September 2018

30 September – The male arrives at 6:20 and is joined by the female at 6:45. There is a lot of posturing and calling before she settles on the ledge and he hides behind the central column. He flies off 10 minutes later. After regurgitating a pellet, she flies off at 7:10. Both adults are back at 7:20, the female on the ledge the male behind the column but he leaves after 5 minutes and she quickly follows. He is back at 9:00 with a full crop. Like the female, he spends about 20 minutes producing a pellet. He is joined by the female at 11:40 that bounces into the box. There is calling and posturing and after 5 minutes she takes the position on the ledge and he retreats to the box but leaves after a further 5 minutes. She remains until 15:00. The juvenile (PCF) arrives with an item of prey (a Jackdaw) at 16:05. It is fresh and he proceeds to pluck and eat it. He has had his fill by 16:30 and stashes the remains by the right-hand column then sits on the ledge looking out  over the city until 16:50. The juvenile returns at 18:00 and finishes the remainder of his meal. There are just a few scraps left at 18:20 and he remains on the ledge until 18:45. The female is back at 19:00 and she sits on the ledge sleeping until midnight at least.

29 September – The juvenile (PCF) arrives at 6:50 and flies off at 7:35. The female arrives at 7:50 leaving 30 minutes later. She his back at 9:15 and goes into the box and followed immediately by the male. After 5 minutes, she settles on the ledge whilst he sits on the platform behind a column. At 9:40 she takes a quick flight but is soon back. There is posturing between the pair and some calling. At 9:45 the male goes into the box. When the female ventures into the box 10 minutes later he makes a dash for the platform. She makes a few scrapes before returning to the ledge. At 10:25 he sits on the opposite ledge but returns to the box 5 minutes later. Both birds leave in a rush at 10:50 (an intruder?) the male returning after a few minutes. He sits in the box before moving to the platform looking out over the city venturing onto the ledge at 11:20. The female is back at 11:50 and the male retreats to the box moving to the ledge at 12:15. Thirty minutes later the female forces the male into the box before he flies off in haste! The female settles back onto the ledge flying off at 12:50. The male is back at 13:00 and is joined by the female an hour later. He goes into the box but makes a dash for it after 5 minutes. He returns at 15:20 and sits on the opposite ledge but leaves 15 minutes later. He is back again at 17:00 and goes into the box keeping the column between himself and the female! She flies off at 17:25 and he sits looking out over the city. He moves to the ledge at 18:20 eventually flying off at 20:05. The female arrives with prey in the dark at 21:05 but leaves with it a few minutes later. There is no further activity this evening.

28 September – It is the female that is the first to arrive today, at 6:30 but leaves just 5 minutes later. The male arrives after a few minutes but is gone at 7:00. He is back at 8:15 and goes into the box calling. He takes to the ledge at 8:25. The female arrives at 8:50 and goes into the box. The male flies off. At 10:50 she goes into the box and makes a scrape returning to the ledge 5 minutes later and flying off at 11:40. She is back at 12:10 and stands on the platform looking out over the city then settles on the ledge until flying off 30 minutes later. The juvenile (PCF) arrives at 16:50 leaving 20 minutes later. The male is back at 18:25 and goes into the box, moving onto the platform after 10 minutes and flying off 5 minutes later.

27 September – The male arrives at 7:05 but leaves after a few minutes to be replaced by the female. She in turn is supplanted by the juvenile (PCF) at 7:30 that remains until 10:00 when the female returns. She goes into the box and makes a few scrapes and moving the stones about returning to the ledge after 10 minutes. She eventually flies off at 14:35. The male is back at 17:15 when he goes into the box flying off at 18:00 being replaced by the female. She goes into the box and makes some scrape and moves the stones around returning to the ledge at 18:10 finally leaving at 19:15 only return a few moments later. She is looking intently over the city and calling loudly. It is dark but something is upsetting her. She sits in the box looking out. At 19:30 she makes a short flight and returns calling. She flies off at 19:40. There is no further activity this evening.

