JULY 2023
1 July – the female arrives at 2:25 and sits on the ledge sleeping until 5:35 when she flies off. The male lands at 6:05 carrying fresh Feral Pigeon prey and is immediately followed by [PBF]. She grabs the meal, and he flies out. The adult female lands and [PBF] mantles her meal and the adult flies off. Ten minutes later, [TCC] lands and tries to grab a piece of the meal. At 6:30 [PBF] had had her fill and goes into the box as [TCC] takes over. A few moments later, the female lands and starts to feed [TCC] whilst [PBF] sits on the ledge calling. She have finished feeding 15 minutes later and the female flies out. The two juveniles sit on the ledge, then go into the box at 6:55, before returning to the ledge. They fall asleep well fed. [PBF] flies off at 9:05 and [TCC] quickly follows. The adult female is back at 11:05 and goes into the box. [PBF] lands at 12:55 and the female flies out causing the juvenile to lose her footing and fly off. The female is back at 18:40 carrying fresh Feral Pigeon prey which she drags into the box. She feed on the pigeon and leaves at 19:45.
2 Jul – the adult female lands at 2:40 and sits on the ledge. At 5:05, first [TCC], then [PBF] arrives; the female leaves. They look for scraps then sit on the ledge. They fly off together 15 minutes later. The male flies in at 6:40, checks the box, then leaves. The female is back at 10:05 and goes into the box and falls asleep until 12:30 when she flies out. She is back at 13:55 looking well fed and carrying part-eaten pigeon. She is looking for the juveniles but they do no respond, so she leaves five minutes later. At 14:30, [TCC] lands calling loudly; she leaves 15 minutes later. There is no further activity on camera today.
3 Jul – the male arrives at 5:40 and goes into the box. He flies out a few minutes later as both juvenile females land. They search the box then sit on the ledge until they fly off together at 6:20. The adult female flies into the box at 13:00 remaining, preening and sleeping, until 15:40. There is no further activity on camera.
4 Jul – the male lands at 1:35 and falls asleep on the ledge. He wakens at 4:45 and checks the box before returning to the ledge, then flies off at 5:30. At 7:25, a well-fed [TCC] lands on the ledge and preens until leaving 20 minutes later. The juvenile is back at 9:00 and lays flat on the platform. The male flies into the box at 10:35 and is quickly followed by [TCC]. He soon leaves, tries to land again but is forced off by the juvenile. She sits on the ledge until flying off at 12:05 and returns at 13:20. The adult female lands at 14:45 but is forced off by the juvenile so leaves quickly; [TCC] leaves five minutes later, after which there is no further activity noted.
5 Jul – the first activity on camera was the arrival of the male at 10:05, quickly followed by the female. They go into the box and have a brief bonding session. The male soon leaves, but the well-fed female remains until 13:10. There is no further activity on camera today.
6 Jul – juvenile [TCC] lands on the ledge at 9:20 looking well fed. She goes into the box after 15 minutes and on to the platform at 9:50, then to the ledge at 10:00. She lies on the platform at 10:10 with her head in the shade for a few minutes, then into the box again and back on to the ledge. She flies off at 11:40 after which, there is no more activity seen.
7 Jul – the first action of the day is juvenile [TCC] arriving at 12:15. She sits on the ledge and intermittently lies on the platform. The male lands briefly at 13:00. The juvenile remains until 19:05, when she flies off.
8 Jul – the adult female arrives at 4:35 and go into the box quickly pursued by juvenile [PBF]. She leaves and the juvenile flies off five minutes later. [PBF] is back at 6:05 but leaves after five minutes. The adult female flies in with fresh Feral Pigeon prey at 6:25, checks the box then flies off. At 7:45, [PBF] goes and checks the box but quickly flies out. The adult male arrives at 21:15 looking rather wet and bedraggled. He sits on the ledge, preening until midnight at least.
9 Jul – the male remains on the ledge until 00:50 when he flies off. He is back briefly at 15:20. The female flies into the box two hours later and moves the stones in her scrape, then leaves 15 minutes later.
