MAY 2023
1 May – the female flies out at 4:45 but quickly returns to the eggs, then is replaced by the male ten minutes later. The next changeover is at 8:25. She rushes out at 8:50, possibly chasing a couple of Feral Pigeons that landed on the platform a few moments earlier. She returns after five minutes. The male is back at 11:35 and remains incubating until 16:50. The female flies out at 19:10 and is replaced by the male that arrives with blood on his chest – hopefully from an earlier meal rather than an altercation. The female returns at 21:25 for the last changeover of the day. Incubation Time: Female 13h:00m; Male 10h:50m; Total 23h:50m.
2 May – the male arrives to make the first changeover at 5:40. He flies out at 7:10 and returns after ten minutes. He is off again 20 minutes later and returns at 7:50; looks like there is an intruder in the area. The female takes over at 8:15 looking well fed. She remains until 13:45 when the male returns. She is back at 16:35. Her posture is very upright and long-legged, and she looks out over the city before resuming incubation. Further signs of intruder activity today. There is a very late changeover when the male arrives at 20:50 and remains until at least midnight. Incubation Time: Female 15h:30m; Male 8h:10m; Total 23h:40m.
3 May – the male remains on the eggs from the previous evening until 3:05 when he flies out and is quickly replaced by the female. She flies out at 7:00 and the male returns. The female is back to take over at 11:05. She makes a brief flight at 15:30 before returning to the eggs. She is finally relieved at 20:35 after an epic eleven-and-a-half-hour stint! Little surprise the male is still incubating at midnight. Incubation Time: Female 13h:25m; Male 10h:35m; Total 23h:40m.
4 May – the female lands on the ledge at 1:25 and relieves the male five minutes later. He takes over again at 5:40 and the female returns after a further two hours. The male is back at 12:40 until 16:00. He brings in a part-eaten Feral Pigeon at 18:10. The female grabs it from him and takes it into the box, feeds for five minutes, then stashes the meal. She has another short feed at 20:15 before returning to the eggs, remaining until midnight at least. Incubation Time: Female 17h:05m; Male 6h:55m; Total 24h:00m.
5 May – the male lands on the ledge at 5:00 and the female flies out revealing a small hole in an egg; we have a chick trying to hatch! The male goes into the box and picks up the stashed pigeon and flies out. He is back at 5:30 carrying food. The female walks to him, but he flies off with it; she returns to the eggs. He is back at 6:20 and goes into the box expecting a changeover but the female ignores him, so he sits on the ledge for 20 minutes. At 6:50, she lifts her body to reveal the FIRST CHICK of the season successfully hatched. The male sits on the ledge at 7:20 for 30 minutes and is back briefly at 8:35. He flies in again at 9:40 and for the first time, incubates the new chick. The female returns to take over at 10:55. The female walks away from the scrape at 14:30 for a few moments to reveal two more eggs with small holes indicating hatching chicks. She walks to the ledge at 15:05 and flies out and the male takes over incubation. She is back five minutes later and drags in a fresh Feral Pigeon and begins to feed the chick. After a few moments, she stashes the meal and resumes incubation; the male leaves. At 16:15, she retrieves the pigeon and looks to feed the chick but stashes it again. The male arrives at 17:35, checks out the box then sits on the ledge for five minutes before leaving. At the same time, the female reveals an egg that has a chick partly peeking from it and a few minutes later, the chick has hatched, the SECOND CHICK today. She goes to collect the pigeon but has second thoughts on feeding, so resumes incubation. However, in doing so, the other ‘pipped’ egg was been knocked out of the scrape. She quickly realises what has happened and brings the egg into the scrape. She eats the shell which is full of calcium for her. She tries to feed the chicks again at 18:40 but is having difficulty with the size of the pigeon and controlling it to feed the chicks. The male checks in briefly at 19:00. The female eventually manages a quick feed at 19:10. The female resumes incubation but the third egg has not hatched before midnight. Incubation Time: Female 23h:35m; Male 1h:20m; Total 23h:55m.