26 September – The female remains on the ledge through the night and is still there when the male arrives at 6:55. She goes into the box before returning to the ledge. The male grabs the leftover prey and leaves, the female follows at 7:05. He is back with the prey at 7:10 and proceeds to eat. However, the female arrives and relieves him of his snack. She sits on the ledge until 7:30 when the juvenile (PCF) arrives calling. He sits on the ledge looking out until the adult male arrives at 8:30. The juvenile starts begging and calling and the adult leaves followed closely by the juvenile. The female arrives at 9:10 and goes into the box the onto the ledge. The male arrives at 9:20 and the female leaves soon after. The male sits on the ledge until 10:45 when the female arrives and enters the box the juvenile also arrives but leaves quickly. The male returns a few moments later. The female creates a number of scrapes in the box and picks at a few stones whilst the male is on the ledge. She remains there for over an hour but replaces the male on the ledge at 11:50. He retreats to the box then flies off after a few minutes. He is back at 12:25 remaining until 15:25. The female eventually flies off at 16:20. The juvenile is back at 16:40 and leaves at 17:05. There is no further activity today.

25 September – The male arrives at 6:20 calling. He stands on the platform looking out for 5 minutes then settles onto the ledge. At 6:40 he goes into the box before flying off at 6:50. A few minutes later the female arrives and goes into the box then sits on the ledge then flies off. The male is back at 6:55 with a small item of prey. It doesn’t take long for him to finish his meal and he goes back to the ledge. He leaves at 7:50 to be replaced by the female 10 minutes later. She notices the male flying overhead and she enters the box calling and posturing and he arrives immediately. After a few moments, the female is on the ledge and the male is in the box. He initially hides behind the central column but she moves onto the opposite ledge. At 11:30 he sits on the ledge facing the female. He leaves at 12:40. He returns at 13:45 and goes into the box, the female still on the ledge. He flies off at 13:50 and she follows immediately. He is back at 14:20 leaving 20 minutes later. The female arrives with a Feral Pigeon at 16:55. She stashes it behind the left-hand column and settles onto the ledge. Her crops already looks full. At 17:30 the female leaves as the juvenile (PCF) arrives. He hops over to the stash and drags it from the column but the movement shocks him and he flies off. He returns a few minutes later and starts eating the pigeon. Ten minutes later he has had his fill and flies off to be replaced by the female. She spends a few minutes eating a morsel or two before stashing the remains – there is plenty left over. She sits on the ledge until 18:25 when the juvenile returns and grabs the stashed pigeon. He spends the next 35 minutes eating the prey and there is not much left when he has finished and sits on the ledge. He flies off at 19:05. The female is back in the dark at 19:50 and remains on the ledge until midnight at least.

24 September – The male arrives at 6:30 but leaves on the arrival of the juvenile (PCF) at 6:50, with the juvenile following him. The male is back at 9:40 and enters the box 5 minutes later calling. After a few minutes he moves to the platform to sit in the sun whilst overlooking the city. As the sun moves off the platform he sits on the ledge until leaving at 11:25. He returns at 17:20 sitting on the ledge until 19:20 when he flies off. There is no further activity today.

23 September – The male arrives at 6:30 and calls for a few moments. He enters the box at 6:35 still calling before settling on the ledge at 6:40 and flying off at 7:05. He returns at 8:50 with what looks like a full crop. He leaves at 9:40. He is back at 11:25 and bounces into the box calling then settles on the ledge. At 12:50 he takes off and is replaced 5 minutes later by the female. She departs at 13:25. The male is back in the box at 14:10 before returning to the ledge and flying off 15 minutes later. He is back at 16:40 leaving after 5 minutes and back again at 17:00 but just for another 5 minutes. There is no further activity today.

