JUNE 2024
1 Jun – the female flies in at 4:40 and the youngsters go to greet her looking for food, but she quickly flies off. They run around the box wing flapping for ten minutes. XRF moves to the platform at 5:20 looking for its parents. They arrive together at 6:55, the male carrying fresh Feral Pigeon prey which he feeds to the chicks. The female is satisfied he is doing it correctly and flies off. She is back at 7:15 and relieves the male who flies out. She continues to feed the young for a few minutes before leaving. They huddle in the box at 7:55. The female is back at 8:45 with another Feral Pigeon meal but the chicks are not interested so she leaves. She is back briefly ten minutes later and the juveniles exercise on the platform before returning to the box at 9:20. They are walking around again ten minutes later but are back in the box at 9:50. The male returns at 11:40 and the youngsters look for a meal; he quickly flies off. They are now alert again and exercising for another ten minutes. The female returns at 12:25 but XNF forces her off. The young are on walkabout at 12:40 until 13:05 and again at 14:25 until 15:00. XRF looks out from the platform five minutes later before returning to the box. The female brings in fresh Feral Pigeon prey at 16:20 and feeds the youngsters. She flies out with the remains 20 minutes later. The male flies in with the remains at 17:20 and XRF grabs it from him and drags it into the box; he flies off. The female arrives at 17:35 and feeds the pigeon to the young. She flies off at 18:15 and the juveniles do their exercises. They return to the box at 19:10. There is a final bout of wing flapping for five minutes at 21:10 before they settle down for the night.
2 Jun – the juveniles waken at 4:45 on the arrival of the female. She checks for food then flies out. They do their exercises and sit on the ledge looking out. The male brings in fresh Feral Pigeon prey at 6:05 and he feeds them on the platform for ten minutes. He flies off and XRF drags the meal into the box and feeds itself. XSF takes over as XNF does more exercises. The female soon arrives and grabs the meal and feeds herself and the young, then flies off at 6:30. They start to move back to the box at 8:30 with XSF joining at 9:10. All three are back on the platform five minutes later. The female returns at 10:20 and is pestered by the young for food but she does not have any. They return to the shade of the box at 10:40 and the female falls asleep until she flies out at 11:25. They go walkabout and wing flapping again at 12:20. The female arrives briefly at 12:45 and they go back into the box at 12:50, huddle together and fall asleep. XSF is first to move onto the platform again at 14:35 and its siblings soon follow. They start exercising again at 16:00 and are back in the box 50 minutes later. XSF is on the ledge at 17:05 and the three do more wing flapping. The female lands at 17:20 with fresh Feral Pigeon prey and feeds the juveniles. She flies off with the remains 17:55 but is back with the pigeon at 18:50 and feeds the juveniles until leaving at 19:10. They are in the box at 19:25. XRF finds some scraps on the platform at 20:30 before returning to its siblings. It has another search on the platform for scraps at 21:30 before settling down for the evening.
3 Jun – the female flies in at 2:05 and XSF spreads its wings in defence and covers the other juveniles. The female moves to the ledge and the juveniles huddle together again and fall asleep. They become active at 4:15 and do some wing stretching. They become active at 4:15 and XRF forces the female from the ledge then they all do more exercises, run around the box and are very active. The male lands at 5:45 carrying fresh Feral Pigeon prey. Before he can pluck it and feed the young, XNF grabs it and drags it around the platform and tries to pluck it. It leaves the pigeon after ten minutes and none of the others try to feed on it. XRF is the first to try and attempt the pigeon at 6:20, drags it into the box. XNF takes over 20 minutes later but leaves it when the male arrives with another pigeon at 6:45. The juveniles are reluctant to feed so he flies off after five minutes. They do wing exercises then sit on the ledge preening. The female arrives at 7:30, grabs the stashed pigeon, plucks it and feeds the youngers, starting with XSF, then the two siblings. She ensures they are all well fed then feeds herself before flying out at 8:15. The young settle on the platform. At 9:50, XNF feeds on the pigeon remains whilst its siblings sit on the platform. The female lands briefly at 9:55. XNF finishes feeding and joins the others at 10:25. XSF feeds on scraps at 11:00, returning to the platform after 20 minutes, then moves into the box at 11:40. All three are in the box at 11:55 and remain huddled together until 13:05 when the run around the box wing flapping. XNF grabs the scraps of the pigeon and picks at them. They all move to the platform at 13:45 and settle down. They become active again two hours later and walk around the box, wing flap and XRF feeds on scraps. The female arrives with fresh Pigeon prey at 16:20 and feeds all three, then leaves after 15 minutes. the male arrives with more pigeon at 16:50 and feeds the juveniles, then flies off at 17:10. There is frenetic activity until 17:40 when the female arrives briefly, and they settle down. They become animated again at 19:30, wing flapping and running around. XRF and XNF then have a tug-o-war over the scraps of the pigeon; XRF wins out. They are all back in the box at 20:45 and remain in the corner until midnoght.