6 May – the female remains on the chicks/eggs from the previous evening. At 4:20, she raises herself slightly and removes the shell of an egg. The THIRD CHICK has hatched and can just be seen. She eats some of the shell. The male lands at 4:55 and the female goes to the ledge and looks out. He looked to be ready to incubate but she suddenly returns and resumes. He moves back to the ledge and flies off at 5:05. Thirty minutes later, she flies out and quickly returns with a pigeon from a nearby stash. She feeds the three chicks; the male is back and watches for a few minutes. At 5:50, she removes the pigeon, then returns to the scrape. She fetches the pigeon again at 7:35 and feeds the three chicks for ten minutes, then stashes the remains and resumes incubation. She takes a quick flight at 7:45 and returns. At 9:05, she flies out and the male takes over duties. She lands briefly five minutes later. He is a little hesitant and just stands over the chicks protecting them, but after 20 minutes commences full incubation – his first with the chicks. The female is back at 10:10 to take over. She continues to eat the discarded shells whilst sitting in the scrape. At 11:05, she fetches the stashed meal and feeds the chicks for 15 minutes. The male brings in another meal whilst she is feeding, so stashes it in the box at 11:15. The male is back at 13:45 to take over incubation and the female flies off with a stashed pigeon. He is interrupted ten minutes later by the female bringing in another 15-minute feed. There are further ten-minute feeds at 16:25 and 18:30. The male is back on the ledge briefly at 18:25 and she take a short flight ten minutes later. He is back to take over at 18:45 for just ten minutes. Incubation Time: Female 23h:35m; Male 1h:25m; Total 24h:00m.
7 May – at 4:40, the female walks to the ledge and looks out, quickly returning to her brood. She flies out five minutes later and the male arrives to take over in the scrape. However, the female is back at 4:50 and picks up the stashed white pigeon to feed the chicks. She resumes incubation at 5:10. There is another feed at 6:15. Fresh prey is brought in at 7:40 and the chicks are fed and again at 8:40. She removes the remains from the box and returns to the chicks. The male lands briefly at 9:00. The next feed is not until 12:25. She takes a short flight at 14:55, returning to the chicks. There is another feed at 15:10 for ten minutes, then she flies out with the remains. At 16:45, she feeds herself on some of the scraps lying around in the box. She takes another short flight at 17:10. The male arrives in the box at 17:40 but the female sends him away. She then feeds the chicks with stashed pigeon and again at 19:00 after the male flew in with pigeon remains. She flies off after ten minutes with the remnants. The male flies in to take over incubation. The female lands a few minutes later but seeing the male with the chicks leaves him until 20:05 when she returns. There are no further feeds before midnight. Incubation Time: Female 22h:55m; Male 1h:05m; Total 24h:00m.
8 May – the female checks out the ledge at 4:10 then returns to the scrape and again at 5:10. The male arrives at 5:20 to take over duties. The chicks are waiting to be fed, so he flies out at 5:30 and the female returns five minutes later. She leaves at 6:40 and returns five minutes later with the first meal of the day. The next feed is at 9:35 and there is another feed on the pigeon at 12:55. The male lands briefly calling loudly at 14:00. The female flies out at 14:20 for five minutes. She checks the skies at 15:40 then returns to the chicks and at 16:05 feeds them on the stashed pigeon. The male lands at 17:00, looks in the box, then sits on the ledge for a few minutes. He is back at 17:25 and goes into the box. There is a lot of calling between the pair for ten minutes, then he flies out. The next feed is at 19:25 and the male arrives and goes into the box, watches then moves to the ledge. The female flies out after ten minutes and the male goes into the box. She is back quickly but briefly. The male attempts to feed the chicks but is unsure and flies out with the meal at 19:40 and the female returns. He brings the food back five minutes later. She takes it from him and for the last time today, feeds the chicks, although they are already quite full. Incubation Time: Female 23h:25m; Male 0h:15m; Total 23h:40m.
9 May – the female takes a short flight at 4:20 and returns to the chicks. The male lands on the ledge ten minutes later remaining for 15 minutes. The female makes the first feed of the day at 4:45. She takes another short flight at 7:00 and again at 7:25. She flies off again at 8:05 and returns five minutes later carrying Blackbird prey which she feeds to the chicks. She takes a short flight at 8:20 and at 11:05 rushes out, accidentally pushing a chick from the scrape. She is back after five minutes. She uses a stashed meal to feed the chicks at 12:05. The male flies in at 12:35, sees the female with the chicks so flies out. He is back at 13:25 carrying fresh Feral Pigeon prey which the female feeds to the chicks. She then stashes the remains and takes a quick flight. The male looks in quickly at 16:15 and there is another feed five minutes later and yet again at 17:00. The male flies in at 18:00 and sits on the ledge for 15 minutes when he takes some stashed food in for the female. She accepts it and feeds the chicks. He flies off but is back at 19:35 for five minutes. The female feeds the chicks just after he leaves at 19:40, the last feed of the day. Incubation Time: Female 23h:45m; Male 0h:0m; Total 23h:45m. For the first time, the male did not contribute to incubation.
