OCTOBER 2021
1 October – the female remains on the ledge from the previous evening until 7:20 when she goes into the box then flies off a few minutes later. The male arrives at 8:30 but leaves soon after. There is no further activity until the female returns at 15:35. She feeds on the scraps on the platform then moves to the ledge after ten minutes. She flies off at 16:00 and is replaced by the male. He then moves to the box and scrapes the stones before settling in the corner. He goes to the ledge at 17:45 flying off at 18:35. The female is back at 19:50 and goes into the box, then preens and falls asleep on the platform. She moves to the ledge at 23:05 and flies off at 23:40.
2 October – the female flies in at 6:50 and is quickly followed by the male. There are a few minutes of bonding, then the female sits on the ledge and the male in the box. She flies off at 7:05 and he watches her go then moves to the ledge already sporting a full crop. At 8:35, he moves back into the box and an hour later has a quick look over the city before returning to the box as the female arrives; he leaves a few minutes later and the female soon after. She is back briefly at 18:25 and just a few moments later returns with a very fresh Feral Pigeon as prey; she plucks and eats on the platform. She finishes at 19:10 and stashes the remains by a column and settles on the ledge with a full crop, remaining until midnight at least.
3 October – the female picks up her stashed meal at 4:50 and feeds on the platform. She stashes the remnants and moves back to the ledge 45 minutes later. The male flies in at 5:55 and steals the stash. The female flies off at 6:35. The male is back at 7:10 and is followed quickly by the female. They go into the box then the male flies out and she leaves five minutes later. The female returns at 8:55 carrying Feral Pigeon prey which, looking at the size of her crop, she has already been feeding on; she stashes her meal and flies out. She returns at 10:50 and after a quick visit to the box, sits on the ledge. She has a brief flight at 11:35 then leaves after a few. She returns 30 minutes later and remains on the ledge until 14:50 when she snacks on the pigeon. She has finished eating at 15:20 and re-stashes the remnants of her meal. The male tries to steal the leftovers at 16:40 but the female snatches them from him; he flies off. She returns to the ledge but flies off five minutes later. The male seizes his opportunity and snacks on the remains but is disturbed by the return of the female ten minutes later and he flies off. She finishes her meal, then sits on the ledge until 18:15 when she leaves.
4 October – the male flies in at 6:30 and is joined by the female 25 minutes later. He flies off after a few moments calling. She picks at scraps on the platform before flying off at 7:05. She is back at 8:15 and settles on the ledge after searching for food, then flies off at 9:00. She returns at 13:45 and is soon joined by the male; she goes into the box and he follows. There are a few minutes bonding and she scrapes the stones, then she moves to the ledge and flies off at 13:55. He remains in the box for over two hours until 16:25 when he flies out. The female returns at 21:45 and sits on the ledge until 23:40 when she moves to the box for the rest of the evening.
5 October – the female remains in the box from the previous evening until 6:30 when she moves to the ledge and flies off. The male flies into the box at 6:50 and the female flies past the platform. The female arrives with fresh Feral Pigeon prey at 7:40 and proceeds to pluck it but flies of with her meal after 15 minutes. The male leaves soon after. The female returns at 11:30 carrying the remnants of a Snipe which she stashes in the box before flying off. There is no more activity on camera today.
6 October – the pair arrive on the platform at 6:25; the female settles on the ledge and the male goes into the box. He flies out 20 minutes later when the female moves into the box. She flies off ten minutes later. The male is back briefly at 13:10 and again at 16:35 for ten minutes. The pair are back at 18:55 and there is a short period of bonding until the male settles on the ledge, then flies off at 19:25. The female remains in the box for the rest of the evening.
7 October – the female remains in the box until 6:40 when she moves to the ledge, flying off ten minutes later. There is no further activity until the male flies in at 16:15 and picks at some scraps on the platform, then settles on the ledge until flying off at 17:55. The pair return at 18:25; the male sits on the ledge. The female moves to the opposite ledge a few minutes later and the male flies off. She remains on the ledge for the rest of the evening.