22 September – The male arrives at 6:30 and remains on the ledge until 8:40 returning at 9:00. At 10:20 he is displaced by the arrival of the calling juvenile (PCF). The male is back briefly a few minutes later but does not stay. The juvenile departs at 10:25 and the male returns and enters the box calling. He flies off at 10:45. The female arrives at 10:55 and goes into the box and makes a few scrapes before settling on the ledge. She flies off at 11:45 as the juvenile almost lands on top of her departing a few moments later returning at 12:00 leaving again at 13:15. At 15:05 the male arrives calling and goes into the box moving to the ledge 5 minutes later. He is back in the box calling at 15:20, presumably the female is around somewhere. He is back on the ledge at 15:30. He flies off at 17:20. There is no further activity today.

21 September – The Juvenile (PCF) arrives at 5:35 and sits on the ledge until he hops into the corner of the box for shelter. He returns to the ledge at 6:50 flying off a few minutes later. He is back at 7:15 and looking up at the spire. He leaves at 7:40 and a few minutes later the male arrives and goes into the box for 20 minutes before returning to the ledge. He leaves at 9:00 as the juvenile arrives and immediately chases after the adult. The male is back within a few minutes sitting on the ledge until 9:15. He is back half an hour later and is followed by the female. There are a few minutes of calling and posturing before the female settles on the ledge. The male flies off at 10:00 followed by the female. The juvenile lands at 11:25 and shelters in the box a few minutes later. It is very windy. He returns to the ledge at noon flying off at 12:15. The male is back at 12:20 but leaves after a few minutes only to return at 12:30 and remains on the ledge for an hour. The male arrives at 13:55 and is immediately followed by the female carrying an item of prey – a Feral Pigeon. After a few minutes the male flies off and the female starts to pluck the fresh bird. She flies off with the remains at 14:25. The male lands at 14:30 and feeds on a few scraps that had been left but just a few moments later the female arrives with the remains. She calls to the male until he leaves and she stashes the remains by a column before returning to the ledge. The male is back at 15:05, goes into the box and spies the stash. He starts to eat but hides behind the column of of line of sight of the female. He appears quite nervous after his last encounter when he stole the female’s food and decides the best (safest!) thing to do would be to fly off with it. With the wind blowing through her feathers, she stays on the ledge until 20:40 when she flies off.

20 September – The male arrives on the ledge at 6:30, entering the box at 6:45 remaining there until 7:25 when he returns to the ledge. He is replaced by the juvenile (PCF) at 7:45 who quickly goes into the box to shelter from the wind and rain. An hour later, he ventures on the ledge flying off a few minutes later. The male returns at 12:30 and enters the box calling venturing onto the ledge 15 minutes later. He flies off at 12:55 and is back at 13:40 looking rather wet he spends a few minutes in the box before settling on the ledge. He is joined by the female at 14:05. He goes into the box whilst she in on the ledge. She soon replaces him in the box and there is calling and posturing. She eventually sits on the bar in the box preening until she takes to the ledge opposite the male at 14:50. The male flies off at the arrival of the calling juvenile at 15:50 and is soon followed by the female. The juvenile remains for 10 minutes. The male is back at 16:20 and flies off at the arrival of the calling juvenile at 17:00 that then leaves almost immediately. The female lands five minutes later. At 18:10 she takes off on the arrival of the juvenile who leaves immediately. The male is back at 18:30 and is joined by the female at 10 minutes later. She goes into the box initially but then to the ledge when the male leaves and flies off herself on the arrival of the juvenile who would appear to be chasing the adults around looking for an easy meal perhaps. The juvenile leaves soon after but returns at 18:45. It sits on the ledge until 19:10. There is no further activity this evening.