12 May – the female flies out at 2:40 but is back quickly. The male arrives at 4:55 and walks into the box but the female stays put so he moves to the ledge. She walks to the platform and calls to the male who flies off; she returns to the chicks. The male drops off Blackcap prey at 5:05 and she takes it to feed the chicks. She flies off with what little remains five minutes later, then returns to the chicks. At 8:05, the female flies out but is back after five minutes. She is off twice again briefly a few moments. The male arrives at 8:15 to cover the chicks but he leaves as the female arrives carrying food. After feeding, she returns to covering the chicks as there is quite a stiff breeze blowing through the box. At 10:30, she finds the stashed pigeon and feeds it to them for ten minutes. There is another feed on the pigeon remains at 15:00. She flies off with the remains ten minutes later and is quickly back. The male brings the remains in at 15:35 and gives it to the female and she feeds the chicks, then resumes incubation. The male lands briefly at 16:40. She flies out at 18:35, returning after five minutes – no doubt looking for food. At 18:50, the male arrives with fresh Feral Pigeon prey and the female takes it and feeds the chicks. She flies out with the remains 15 minutes later but is back quickly to resume incubation. The male checks the situation at 19:10, then moves on the ledge until leaving at 19:25. The female sits tight for the rest of the evening. Incubation Time: Female 23h:40m; Male 0h:05m; Total 23h:45m.
26 May – the cameras come back online just before 11:00. The sharp-eyed of you will notice that whilst the cameras were off, we took the opportunity to colour-ring the chicks under licence from the BTO (Orange TCC, TDC and PBF). All three chicks (two large, one smaller) looked healthy. The female was with the chicks who were lying around the scrape. They looked well fed and very sleepy. At 12:45, the female flies out and returns with the male who is carrying Greenfinch prey. She snatches it from him and feeds the chicks whilst he sits on the ledge, then flies off. It was not much of the meal, and she flies out five minutes later. The chicks settle down into a large ball of fluff and a few pin feathers are starting to appear. The male flies in with another white Feral Pigeon at 16:15 and feeds the chicks for 30 minutes, then the female arrives to take over and he leaves. She moves to the ledge at 15:15 and flies off 15 minutes later. She is back at 18:05 and goes into the box until leaving 50 minutes later, returning to shelter the chicks at 21:45.
27 May – the female moves to the ledge at 2:20 and watches the sky until 3:10 when she flies off. She returns at 3:25 and remains on the ledge until 4:40 when she has a quick check on the chicks, then flies out. She is back at 5:05 carrying fresh Feral Pigeon prey and feeds the chicks for 40 minutes. She stashes the remains in the box then flies out; the chicks fall asleep in a heap. She lands briefly at 7:45, then flies in at 8:25, picks up the stashed pigeon and feeds the chicks. After feeding, she protects them from the wind. She flies off at 9:15, lands briefly at 9:40 then returns with Starling prey five minutes later. The chicks feed quickly and after a brief visit to the ledge, she covers the chicks. They are now starting to stretch and flap their wings. She flies out at 10:40 and the chicks huddle together in the back of the box. The male lands briefly at 13:40 and the female checks the box five minutes later. She is back at 15:10 carrying fresh Feral Pigeon prey and feeds the chicks. After being fed, [TDC] decides to go for a walk and ventures half-way across the platform. It wing-flaps whilst its siblings continue to be fed. They huddle together again at 15:45, their pin feathers and face masks now showing even more. The female is back with another white Pigeon at 17:50 and feeds the chicks again. She stashes the remains at 18:15 and flies off. The male brings in a Starling at 18:55 but the chicks are well fed and take a little persuading to feed again, but they managed a few morsels each. He moves to the ledge until flying off at 20:15. The female returns at 20:55 to feed the chicks, then flies out 20 minutes later and does not come back to the platform before midnight. To watch the whole 24 hours at 60x speed on YouTube, click HERE.
28 May – the male lands on the ledge at 2:45 and falls asleep. He looks for stashed food at 4:45 and flies off 15 minutes later. The female flies in at 6:25, checks the chicks then leaves. She is back with fresh Feral Pigeon prey at 6:40 and feeds the chicks. She stashes the remains at 7:05, then flies off. The male returns carrying another white Pigeon and is followed by the female. She grabs the pigeon and feeds it to the chicks and the male flies off. She finishes feeding at 8:55 and leaves. Both [TCC] and [TDC] venture further onto the platform. She is back 15 minutes later and goes into the box and cleans the scraps laying around. She covers two of the chicks but [TDC] is still on the platform, it quickly joins its siblings. The female leaves at 14:05 and the male lands briefly. She is back in the box at 14:45 for ten minutes. At 16:00, the siblings get more active and start walking around the box and wing-flapping. Ten minutes later, the male arrives with food, but the female follows quickly, snatches it from him and feeds the chicks until they finish at 16:30 and she flies out. The male is back with a Starling 15 minutes later and feeds the chicks. He is back at 19:00 with fresh Feral Pigeon but flies off with it. The female returns with his meal 15 minutes later and feeds the chicks, then finishes the remainder herself. She is back at 20:30 and checks the box then covers the chicks. At 23:30, she moves to the ledge remaining until at least midnight.