8 October – the female awakens at 2:35 and checks some scraps on the platform but does not eat. She flies off at 5:25 and returns with the male at 7:15. After a few minutes bonding, the female flies off with the scraps and the male follows soon after. There is no further activity until the pair return at 18:45. After a few minutes of bonding, she moves to the ledge whilst he sits in the box until flying off at 19:05. She remains on the ledge for the rest of the evening.
9 October – the female remains on the ledge from the previous evening until 5:25 when she flies off. She is back at 6:35 and briefly visits the box and leaves after 20 minutes; she is back briefly at 7:15. The male flies in at 7:25 and is followed quickly by the female carrying fresh Feral Pigeon prey. He flies off five minutes later and she proceeds to pluck and feed on the platform. She stashes the remains in the box at 8:05. The male sneaks in and steals the stash and flies out with the female in pursuit. The female returns five hours later and sits on the ledge where she remains until leaving at 16:00. She is back an hour later and flies off after 20 minutes returning after a few minutes with what appears to be the scraps from this morning’s pigeon. She feeds on the scraps until 18:10 when there is little left and she sits on the ledge. She goes into the box as the male arrives a few moments later and he joins her but leaves after a few minutes. She flies off at 18:25 and the male is back 20 minutes later. He goes into the box when the female returns at 18:50; she replaces him five minutes later and he sits on the ledge until 20:35 when he flies off. The female moves from the box to the ledge at 23:20 but flies off after 20 minutes.
10 October – the male flies in at 00:20 looking for some leftover scraps, then falls asleep. He is awake at 6:55, flies off 20 minutes later and returns with the female. They only stay for a few minutes then fly off together. The male is back at 9:35 and is quickly followed by the female. After a few moments bonding, he flies off and she leaves five minutes later. She returns at 12:25 with fresh Feral Pigeon prey which she plucks and eats on the platform. She stashes the remains by a column at 13:00 and sits on the ledge until flying off at 13:25. She is back at 16:30 and sits on the ledge until 17:50 when she re-visits the stashed pigeon and resumes plucking and feeding. She has finished eating at 18:55 and returns to the ledge where she remains for the rest of the evening.
11 October – the female flies off at 6:05 and returns an hour later to feed on some scraps. She is off again 15 minutes later and is replaced by the male. He finds the remains of yesterday’s pigeon and feeds on them. He flies out at 7:40 as the female returns; she sits on the ledge for 15 minutes, then leaves. The male is back briefly at 15:15 and the female flies into the box at 16:00 but flies off after 15 minutes and is replaced by the male. He goes into the box for ten minutes, then flies out. He is back in the box at 17:45 and moves to the ledge after 40 minutes where he remains until 19:50 when he flies off. The female is back at 20:05 with fresh prey – a Woodcock; a wintering migrant to the county that flies at night. She plucks and eats on the platform, stashes the remains by a column at 20:20 and flies off at 20:45. The male flies in calling at 22:10 but leaves quickly, ignoring the stashed prey.
12 October – the female arrives at 00:40 and settles on the ledge. She remains until 6:45 and is replaced by the male. He goes into the box as the female returns at 7:00. After a few minutes, he spies the stashed remains by the column, grabs them, and flies out. The female moves to the ledge and flies off at 7:20. The pair return at 9:55 and go into the box but the male soon leaves. The female sits on the ledge for 15 minutes before flying off. There is no further activity on camera today.
13 October – the male arrives at 5:40 and sits on the ledge. He goes into the box when the female flies in at 6:55. He flies out when she moves to the box, and she soon follows. The female is back at 7:50 with fresh Feral Pigeon prey. She flies off with it when the male arrives ten minutes later; he leaves soon after. She returns with her meal at 8:20 but does not stay long. The male is back 30 minutes later and goes into the box, flying out at 9:15. The male is back at 12:35 and sits on the ledge with a full crop. He is back in the box when the female returns at 12:45 and settles on the ledge also with a full crop. The male flies off at 14:15 and she quickly follows. The male is back at 15:05 and goes into the box but leaves in a rush at 15:40. There is no other activity today.