19 September – The female retrieves her stash at 1:35 and starts eating it. She returns to the ledge 10 minutes later. She is joined by the male at 6:10 when she enters the box. There is calling and posturing and he leaves after 10 minutes returning at 7:25. They both enter the box, the female making scrapes before returning to the ledge at 7:35. The male makes his escape at 7:40 but is back at 8:20 entering the box. The female flies off at 8:40 and the male returns to the ledge. The female is back five minutes later but both adults leave with the arrival of the juvenile (PCF). The juvenile leaves at 9:50 and the male is back at 10:00 but is replaced by the juvenile at 10:10 leaving at 10:35. The male is back at 10:45 leaving at 11:00 returning for a few moments at 11:25. He is back at 11:40 but displaced by the juvenile at 11:45 who departs at 12:00. The male returns at 12:50 remaining on the ledge until 21:15. Today was the Peregrine Watch Day and the group and visitors had probably one of the most active days around St. Martins. The male in particular was giving us a wonderful display of his flying skills in the very windy conditions and at one stage there were four birds in the air together. The two adults, the juvenile and what appeared to be an intruding male bird who was forced out of the territory to the east of the city. There have been a number of encounters of intruding birds noted but it is difficult to determine if these are local birds passing through, wandering displaced juveniles from other areas or attempts being made to snatch this prime location.

18 September – The female is still on the ledge from the previous evening and is joined by the male at 6:15. There is calling and posturing until the male flies off at 6:20. The female leaves at 7:35. The male is back with an item of prey at 8:20  and starts to eat it and finishes in 10 minutes. He enters the box when the female arrives at 10:00 but 5 minutes later they have swapped positions. She the sits on the ledge and that is his cue to leave. She is still on the ledge at 14:00 when the male returns. Once again there is calling and posturing and he then sits on the opposite ledge. The female eventually flies off at 15:15 but returns just a few moments later.

The male departs at 15:25. He is back at 17:30 and she enters the box. She makes a few scrapes whilst he sits on the ledge trying not to make eye contact. At 17:45 she forces him off the ledge and he walks to the opposite corner. He flies off at 17:55 returning at 19:35. They both fly off at 20:20. The female is back at 21:50 with an item of prey which she starts to eat. However, 5 minutes later she appeared to be disturbed by something overhead and started flapping. She stashes the catch and sits on the ledge looking around. Just before midnight she settles down and falls asleep.

17 September – The male arrives at 6:30 visiting the box at 6:30 before returning to the ledge. He leaves at 7:45 and is replaced by the juvenile at 7:50 which leaves at 8:05. The male is back 30 minutes later. He sits on the ledge and is joined by the female at 11:20. At 13:10 they are calling and posturing and the male goes into the box returning to the ledge after a few minutes where they both remain until the male leaves at 13:30 with the female following at 13:45. The male returns at 15:00, flying off at 16:25 but is back 20 minutes later eventually leaving at 20:00. The female is back with a late night snack at 23:15 and remains until midnight at least.

16 September – The female arrives at 3:05 and is carrying prey but it is too dark to see what. When she has finished she sits on the ledge until 7:50 when the male arrives and she goes into the box. There is posturing and calling and after a few minutes they swap places and the male hides behind the central column before the female flies off at 7:55. When the juvenile arrives at 8:15 the male departs. The juvenile leaves at 8:50. The male is back at 9:30 leaving at 10:05. The male and female both arrive at 10:55 and sit on opposite ledges. The male leaves at 12:15 returning at 12:30 leaving again at 15:25. During this time the female remained on the ledge. The male did not stay long this time and flew off after just a few minutes. The female eventually leaves at 16:05. There is no further activity today.

15 September – The male arrives at 6:20 checks the box and sits on the ledge until 6:40. He is back at 9:30. He is joined by the female at 10:50 and they go into the box calling and posturing. He flies off at 10:55 whilst she makes a couple of scrapes. She returns to the ledge after a couple of minutes. The male is back at 13:20 and they call and posture on the platform. The female departs at 13:25 followed immediately by the male which returns at 13:55. He runs into the box as the female approaches with prey at 14:55 – has he learnt his lesson? He hides behind the central column for a few minutes but wisely flies off as the female starts to eat. She has finished by 15:20 and sits on the ledge until flying off at 15:55. After a few minutes the male arrives and he remains on the ledge until 18:05 when the female returns to replace him. He is back sitting on the opposite from 19:40 leaving after 15 minutes. The female leaves at 21:00.