4 Jun – the juveniles remain huddled in the box. The male sits on the ledge at 2:45 but is quickly replaced by the female which disturbs the youngsters and XNF pecks at her looking for food. She sits on the platform and falls asleep as they return to the box. They start to roam around at 4:10 and the female moves into the box. All three surround her and force her from the box. They do vigorous wing flapping exercises on the platform then settle down, sitting on the ledge preening at 4:20. They have another exercise session an hour later, then return to the ledge. For the next three hours they are settled with the occasional walk around the box picking at scraps. At 7:55, the female arrives with fresh Feral Pigeon prey. She feeds the youngsters, but XSF is happy to feed itself. They have had enough by 8:15 and she feeds herself before flying out at 8:35. They juveniles settle on the ledge, then lie flat on the platform. The female flies in at 9:40 and feeds scraps to XSF, but the others are too well fed to want more. She leaves after ten minutes, and they settle on the platform until 13:20 when they do more wing flapping for 20 minutes, then sit on the ledge preening. The male arrives at 14:55 with fresh Feral Pigeon prey. XNF snatches the meal and drags it into the box. XRF joins its sibling and soon takes over as XNF moves back to the ledge. The two are feeding together ten minutes later until the female arrives at 15:35 and feeds all three. She leaves with the scraps at 16:00 and the juveniles settle on the ledge with full crops. All three are back in the box at 17:05 but move back to the ledge after 30 minutes. The female is back at 18:25 and is hounded by the youngsters and she flies off after ten minutes. The siblings run around the box for ten minutes exercising. They are back in the box together at 18:55 but get restless and are soon on the ledge again. The female returns at 19:40 with another pigeon meal and leaves with the scraps at 19:55. The male flies in with scraps at 20:15 but none of the juveniles are interested so he eats it himself, then flies out. They finally settle in the box at 20:45 for the rest of the evening.
8 Jun – the male lands on the ledge at 2:25 but is quickly forced off by XSF. He lands again a few moments later with the same result. The female flies in a few minutes later and despite XSF’s actions goes into the box and stands over the other two juveniles, then falls asleep. The juveniles started wing flapping exercises early. The female leaves at 4:05 and all three juveniles are on the ledge a few moments later wing flapping and preening. The juveniles took their first flights today – not necessarily by choice. The first to leave was XRF at 05:02. XRF and XNF is sitting on the ledge as XSF runs quickly into the box flapping vigorously. The two siblings are startled by this and XRF take flight as XNF stands behind the central column. XNF is the next to leave but again not by design. At 05:30, XSF wing flaps and jumps into XNF and forces it from the ledge. The male brings in very fresh Feral Pigeon prey at 6:10. He leaves it in the box and XSF plucks and feeds on it. The female arrives at 6:35, checks the box and flies out. After feeding, XSF sits on the ledge exercising its wings. The female is back at 7:00 and feeds on the remains of the pigeon in the box. She then feeds some to the juvenile, but it is well fed and moves to the ledge. The female leaves with the remains at 7:20. XSF sits on the ledge with a full crop until doing wing flapping exercises at 7:55 and again an hour later. The male lands briefly at 9:00 but XSF forces him out. XSF continues to do wing flapping exercises until 10:30 when it makes a rather more graceful departure that its two siblings – all three juveniles have fledged. The female arrives an hour later to find the box deserted. The male lands briefly at 13:25 and the female lands briefly at 16:40 and again at 17:00. The male is back at 17:25 carrying fresh Feral Pigeon prey. As there are no juveniles in the box, he watches the skies then flies off. The female is back with Feral Pigeon prey at 18:00; she too leaves quickly.
9 Jun – the female lands at 3:30, goes into the box and tidies the scrape. She moves to the ledge at 4:15 then returns to the box at 4:55 before flying off a few minutes later. She is back at 9:05 carrying fresh Feral Pigeon prey but quickly leaves. She is back an hour later carrying more food but again quickly leaves, but is back 15 minutes later with the same meal. She returns again at 10:25, checks the box, then flies out. The male lands on the ledge, also checks the box and flies out at 10:35. The female is back at 17:55, goes into the box and tends the scrape until leaving at 18:10. The male is back on the ledge at 21:05, flying off 30 minutes later.
10 Jun – the female lands at 2:50 and sits on the ledge until flying off at 4:30. The pair arrive together at 5:05 and go into the box. The female leaves quickly and the male sits on the ledge until 5:55. She returns at 7:30 with Feral Pigeon prey but quickly leaves with the meal as there are no juveniles. The male arrives with another Feral Pigeon meal at 9:50 but he also leaves quickly. The male is back ay 19:00 with more Feral Pigeon prey and the female lands on the ledge calling. She quickly leaves and he follows. The returns to the ledge at 21:25 with a full crop and remains until midnight.
11 Jun – the male remains on the ledge from the previous evening until 4:35. The female lands at 7:50 and checks the box before leaving. XNF goes into the box at 8:30, then moves to the ledge until 9:25. The male is back at 21:40 until 21:55.