10 Jul – the adult male and one of the juveniles fly towards the platform at 7:40. The juvenile flies past whilst the male lands on the ledge looking well fed; he leaves five minutes later. The two adults fly into the box at 9:15 but the male does not stay long. The female sits in the scrape for ten minutes, then flies out. The male arrives at 20:00, still looking well fed, and sits on the ledge. He takes off when juvenile [PBF] lands at 20:45. She goes into the box looking for food scraps but leaves after ten minutes. She is back at 23:20 and remains on the ledge until at least midnight.
11 Jul – the female remained on the ledge until 1:05 when he moved into the box and falls asleep. She is back sleeping on the ledge at 2:45. The two adults fly towards the platform at 13:25 but only the female lands. She goes into the box 15 minutes later remaining until 16:40 when she flies out.
12 Jul – on a brief visit to the city, I noticed that the adult female was sitting on the uppermost east-facing cross at 13:00. The male flies into the box at 14:35 and then moves to the ledge, looking well fed. He watches the sky at 18:25 and moves into the box as the female flies in. He flies out and she remains in the box until 20:10 when she sits on the ledge before flying off at 21:20.
13 Jul – the female lands at 12:00, looking well fed, goes into the box ten minutes later and falls asleep. She is wakened by [TCC] hopping into the box with what appears to be a damaged right foot. The adult flies out and the juvenile lays on the platform. She attempts to sit on the ledge but as she starts to preen, loses her grip and slips off. The male flies in at 18:30 but soon leaves.
14 Jul – the only activity was when the male flies in at 20:10 and sits on the ledge until midnight at least.
15 Jul – the male falls asleep on the ledge and remains until flying off at 4:40. He returns looking well fed, at 10:10 but leaves ten minutes later. The female flies into the box at 13:55 where she remains until 17:00. She lands again at 19:45 but is pushed off by the arrival of [PBF]. The juvenile checks the box, then sits on the ledge until flying off at 20:20. The male lands at 20:55 and falls asleep remaining until at least midnight.
16 Jul – the male remains sleeping on the ledge until 2:05 when he goes into the box on the arrival of the female. He leaves quickly but is back at 2:20 and she goes into the box. They both fall asleep, then fly out together two hours later. The male is back on the ledge at 20:40, falls asleep and remains until midnight.
17 Jul – the male wakes and looks up into the sky at 1:00, then flies off. He is back at 2:35 and goes into the box at 3:20 when the female lands but he quickly leaves. She falls asleep, then checks the box before flying out at 4:55. At 11:15, [TCC] lands on the ledge and preens. Thankfully, she seems to have recovered from her foot problem. After 15 minutes she lies in the shade and falls asleep. She has a stretch and a preen at 13:30 before resuming her sleep. She is back on the ledge at 14:10 and flies off five minutes later.
18 Jul – the only activity of the day is at 13:30 when [TCC] lands on the ledge calling, but she flies off after a few minutes.
19 Jul – the male lands on the ledge briefly at 7:35. There is no further activity until 21:25 when he returns to the ledge and falls asleep. He flies out at 22:20.
20 Jul – the female flies in at 00:20 carrying part-eaten Black-headed Gull. She leaves it on the platform and sits on the ledge with a full crop, then flies off after 20 Minutes. The male lands already looking well fed at 10:50 and ignores the meal. At 11:10, juvenile [PBF] lands on the platform and mantles the gull; the male flies off. She also looks to have eaten well and drags the gull into the box, then sits on the ledge and falls asleep, flying off four hours. She is back at 16:10 remaining until 17:25. At 20:05, [PBF] then [TCC] arrive on the platform and race for the stashed gull. [PBF] wins the race and mantles the gull whilst [TCC] sits on the ledge watching until 20:30 when she begins to lose patience. [TCC] stand on the ledge next to [PBF] who appears to feed her sibling! Eventually [TCC] muscles in and takes over what is left of the meal at 20:45, and [PBF] flies off. The adult female lands ten minutes later and grabs a piece of the gull and flies off. [TCC] checks out the box at 21:05 when she has finished feeding, then returns to the ledge before flying off 20 minutes later. At 21:45, the female arrives and picks at scraps of the gull, then leaves at 21:50.