14 September – The male arrives at 7:05 but is off at 7:25. At 9:40 the juvenile arrives and lays down on the platform in the sunshine for a few minutes before flying off at 10:00. It is back at 10:20 and does the same thing leaving 5 minutes later. The male arrives at 10:30. At 14:05 the female arrives and goes into the box calling moving to the ledge 10 minutes later. They sit on opposite sides until the male leaves at 15:20 followed immediately by the female. The juvenile is back at 16:10 and leaves 20 minutes later. The male returns at 19:15 and leaves at 19:55.

13 September – The male arrives at 6:20 but leaves 10 minutes later. The female arrives with a full crop at 6:35 and departs at 7:25. She is back at 8:00 sitting on the ledge until she is displaced by the in coming juvenile at 12:05 and remains for 10 minutes. There is no further activity today.

12 September – The juvenile (PCF) arrives at 2:30 and goes into the box until 6:25 when he sits on the ledge flying off at 7:20. The female arrives at 12:30 remaining until 17:40. There is no further activity today.

11 September – The male arrives at 7:15 and has a short flight at 7:30. At 8:05 he leaves returning 30 minutes later but is off again at 9:05. At 9:15 the female arrives with an item of prey closely followed by the juvenile (PCF). She plucks the item and leaves some on the platform when she departs at 9:30. The juvenile watches from inside the box. When the female returns at 9:35 to finish off the meal, the juvenile leaves with the female following a few minutes later. The juvenile is back at 9:55 and sits on the ledge until 10:30. The female is back at 17:30 and sits on the ledge leaving at 18:40. The juvenile is back at 7:05 but remains for just a few minutes.

10 September – The male arrives at 7:00 and sits on the ledge visiting the box for a few moments at 7:20 before leaving at 7:40. The female arrives at 11:30 with a full crop and sits on the ledge until 17:30. The juvenile (PCF) arrives at 17:35 leaving at 18:10 returning at 18:30 flying off at 19:10. There is no further activity today.

9 September – The male arrives at 5:45, leaves at 5:55 returning at 6:40. The female arrives with a Feral Pigeon at 7:00 which she plucks and eats on the platform. The male arrives at 7:10 but the female is in no mood to share and mantles the prey defensively. During there next hour she protects the prey from him. He flies off on three occasions and when he returns she resumes mantling. I have not noted her being so defensive or him being so brave/stupid. Indeed at 8:20 he attempts to steal the prey from her and ends up almost part of the meal He was lucky to get away.

Video 9 September: The female mantles the prey against the incoming male. 

Video 9 September: The male tries to snatch prey from the female and gets a lesson.

He survives and is back on the ledge at 8:55 – a little dishevelled. He remains until 10:20 when the juvenile arrives which leaves at 10:30. The female is back at 13:00 and is joined by the male at 15:00. They sit on opposite ledges. Neither seems concerned about their breakfast quarrel but the female leaves at 15:05 followed by the male 15 minutes later. The male is back after an hour and makes a few short sorties. He leaves at 17:20 with the arrival of the juvenile (PCF). The female arrives with a large pigeon and feeds it to the juvenile who is calling. At 17:35 the juvenile stands on the prey and forces the female off. The male arrives and waits for the juvenile to finish before snatching what is left. The juvenile watches the male eat the prey until the adult leaves at 18:00. The juvenile departs 5 minutes later. The male is back on the ledge at 19:45 eventually leaving at 22:45.

8 September – The male arrives earlier than usual at 4:35. He takes a short flight at 6:25. The arrival of the juvenile (PCF) at 6:55 forces him out with the juvenile leaving at 7:10. The male is back at 7:55 checks the box then sits on the ledge. He takes another short flight (probably hunting) at 8:45. He flies off at 10:25 returning 2 hours later. He sits on the ledge until 15:10. There is no further activity today.

