Time: Female 14h:10m; Male 09h:45m; Total 23h:55m.

9 Apr – the female stays tight on the eggs until 4:35 when she flies off. The male arrives a few minutes later to take over. The female eventually returns at 10:25, after leaving the male on the eggs for 5 hours and 50 minutes – his longest single spell. The female leaves at 13:30 and the male takes over. Three hours later, the male flies out and the female flies in with fresh Feral Pigeon prey. Her first attempt to land sees her hitting the platform; thankfully she doesn’t appear to have hurt herself. She lands a few moments later panting heavily and stashes the meal in the box, then flies off. The male is back at 16:30, grabs the stashed pigeon and drags it to the platform where he plucks it. The female arrives and feeds on, then flies off with her meal. The male is on the eggs at 16:50 but the female soon arrives and takes over. She flies off at 19:00 and he resumes incubation. The female lands a few moments later, calling loudly, then flies off with the male still on the eggs. She does not return until 20:25 looking well fed, and takes over incubation five minutes later when the male leaves. Incubation Time: Female 13h:15m; Male 10h:25m; Total 23h:40m.

10 Apr – the female flies out at 4:55 and the male arrives to take over. He flies out at 7:50 and the female resumes incubation 15 minutes later. He is back at 10:45 and there is a changeover until 13:25 when the female is back. She flies out at 17:15 but returns a few minutes later to resume incubation. She is calling loudly and is out of breath. The male returns 30 minutes later and there is a changeover. The female returns at 18:20 and stands on the platform calling at the male. He sits tight on the eggs and ignores her. After ten minutes, she moves to the ledge whilst the male continues incubation. She flies off after a further ten minutes and returns at 20:30. Still, the male sits tight and she eventually forces him from the eggs 20 minutes later and he sits on the ledge, both remaining at their respective stations until midnight at least. Incubation Time: Female 15h:05m; Male 08h:35m; Total 23h:40m.

11 Apr – the male remains on the ledge whilst the female is on the eggs until 3:20 when he flies off. He returns at 5:50 and takes over incubation until 9:10 when the female is back. The male flies in ten minutes later carrying pre-plucked prey which the female snatches from him. He flies off whilst she initially feeds on the platform but then leaves with her meal. The eggs are left unattended until 9:35 when the male resumes incubation but just ten minutes later the female returns. The male is back at 10:25 with fresh Feral Pigeon prey which the female takes from him. He flies off and she follows with her meal. He is back on the eggs at 10:30 but after ten minutes, the female is standing over him calling loudly and eventually forces him off at 10:50. The male is back at 13:35 to take over duties. The female returns at 17:50 to resume until 19:45 when the male arrives looking well fed and carrying another Feral Pigeon meal. There is blood on his chest, hopefully just from the meal that he has eaten. She flies out and the male incubates the eggs. She returns a few minutes later having stashed her meal but then flies off. She is back again at 20:15 and sits on the ledge until 20:35 when she stands over the male calling to him, but he refuses to move. She remains in the box with him for an hour, then decides to move to the ledge and takes a short flight at 23:10, probably hunting for prey. She remains on the ledge until midnight at least and the male does his first evening incubation shift. For the first time, the male has spent more hours incubating the eggs than the female in a 24-hour period. Incubation Time: Female 11h:25m; Male 12h:15m; Total 23h:40m.

12 Apr – the female flies off just after midnight and leaves the male on the eggs. She is back on the ledge at 1:40 and falls asleep. He flies off at 3:55 and the female takes over. She walks to the ledge at 6:10 and flies off a few minutes later but quickly returns. She checks the skies briefly at 6:55. The male flies in for a changeover at 8:10. The female returns at 11:05 to resume and the male flies out. She flies off at 14:10 and the male quickly takes over. The female lands at 14:30 but stays on the ledge, then flies off ten minutes later. She is back after five minutes and goes into the box, calling at the male, but he will not relinquish incubation. He is eventually forced off at 15:25. He returns to the ledge at 16:05 looking well fed, then flies off at 17:50. There is a changeover at 20:20 and the male remains to do the night shift for the second consecutive evening. The female lands on the ledge at 9:05 and falls asleep. They both remain until midnight at least. Incubation Time: Female 12h:10m; Male 11h:45m; Total 23h:55m.