14 October – the male flies in just after midnight and sits on the ledge until 1:15 when he watches something pass over in the night sky and takes off. He is back at 7:05 but leaves after 20 minutes. The female arrives at 10:05, picks at some scraps then flies out five minutes later. There is no more activity until 18:10 when the female flies in to settle on the ledge for the rest of the evening with a full crop.
15 October – the male flies into the box at 4:10 whilst the female remains on the ledge from the previous evening until 6:05 when she flies off. He moves to the ledge at 6:45 and flies off 15 minutes later. The female is back at 7:55 with fresh Feral Pigeon prey which she plucks and feeds on the platform. At 9:10, she stashes the remains in the box and flies off. The male immediately flies in. He does not see the large stash but picks up some scraps and flies off. The pair are back at 13:45 and he goes into the box; she flies off immediately. He tries to pick up the stashed prey but the female swoops in and forces him to fly off. She picks up her meal and feeds on it before leaving at 14:15. Despite the fact she has just eaten and left a small stash on the platform, the female is back 30 minutes later with another fresh Feral Pigeon meal. She partially plucks the pigeon and stashes it in the box. She tidies up the platform by moving the scraps of her previous meal to another column, then sits on the ledge, flying off at 16:20. She returns at 20:15 and proceeds to pluck and feed on the larger stashed pigeon. She replaces the remains by a column at 20:55 and settles on the ledge for the rest of the evening.
16 October – the female remains sleeping on the ledge until 7:00 when she feeds on the stashed pigeon. The male sneaks in at 7:15 and steals the smaller stashed item and flies off; the female continues with her meal. At 7:25, she has finished and stashed the remains in the box, then flies out. The female is back at 13:10 and feeds on scraps on the platform, then finds the stashed pigeon and feeds. She moves to the ledge at 13:45, then flies off returning at 16:30. She is joined by the male ten minutes later and there is a period of bonding in the box. He moves to the ledge at 16:50 and flies off and the female follows five minutes later. The pair are back at 18:20 but leave a few moments later. The female returns at 23:10 with Little Grebe prey – another night migrant. She does not feed but stashes it by a column and sits on the ledge already with a full crop.
17 October – the female remains sleeping on the ledge until 7:15 when she decides to feed on the stashed Little Grebe. She has finished at 7:55 and re-stashes her meal and flies off. She is back at 15:05 and feeds on some of the scraps on the platform, then moves to the stashed grebe and feeds until 15:40. She flies off five minutes later; there is no further activity on camera.
18 October – the male flies onto the ledge at 00:30 and falls asleep. He flies off at 6:45 and the female arrives at 7:20. She picks at scraps on the platform for a few moments, then flies off to be replaced by the male but he too, doesn’t stay. The pair return at 13:45 and go into the box. The male leaves after a few minutes bonding and the female five minutes later. There is no more activity on camera today.
19 October – there was no activity on the platform until 18:10 when the female arrives looking well fed with a very full crop. She sits on the ledge and remains for the rest of the evening.
20 October – the female remains on the ledge until 7:20 when she flies off. She returns with the male 20 minutes later and they go into the box. He leaves quickly and she follows after ten minutes. The male is back at 7:55 and picks at scraps on the platform. He flies off when the female returns at 8:05 but she only stays for five minutes. The female is back at 10:10 carrying very fresh Feral Pigeon prey. She plucks and feeds on the platform and stashes the remans in the box before flying off at 10:40. The pair return at 14:10; the female picks up the stashed pigeon and feeds as the male flies out. She moves to the ledge 30 minutes later and into the box at 16:30 for ten minutes. She flies off at 16:50 and does not return during the rest of the evening.
