Sunday 19 July 2009

The juveniles are growing stronger every day and this morning one young chick knocked the teircel off the ledge! 

The kestrel chicks are wandering about the ledge in the rain and the peregrine chicks are still heard calling to the parents.

Today is the last day of the watch for another year. What a year it has been with four chicks hatched and three of them successfully fledging.  We look forward to another good year in 2010.

Saturday 18 July 2009

A quiet day with hardly any birds about at all.  The kestrel chicks can be seen in the nest entrance and later all the chicks were in the cave entrance dining al fresco.

A couple ride past on a tandem.  They are cycling from Lands End to John O’Groats.  A total of 1,000 miles in 14 days raising money for Alzheimers research.  We wish them all the best as they go on their way.

we were treated to a fly past of three Kestrels during early evening.

Friday 17 July 2009

Heavy rain made for a miserable day for the peregrines and the kestrels.  All the chicks were seen at different times of the day sheltering on the quarry face with their backs to the wind.

The parent peregrines were constantly calling out to their young whilst flying around the quarry and perching in the Ash tree.  Late afternoon one chick almost caught its own dinner when it approached a wood pigeon almost touching it but not successfully.

Thursday 16 July

The young peregrines are getting harder to see as they spend more and more time out flying around.  As the rain increased towards the end of the day one juvenile was spotted sheltering near the camera.  A little later the teircel came in with a small bird for afternoon tea.  The Kestrels were about a little more often sitting mainly on the rock face in the pouring rain.

Title: Know your birds
Location: Plymbridge Woods
Description: A children’s guided walk learning how to identify the birds that live in Plymbridge Woods
Start Time: 11:00
End Time: 13:00

Date: 29 July 2009

Since I last reported things have progressed normally in the Peregrine world and as far as we can see the three chicks are flourishing.  Every day they can be seen either roosting in the oaks to the right of the quarry or basking in the sunlight on the plucking ledges of the quarry face.  Several times a day the visitor is greeted with the shrill cry of the chicks as they exercise with the adults learning the complex skills required for survival when they no longer have parental support.  Firstly they have learned to carry prey and then to transfer it between each other while in flight.  They also have learned to catch the prey during flight firstly by retrieving a freshly caught bird as the parent allows it to fall from a suitable height and then to catch live prey which the parents have disabled.  Once these skills are perfected the rapidly maturing juvenile will be able to tackle its own prey and that should be happening around now.

A few weeks behing the Peregrines, not a stone’s throw from the hatching ledge a family of Kestrels are approaching fledging.  The family are not quite so fortunate and successful as the Peregrines as it appears that out of the four chicks that were hatched - only two have survived to a point where successful fledging seems certain.  One of them was spotted 10 days ago - dead outside it’s nest and one other seems to have had an unknown demise.  Daily, the survivors can be seen rock-hopping happily withing a few metres of their place of hatching and we hope that soon they will fly.

Thursday 2nd July 2009

I have been absent from the watch for a few days due to other commitments but was pleased to arrive back at Cann Quarry and see that everything is proceeding very nicely with many aerobatic displays especially in the evening after the heat of the day.  The chicks seem to favour the Oaks above the right-hand corner of the quarry and although they are difficult to spot the watchers are suddenly rewarded with aerial calls as they fly up to meet a parent incoming with a fresh kill. 

While the Peregrine chicks maintain a low profile the Kestrel chicks are up and moving.  Looking remrkably like the Peregrines some 9 weeks ago and covered with white down, the onlookers are rewarded with the occasional curtain call as one, then another comes forward from their nesting site to take a bow.  Unfortunately this morning I did not get to photograph the Kestrel chicks as I was setting up my equipment during the action but was pleased to catch the female as she flew in with a small rodent (possibly a vole).

While all this is going on the adult Peregrine keeps a watchful vigil.

25th June 2009

The time is rapidly approaching when sadly the watch-keepers will wrap up their scopes and cameras for another year.  The Chicks are relatively safe now that they are independently flying on longer and longer trips.  Soon they will be catching their own prey having been expertly taught by their dutiful parents and the watch will come to an end.  This morning for example all three of the chicks were demonstrating their prowess over the woods towards Wrigleys factory for an hour or more.  Buzzards enter the area at their peril now - the adult peregrines know better than to have physical contact with them but not our chicks - and I suppose this is a danger in itself, but that is nature and we cannot interfere.

The plucking platforms and ledges around the quarry face resemble gory butchers shops as you can see by today’s photographs but that is a healthy sign of the probability that our Peregrine Chicks will go on to become mature breeding birds.

Monday 22nd June 2009

It was very close and warm this morning with lots of cloud and occasionally the sun would break through so it was ideal photography weather.  However despite a hand over that the peregrine chicks had been very active from 0700 - 0800, there was very little activity for the first 2 1/2 hours that I was there.  There were plenty of reports in the diary that the peregrines have been very active over the weekend with lots of flypasts and practice transfer of prey.  At approximately 1045 there was a flurry of activity resulting in several flypasts and eventually they settled to the right of the quarry near boulder nesting site with a large wood pigeon brought in by the falcon after a while following quite a bit of squabling one of the chicks took it upon itself to fly off with the prey and land on the grassy ledge over the nesting site.  The other two siblings followed immediately and they all fed on the pigeon at the new venue.  Mother was in close attendance and settled on the nesting site and after a little exploratory nuzzling, lay down almost as if she was sitting on her chicks.  I managed to get some decent photos which In will add to the diary today and tomorrow.

Thursday 18th June 2009

I went on watch at 0745 and it was very quiet apart from little birds singing.  No sign of any of the falcons.  Yesterday I had gone up to the Caravan and witnessed a very  exciting flying display where one of the Falcon chicks had flown directly at me when I was stood hidden in the trees and only veered off at the last second to land on the plucking ledge below the web cam.  I had  my camera with me but  not  the presence of mind to use it as things happened too fast.  All three had weaved around the plucking ledge for some seconds before disappearing but still calling from the distance.

I went up to the caravan again and set my scope on the ledge on the off chance that I might get a photo or two when one of the chicks flew in and I then spent 45 minutes taking what was for me the best set of photos I have had the privilege to take.  Funnily enough while I was there I did not realise that in the tree directly above me had been one of the chicks which was entirely unconcerned at me being there and after a while it too flew down to the ledge.