13 Apr – the male remains on the eggs and the female on the ledge until she calls to him at 2:15. He flies out and she takes over incubation. The male lands on the ledge 20 minutes later. At 5:00, he moves into the box and takes over and the female flies out. The male remains until 7:25 when he takes a short flight, then returns to the eggs. He leaves at 8:00 and is replaced by the female. The male is back at 11:10 looking well fed and carrying fresh Feral Pigeon prey. The female ignores the meal gift and flies off, and the male follows. She is back a few minutes later and takes another short flight at 11:30. The male lands ten minutes later but the female sits tight, so he flies off. He is back again at 12:35 and this time there is a changeover. The female flies into the box at 14:40 but, despite her incessant calling, the male ignores her. He eventually leaves at 15:00 and returns at 18:25 to take over, remaining until at least midnight for the third consecutive evening. Incubation Time: Female 10h:30m; Male 13h:20m; Total 23h:50m.

14 Apr – the male remains on the eggs until 3:10 when the female arrives to take over. He flies out and returns at 6:20 to resume incubation. The female lands at 9:55 and there is a swap over. She takes a short flight at 11:30, then returns to the eggs. The male is back to take over at 13:40 and remains until 18:45, over a five-hour stint. A rather bedraggled and sodden female takes over until at least midnight. Incubation Time: Female 12h:00m; Male 11h:55m; Total 23h:50m.

15 Apr – the female remains on the eggs until 5:35 when there is the first changeover of the day. He remains until 8:45 when the female returns. She takes a short flight at 12:00, then is back on the eggs remaining until the male takes over at 13:10. The female resumes incubation at 17:25 until 20:50 when there is another changeover. He remains on the eggs until midnight at least. Incubation Time: Female 13h:25m; Male 10h:30m; Total 23h:55m.

16 Apr – the female takes over from the male at 00:25. He is back at 5:25. At 7:05, he flies out in a rush returning a few minutes later. The female returns at 7:55. The male lands on the platform at 10:25 and goes into the box but the female is not ready to give up, so he sits on the ledge, then flies off. The female chases a Stock Dove from the ledge at 10:40 and returns five minutes later. She looks out from the platform at 11:05, calling loudly, but the male does not respond, so she resumes incubation until taking a short flight at 11:40. The male is back for a changeover at 12:30. He takes a short flight at 16:25. The female lands looking well fed and carrying the remains of her Feral Pigeon meal, but quickly leaves before the male returns. The female lands again ten minutes later but the male will not give up incubation, so she flies off. She is back at 17:25 carrying a small morsel of food. The male moves to the ledge, then flies off as she stashes the meal before covering the eggs. She remains incubating until midnight at least. Incubation Time: Female 15h:55m; Male 7h:45m; Total 23h:40m.

17 Apr – the female remains incubating until 2:20, when she goes to the platform and looks out before returning to the eggs. She moves to the platform again at 5:35 and calls. This time the male flies in to take over and she leaves. At 7:35, the female bounces off the platform, being startled by a Stock Dove landing behind her. The male then flies out and she is back a few moments later to take over incubation. At 13:50, there is a confirmed intruder in the area, as seen by one of our regular watchers. The male engages with the female intruder and the resident female leaves the nest. The male returns five minutes later and takes over incubation. The female lands soon after but quickly leaves. She is back at 15:00 and goes into the box but the male refuses to accede to her calling, so she flies out after five minutes. He eventually relinquishes at 20:25 and flies out. She remains until midnight at least. Incubation Time: Female 15h:20m; Male 8h:30m; Total 23h:50m.

18 Apr – the male arrives at 5:55 to take over incubation. At 6:25, he rushes to the ledge and looks over the city, then flies out. He is back on the eggs ten minutes later. He is off again after a further ten minutes and is replaced by the female at 6:55. The male is back for a changeover at 8:20. The female returns at 10:55 followed by a Stock Dove that lands on the platform! The exiting male forces the dove off. The female walks to the platform at 16:45 and flies off. The male lands twice very briefly at 17:00, and the female returns to the eggs five minutes later; there would appear to be an intruder in the vicinity. The male is back at 18:30 and there is a changeover. The female returns at 21:00 and goes into the box and stands over the male. He refuses to leave the eggs and so she sits on the ledge after 15 minutes. She is back in the box looming over the male at 22:00 and he eventually relinquishes 15 minutes later. He leaves and she remains until midnight at least. Incubation Time: Female 16h:25m; Male 7h:00m; Total 23h:25m.

19 Apr – the female walks to the platform at 5:30 but soon returns to the eggs. The male arrives ten minutes later and takes over incubation. The female is back at 9:10 looking well fed and resumes duties. There is another changeover at 11:45. The female bounces onto the platform at 11:50 and immediately flies out again; her actions suggesting an altercation with an intruder. The male flies out at 14:55 and leaves the eggs uncovered for ten minutes. The female returns at 17:10 to take over and remains until midnight at least. Incubation Time: Female 15h:05m; Male 8h:45m; Total 23h:50m.