21 October – the female arrives at 8:00 with fresh Feral Pigeon prey. She partially plucks her meal on the platform but then stashes it after just 20 minutes and moves to the ledge, flying off five minutes later. She does not return until 17:10 when she ignores the stashed pigeon and picks at some scraps on the platform before moving to the ledge. At 17:45, she can resist no longer and feeds on her stashed meal. She feeds for 20 minutes before stashing the rest of her meal. At 18:10, the male flies in and steals her meal; she flies after him. She is back 40 minutes later and settles on the ledge until 21:30 when she leaves, returning at 22:05 with Redwing prey. She stashes her meal and flies off returning 40 minutes later with another Redwing which she stashes, then flies off. The male lands at 23:15 and goes into the box. He then walks past the stash and sits on the ledge. He takes a short flight at 23:45 then settles on the ledge.
22 October – the male remains on the ledge until 4:30 when he picks up a stashed Redwing and carries it across the platform, then flies off with it. He returns with the female at 5:25 and he goes into the box; she feeds on scraps on the platform. She replaces the male in the box at 5:55 and he moves to the ledge where he remains until 7:10 when he flies off. The female returns to the ledge 20 minutes later, then flies off. The pair are back at 8:00 but both leave five minutes later. The female returns at 14:40 and finds more scraps on the platform, then moves to the box before sitting on the ledge; she leaves at 15:50. The male is back at 18:15 and is followed quickly by the female. They are both in the box until the male moves to the ledge at 18:30. They fly out together five minutes later.
23 October – the male flies in at 8:20 and sits on the ledge until flying off at 9:00. He is replaced by the female carrying fresh Feral Pigeon prey which she plucks and eats on the platform. She stashes her meal in the box at 10:05 and flies off to be replaced by the male five minutes later. He does not stay long as something overhead attracts his attention, and he flies off. The pair are back at 10:20, the female sits on the ledge with a full crop whilst the male finds the stashed pigeon and flies out with it; the female follows. The male returns at 11:15 and goes into the box where he spends time moving stones around. He remains in the box until the female returns at 14:05. She replaces him and after a few minutes bonding, he flies out. She makes a scrape in the stones then moves to the ledge with a full crop. She flies off at 17:35 and the male flies in but leaves after a few minutes. He is back at 18:10 and goes into the box, then moves to the ledge an hour later where he remains for the rest of the evening and falls asleep.
24 October – the male remains sleeping on the ledge from the previous evening until 6:55 when he goes into the box where he is joined by the female a few minutes later. He flies off at 7:05 and she leaves soon after. He returns an hour later and spends five minutes moving stones in the box before sitting on the ledge. He is back in the box at 8:35 when the female flies in with another fresh Feral Pigeon. She plucks and feeds on the platform. When she flies off with the remains at 9:30, the male picks at scraps left on the platform, then sits on the ledge; flying off at 9:45. The pair are back 15 minutes later and there is a short period of bonding. The female moves to the ledge whilst the male makes a scrape in the stones before flying out at 10:05; she flies off at 10:30. The male is back at 18:20 and is soon joined by the female. They bond in the box for ten minutes before the male moves to the ledge and flying off at 20:30. He is back at 21:35 and remains on the ledge until midnight at least; the female sleeps in the box.
25 October – the male remains on the ledge from the previous evening and swaps places with the female when she moves from the box at 2:50. He moves to the opposite ledge five minutes later. The female is back in the box at 3:25 and returns to the ledge at 6:20 for 15 minutes. The male flies off at 7:10 and the female moves to the ledge to watch, then follows a few minutes later. She is back at 8:10 and picks at scraps on the platform, then flies off. The male lands briefly at 11:50 and the female is back at 15:35 with a full crop. She goes into the box and scrapes stones before moving to the ledge. The male returns at 17:25 and the pair go into the box and there is a period of bonding, calling and stone scraping. The female flies off after ten minutes, but the male continues scraping then eventually moves from the box at 18:00 and sits on the ledge until 19:30 when he flies off. The female arrives with Redwing prey at 20:10, stashes it and flies off 15 minutes later. She returns almost immediately with Snipe prey which is also stashed. She flies off quickly and is back at 21:25 with another night migrant, this time a very fresh Woodcock. She sits on the ledge for ten minutes before flying off again, returning after ten minutes with another Redwing. She leaves immediately and does not return before midnight.