21 Jul – the female lands at 11:20 but leaves quickly as [TCC] arrives. The juvenile leaves five minutes later. At 12:35, [PBF] lands, checks the box, then sits on the ledge flying off 20 minutes later. The adult male lands at 13:30 and goes into the box for ten minutes, then moves to the ledge. He is back in the box at 15:00 for five minutes and is chased off the ledge a few minutes later by the arrival of [TCC]. She feeds on scraps of yesterday’s gull, then sits on the ledge until leaving at 15:55. At 18:20, [TCC] arrives carrying Feral Pigeon prey. She is already well fed and so stashes it by a column and sits on the ledge. The temptation is too great, and she starts feeding at 19:05 for 15 minutes, then flies off at 20:45.
22 Jul – the male arrives on the ledge at 3:05 and falls asleep. He leaves quickly at 5:40 when the adult female flies in with juvenile [PBF] in pursuit. The female does not remain for long as [PBF] finds some scraps on the platform and flies out at 5:50. At 7:20, [TCC] lands and calls at something below the ledge, checks the box then sits on the ledge for 20 minutes. At 8:05, the adult male returns and 20 minutes later the female arrives. There is a brief moment of bonding in the box, then he flies out. She remains dozing in the box until flying out at 12:55. The male is back in the box 30 minutes later with the female soon after and they are quickly joined by [PBF]. Both adults soon leave and the juvenile at 13:35. The female is back at 14:25 but flies off when [PBF] lands ten minutes later; the juvenile leaves soon after. At 16:00, the adult female is back in the box, sitting in the scrape. She flies out at 18:45 and is replaced by the male at 19:00 who sits on the ledge. The adult female flies into the box at 23:20 and they both remain until midnight at least.
23 Jul – the male is joined on the ledge by the female from the box at 2:20 and they both fall asleep. The male flies off at 4:50 whilst the female remains until 6:05. He is back at 8:05 remaining until 10:25. There is no further activity on camera.
24 Jul – the female flies in at 1:10 looking rather wet. She sits on the ledge and falls asleep before moving into the box at 2:00 for ten minutes. She returns to the box at 3:00 but is quickly back on the ledge remaining until 5:10. The male flies in briefly at 15:25.
25 Jul – the male lands at 4:15 and remains until 6:00. The female flies into the box at 8:25 looking well fed and falls asleep. She flies out at 11:25. The male flies into the box at 15:20 and moves to the ledge 25 minutes later. He leaves quickly at 16:05 with the arrival of juvenile [PBF] who picks at scraps before settling on the ledge and flying off at 17:20.
26 Jul – the male flies in at 11:20 followed by juvenile [PBF]. He leaves quickly and she goes soon after. There is no further activity on camera.
27 Jul – the male arrives at 8:25 and sits on the ledge watching the sky until leaving at 9:00. He is back at 11:15 carrying Feral Pigeon prey and is followed by the female. He leaves quickly with his meal with the female in close pursuit. There is no further activity thereafter.
28 Jul – the first activity is the male arriving at 14:25. He watches the sky then flies out quickly. This looks to be intruder defence. He is back at 16:20, goes into the box then moves to the ledge after ten minutes. The female flies in a few minutes later. He flies out after bonding briefly, whilst she stays in the box moving stones in the scrape until 16:45 when she leaves.
29 Jul – the only activity on camera is the male landing at 21:25. He checks out the box and moves stones around in the scrape then sits on the ledge a few minutes later. He sees something in the sky above him at 21:55 and flies off. However, unfortunately juvenile [PBF] was found dead below the glass bridge of the Highcross Centre in the early hours of the morning. It seems that she flew into one of the large glass windows – a fate that is all too common in birds.
30 Jul – the male lands on the ledge at 7:30 looking well fed. He then goes into the box and stands in the scrape for five minutes before returning to the ledge and flying off at 9:10. There is no further activity on camera.
31 Jul – the male flies in at 6:50 quickly followed by the female. He leaves after a few moments bonding and she follows soon after. There is no further activity on camera.
31 Jul – It is with great sadness that I have to report that juvenile PBF was found dead below the glass bridge of the Highcross Centre on Saturday 29th July. It seems that she flew into the large glass windows.