20 Apr – the first changeover is at 5:15 when the male flies in. Two hours later he walks to the platform and looks out, then returns to the eggs. The female flies in at 8:25 and takes over. She takes a short flight at 11:15, then resumes incubation. The male lands on the platform at 12:00 for five minutes. He is back at 13:20 and there is another changeover. The female is back three hours later to resume incubation. At 19:05, the male arrives carrying freshly plucked Feral Pigeon prey which the female takes, and he flies out. She feeds briefly in the box, then stashes the remains in the corner and returns to the eggs, remaining until midnight. Incubation Time: Female 17h:50m; Male 6h:10m; Total 24h:00m.

21 Apr – the female remains on the eggs until 5:15 when there is a changeover. She returns looking wet and bedraggled to take over again at 8:25. The well-fed male lands at 12:20 and the female flies off with the male following shortly behind. The female returns quickly and resumes incubation; probably intruder activity. The next changeover is not until 14:55 – a six-and-a-half-hour stint for the female. The male flies out at 18:25 as she returns to feed on the stashed pigeon for 15 minutes, then cover the eggs. She remains until midnight at least. Incubation Time: Female 17h:00m; Male 6h:40m; Total 23h:40m.

22 Apr – the first change is at 5:10 when the female flies out and the male takes over. The male looks out from the ledge at 7:50 and the female is back at 8:20 and takes a short flight at 11:50. The male lands briefly followed by a Stock Dove; they fly off together! The next changeover is at 15:25 with another at 18:40 when the female takes over. The male is back at 20:35 and remains on the eggs for the evening. Incubation Time: Female 14h:10m; Male 9h:50m; Total 24h:00m.

23 Apr – the male remains on the eggs until 5:40 when the female takes over. At 9:30, she looks out from the platform, then returns to the eggs. The male takes over duties at 10:05 for the next four hours, then the female returns. The male is back to relieve her at 19:15 until 21:25 when she is back for the evening shift. Incubation Time: Female 12h:05m; Male 11h:55m; Total 24h:00m.

24 Apr – the male takes over at 5:20 until he flies out two hours later and she returns. She leaves at 12:35, and he returns to take over. She is back looking well fed at 14:15. The next change is at 16:50 and the female is back at 19:45 for the final change of the day. Incubation Time: Female 17h:25m; Male 6h:35m; Total 24h:00m.

25 Apr – the female flies out at 5:05 but returns quickly to the eggs. The male flies in to replace her ten minutes later. The female lands briefly at 7:50 but is soon back incubating as the male leaves. The female flies out briefly at 11:40 but the next change is ten minutes later when the male resumes duties. He continues to incubate for over six hours until 18:00 when the well-fed female returns. Incubation Time: Female 15h:10m; Male 8h:45m; Total 23h:55m.

26 Apr – the first changeover is at 4:35. The female watches from the ledge for a few moments then flies off. She is back at 7:25 and the next change is at 9:45. The female does not return again until 14:55. At 16:50, she moves to the platform and flies off but is back a few minutes later. She takes another short flight at 17:05. The male eventually takes over 15 minutes later. The final changeover was at 19:25. Incubation Time: Female 13h:50m; Male 10h:05m; Total 23h:55m.

27 Apr – the male takes over at 5:10 and falls asleep. The female returns at 8:55 and the male is back at 11:50 until 13:10. He lands briefly at 15:55, then resumes incubation again at 16:25. He remains until 20:20 when the female is back for the last changeover of the day. Incubation Time: Female 15h:00m; Male 9h:00m; Total 24h:00m.

28 Apr – the male arrives at 5:30 and the female leaves. She is back to replace him at 8:50. At 11:30, she flies out but is back a few minutes later. The male returns for a changeover at 12:20. She is back to resume duties at 17:30 and remains until midnight at least. Incubation Time: Female 15h:25m; Male 8h:30m; Total 23h:55m.

29 Apr – the first changeover is at 5:05. The female is back at 9:10. The male does not return again until 17:25 when he takes over duties. The female is back at 20:55 to resume incubation until midnight at least. Incubation Time: Female 16h:25m; Male 7h:35m; Total 24h:00m.

30 Apr – the male arrives at 5:20 for the first changeover of the day. He flies out in a hurry at 7:05 and is replaced by the female five minutes later. The next change is at 9:05 and he incubates until 11:45. He is back three hours later remaining until 17:15. The male brings in part-eaten Feral Pigeon at 18:05 and leaves it for the female. He flies off and she follows with her meal a few moments later. The male is back to cover the eggs at 18:15 until the female resumes night duties at 20:05. Incubation Time: Female 14h:55m; Male 8h:50m; Total 23h:45m.

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