26 October – the four prey items remain on the platform through the night. The male flies in at 2:05 and sits on the ledge. He ignores all the prey and falls asleep. At 7:35, he tackles the Snipe and plucks it on the platform. He flies off with it as the female arrives ten minutes later. She picks up one of the Redwings but does not feed, rather sits on the ledge. She flies off at 8:00 and chases the male back into the box. He arrives without his Snipe and goes into the box whilst the female sits on the ledge. She feeds on the Redwing at 8:15 and flies off with it 15 minutes later. The male remains in the box until 11:10 when he moves to the ledge, then flies off. The female is back briefly at 12:55, then returns with the male five minutes later. They go into the box and there is a ten-minute period of bonding and stone scraping. The female moves to the platform and picks up the Woodcock and drags it to the opposite side. This reveals the second Redwing which she feeds on. She moves to the ledge at 13:35 when she has finished. The male remains in the box until she flies off at 15:35 and he follows. They return calling at 16:10 and go into the box for another bonding session. The male moves to the ledge after a few minutes whilst the female scrapes in the stones. He flies off five minutes later and she replaces him on the ledge until 17:05. The female is back at 22:40 and feeds on the Woodcock for 30 minutes before stashing the remains by a column. She sits on the ledge for the rest of the evening.
27 October – the female remains on the ledge until 6:55 when she stands over the Woodcock prey and watches the sky above her – the male is probably around. The male lands ten minutes later and she protects her meal. She soon starts to feed as he watches from the ledge. He flies off at 7:30 and she stashes her meal, then returns to the ledge. She flies after a few minutes and is replaced by the male at 8:00 who looks well fed and ignores the stashed meal. He leaves at 8:55. There is no further activity until the female returns at 16:20. She feeds on the Woodcock and moves to the ledge 15 minutes later, flying off at 17:00. Neither bird is seen thereafter.
28 October – the male arrives at 7:40 and sits on the ledge. He goes into the box when the female flies in carrying fresh Feral Pigeon prey a few moments later. She plucks and feeds on the platform next to the remains of the three-day-old Woodcock. She stops feeding 30 minutes later but still protects her meal; the male is still in the box. She resumes feeding at 8:40 and flies off with the remains 15 minutes later; the male follows her. There is no further activity on camera until 17:20 when the female returns. She picks at scraps on the platform and stashes the remains of the Woodcock by a column. She flies off 15 minutes later and is replaced by the male who goes into the box. The female is back at 17:50 and joins him. There are a few minutes of bonding before he moves to the ledge. The female makes a scrape in the stones, then forces the male to fly off when she takes his place on the ledge where she remains until midnight at least.
29 October – the female remains on the ledge from the previous evening until 4:20 when she moves to the platform and falls asleep; possibly seeking a little more shelter from the strong winds. She flies off at 7:45. There is no further activity on camera today.
30 October – the male arrives at 8:10 and sits on the ledge until 8:45 when he goes into the box to shelter from the heavy rain. He returns to the ledge at 13:50 some five hours later. He flies out soon after and is replaced by the female but she stays for just a few minutes. The pair return together at 14:10 and go into the box where there is calling and posturing for five minutes. Both birds move to the ledge and the male leaves a few minutes later; the female follows at 14:40. She returns at 15:55 and feeds on the now five-day-old Woodcock. She has had her fill 15 minutes later and sits on the ledge, flying off at 16:35. She is back at 21:15 carrying fresh Woodcock prey which she leaves on the platform. She flies off at 22:10, returning at 23:40 carrying fresh Redwing prey which she plucks and eats on the platform.
31 October – the female continues to feed on the Redwing until 00:10. She returns to the ledge and falls asleep. At 03:20, she starts to pluck and feed on the Woodcock that was left on the platform from earlier in the previous evening. She stashes the substantial remains by a column 35 minutes later and returns to the ledge. She flies off at 6:40 and there is no further activity on camera until the she returns at 16:00 and feeds on the Woodcock prey again. She moves to the ledge at 16:25 with a full crop, remaining until midnight at least.