27 Jun – XRF was on the ledge at 3:55 remaining until 4:35 to be replaced by XNF for a few moments before XRF returns briefly at 5:15 and is back again for a couple of minutes at 6:15. XNF lands at 7:00. The male brings in Feral Pigeon prey 30 minutes later and the female lands. The male leaves and XNF forces the female from the ledge. XRF lands a few moments later and watches XNF stash the meal as it is already well fed; the two juveniles fly off together. The male lands a few moments later and is quickly followed by XRF who sits on the ledge whilst the male feeds on the stashed pigeon. He is forced off by XRF 15 minutes later. XNF joins its sibling at 8:05 and goes into the box. XSF lands 30 minutes later and all three are on the platform at 9:35 dozing in the sun. XNF looks to feed on some scraps at 10:00, then moves into the box whilst its two siblings sit on the platform. XRF takes a short flight at 10:25, then sits in the box with XRF. They are joined by XSF ten minutes later. XRF flies off at 11:00 returning 15 minutes later. The threesome remain in the box until 12:55 when XRF moves to the ledge and preens. The adult male flies in at 12:15 but is surrounded by the juveniles and forced out. XRF flies off at 13:20 and XNF five minutes later. XRF returns at 14:00 to join XSF. They move into the box at 16:45 and are joined by XNF at 16:50. At 18:05, XRF moves to the ledge and XSF follows at 18:25. XRF and XNF fly off at 18:45. XRF returns at 19:20 for 30 minutes and is back again at 20:40 until 21:15. XNF flies in ten minutes later feeding on scraps from the platform, then leaves at 21:45 whilst XSF remained in the box until midnight.
28 Jun – the adult male arrives on the ledge at 2:10 until 4:10 when he is forced off by XRF flying in. XRF leaves 30 minutes later. Five minutes later, XRF and XSF fly in. XRF leaves at 5:00 but returns to its sibling’s side after 15 minutes. XNF joins at 5:25 and all three juveniles are on the ledge. XRF leaves at 6:00 and XNF five minutes later. XSF goes into the box at 6:30 until 6:55 and flies off at 7:05 to be replaced briefly by XRF. At 7:30 XRF and XSF are back. XSF leaves at 8:10 quickly followed by XRF. XRF returns at 9:20 and lies on the platform in the sunshine until 9:55 when it flies off. At 10:20, XRF flies in carrying Feral Pigeon prey and stashes it in the box before sitting on the ledge. It is joined by the adult female at 10:30 who plucks and feeds on the pigeon whilst XRF dozes with a full crop. The male lands at 10:45 and the female leaves as XRF snatches the meal from her. The male flies out and XRF stashes the pigeon, then lies on the platform in the sun. At 13:30, it finds the pigeon and feeds on it for 20 minutes, then sits on the ledge with a full crop until 14:10 when it flies off. It is back at 17:20 and prevents the female from landing ten minutes later. It feeds on the stashed pigeon at 18:30 and flies off with the remains at 19:10. At 20:20, XSF flies in with a meal and leaves at 21:10.
29 Jun – XRF lands on the ledge at 4:15 until flying off at 4:40 and returns at 5:45 for 15 minutes. It is back again briefly at 6:20. The adult female makes a visit at 7:40 and removes a bit of left-over prey. XRF returns at 9:35 looking well fed and carrying the remains of a Feral Pigeon meal. It stashes the remains and sits on the ledge. The female flies in at 9:50 and tries to feed the remains to XRF but it already has a full crop, so she finishes the meal and flies off at 10:10. XRF lies on the platform in the heat and dozes. It is joined by XNF at 10:45 who picks at scraps from the box before moving to the ledge. XNF goes into the box at 11:10 whilst XRF falls asleep on the platform, then flies off at 11:25 quickly followed by its sibling. XRF returns at 15:20 and lies on the platform. It checks the box for food at 17:00 and finds a few scraps, then sits on the ledge. It is joined by XSF at 17:35. XRF leaves five minutes later but returns briefly at 18:15. XSF flies off at 18:50. XRF is back at 20:30 searching for food but leaves after ten minutes.
30 Jun – XRF lands on the ledge at 4:15 and is quickly followed by XNF who searches for scraps on the platform. They fly off together at 4:45. The adult female checks the box a few minutes later. XNF returns at 7:35 and falls asleep in the box for 20 minute, then moves back to the platform and lies down in the sun. It is joined by XRF at 9:05 and both birds lie on the platform. They fly off together at 9:35. XRF is back at 9:55 until 10:30. The male lands briefly with fresh Feral Pigeon prey at 10:35 but there are no juveniles in the box. The female lands at 11:45 but is chased off by the arrival of XRF that remains until 12:20. XRF is back at 12:45 and goes into the box until 13:30 when it moves back to the ledge before flying off at 14:20. XRF returns looking well fed at 17:10 and lies on the platform. It flies off at 18:15 and is replaced by XNF, then returns at 18:55. XNF leaves after 20 minutes. It is back at 19:45, flies off at 20:10 but returns 30 minutes later carrying plucked Blackbird prey which it stashes. XRF sees the opportunity and snatches the meal whilst XNF looks on. They fly off together at 21:00 but XRF returns briefly five minutes later.