29 May – the female remains on the ledge until 3:15 when she goes into the box and shelters the chicks. She flies out at 4:10 returning to the ledge at 5:35 for ten minutes and at 6:25 for 15 minutes. She flies in at 7:15 carrying a fresh white Feral Pigeon which she feeds to the chicks. She leaves with the remains at 7:30. At 8:00, the male flies in with the stashed remains but the female is close behind and snatches the food from him and feeds the chicks; he flies out. They have finished the meal at 8:35. She shelters the chicks and falls asleep until flying out at 10:25. She does not return until 12:05 but without food. She checks the chicks and leaves. The male lands 20 minutes later and looks in on the chicks at 12:50 before flying out. The female arrives with a small part of stashed food and feeds the chicks, leaving ten minutes later. The chicks get mobile and explore the box for 15 minutes then huddle in the corner. The female is back carrying Feral Pigeon prey to feed the chicks at 18:00. Again, after feeding, they explore the box and even move onto the platform venturing further than ever, before settling in the corner. The female is back at 21:05 and goes to shelter the chicks ten minutes later, remaining until midnight at least.
30 May – thank you to everyone that turned up to our Peregrine Watch Day today. It was great to meet so many of our supporters in person, show you the birds and answer your questions. The two adults were in constant attendance sitting on the spire, occasionally flying around the Cathedral or fetching food from a stash. The female moves to the platform and falls asleep at 1:45. She sits on the ledge at 3:00 until 4:55 when she flies off. The chicks start to explore at 5:30 for 15 minutes when the female flies in with fresh Feral Pigeon prey. She flies out with the remains at 6:10, then returns to the ledge briefly ten minutes later. She is back at 6:55 and feeds scraps in the box to the chicks, then shelters them until 7:55. The male arrives immediately with the stashed pigeon and tries to feed the chicks, but they are well fed. The female is right behind him, and he flies out with the meal. She watches him go then returns to the chicks until leaving at 8:45. The female checks the chicks briefly at 10:20; they remain huddled in the corner. She returns an hour later carrying fresh Feral Pigeon prey to feed them. After feeding, [TCC] does some wing flapping on the platform. She flies out with the remains at 11:45. The male returns at 13:55 and feeds the chicks some scraps. The female is quick behind him, and he flies out as she takes over. There is not much, so as the chicks wander around the box and do a bit of stretching, she seems to tidy the scrape. She flies out at 15:15 returning at 16:45 with Great Tit prey. It does not last long, and she leaves returning a few minutes later with another pigeon meal. For the first time, [PBF] tries to snatch the meal from the female, a sign of growing confidence. After feeding, the chicks wander around for a few minutes then settle back in the corner. The female checks the chicks at 19:05 then returns at 19:30 with another Feral Pigeon meal. After feeding, she shelters the chicks until leaving at 20:20. They are left unattended until at least midnight.
31 May – the female flies in at 00:40 and shelters the chicks. She flies out at 4:15 and is replaced by the male who sits on the ledge until 4:30. He is back a few minutes later with scraps from a previous meal but is quickly back on the ledge and flies out at 5:00. The chicks go walkabout at 6:40 with [TCC] venturing onto the platform. They huddle together at 7:05 until the female arrives with more Feral Pigeon food at 7:30. They feed well until 7:55 and after feeding wandering around the box. The female flies out and [TDC] follows to watch her go before returning to the box. She has left the remains of the meal behind and [PBF] is the first to try and feed itself. The female is back at 8:15 and feeds the remains to the chicks until 8:35 when she leaves. She is back at 9:40 and huddles with the chicks until she notices some stashed prey at 11:45 which she feeds to the chicks. She continues to shelter them after being fed. They start to wander at 12:00 and the male arrives with a small item of prey which he gives to the female at 12:05. The chicks walk around and flap their wings more vigorously than previous. They huddle up at 12:20 and the female arrives briefly at 14:40, likewise the male at 15:05. The female lands with fresh Feral Pigeon at 16:55. She flies off with the remains at 17:35 whilst [PBF] walks around the platform. They are soon back in a huddle. at 17:35. The female arrives to shelter them at 18:15. She leaves at 19:40 quickly returning with a small piece of stashed pigeon. After feeding, she resumes sheltering until at least midnight.