7 September – The female finally flies off at 00:50. The male arrives at 5:25 and at 6:45 enters the box calling returning to the ledge at 7:05. He is joined by the female at 7:50 and both are in the box. After 5 minutes, they sit on opposite ledges until 8:30 when the male enters the box and hides behind the central column eventually leaving at 9:05. He is back at 10:35 and after taking a walk around the box sits on the ledge until 10:50 when he leaves. He returns at 11:05 and the female leaves a few minutes later. The male departs at 11:20 returning at 11:50 leaving at noon. He is back 20 minutes later and enters the box calling but leaves after just 5 minutes. He is back at 13:00 remaining until 14:30. He is back at 18:00 entering the box at 19:50 moving to the ledge at 20:00 eventually leaving at 21:20.

6 September – The male arrives at 5:55, quickly checks out the box and again at 6:15 before flying off at 6:30. The juvenile (PCF) arrives at 7:20 leaving 30 minutes later. The male is back at 8:00 checks the box, makes a scrape then sits on the ledge until 9:10 when he flies off. He makes a brief return at 9:45. At 10:05 he arrives with an item of prey and is followed by the juvenile (PCF) who is calling. The adult flies off at 10:10 and leaves the prey behind but the juvenile follows without taking the prey. The male returns at 15:15 and goes into the box before settling on the ledge and leaving an hour later. He is back at 17:15 and goes through the same routine and leaves after 20 minutes. He is back at 18:40 and finally eats the prey item that was left earlier in the day flying off with the remains at 18:50. At 19:55 the female arrives, the first time we have recorded her on the platform in four days, she remains preening and sleeping until midnight at least.

5 September – The male arrives at 6:05, checks the box then sits on the ledge for 5 minutes before flying off. There is no further activity until 19:20 when he returns remaining for an hour. The only action for the day.

4 September – The male is a bit later today, not arriving until 6:00 and leaves after just 10 minutes. He is back at 6:40 but leaves just 10 minutes later. He returns at 13:40 remaining until 15:50. Two hours later he is on the platform before resuming his position on the ledge leaving at 18:20. At 19:30 he returns and quickly checks the box before flying off at 19:45. The last activity for the day.

3 September – The male arrives at 5:40 remaining on the ledge until 6:45. He is back at 8:00 leaving 5 minutes later after investigating the box. There is no further activity until 18:35 when he returns to the ledge remaining until 20:45.

2 September – The male arrives at 5:35 and calls for a few minutes. St 6:00 he is joined by the female who goes into the box. After a few moments they swap places but he soon flies off. She remains on the ledge snoozing on and off until the arrival of the juvenile (PCF) at 7:00 forces her to leave. The juvenile flies off 15 minutes later returning at 8:45 before departing again at 9:05. The female arrives at 15:10 but is soon ousted by the juvenile’s return at 15:40 but he only stays a few minutes. The female is back at 15:50 and remains on the ledge preening until 16:25. The juvenile returns at 17:45 and leaves at 18:25 – the last activity of the day.

1 September – The male arrives at 5:40, leaving at 7:10 as the juvenile (PCF) arrives in the morning mist. He does not appear to be hobbling quite so badly and indeed rested on the damaged foot for some time before flying off at 7:35. At 8:25 the male returns with an item of prey – possibly Feral Pigeon, which he proceeds to pluck and eat on the ledge. At 8:50 he quickly leaves with the remains of the prey, the juvenile arriving 10 minutes later. He starts calling and soon after the male drops off a prey item which is snatched by the juvenile and he eats it. At 9:20, he leaves what remains and sits on the ledge. The male returns and finding the remains, stashes it between the columns before flying off. The juvenile leaves at 9:30. The male is back at 10:40 and 10 minutes later runs into the box calling but is back on the ledge at 11:00. He leaves 40 minutes later.  At 13:50 the female is back and retrieves the stash from between the columns. After 15 minutes eating she stashed the remains before settling on the ledge. At 16:05 she is joined by the male who retrieves the stash and proceeds to eat icon the platform with the female overlooking. He leaves at 16:20 with what little remains. The male is back at 17:10 and she goes into the box and their is calling and posturing. He returns to the ledge refusing to look at her whilst she makes scrapes in the stones. She remains there for 15 minutes before taking his place on the ledge at which time he walks to the opposite side before flying off. She eventually leaves at 21:50. There is no further activity this evening.

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