An egg before Easter!
Wednesday 24th March 2010
Derby Cathedral’s famous peregrine falcons have laid their first egg of the year. It happened at or before 5 a.m. on March 24th, a day later than last year.
This is the fifth year the pair have laid eggs on the artificial nest platform installed in 2006, high on the cathedral’s mediaeval tower. The clutch will eventually be four eggs, experts believe, followed by a 30 day incubation period.
Nick Brown of Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, a partner in the project, said:
“Thanks to the marvels of technology and the hard work of Nick Moyes at Derby Museum, anyone with internet access can watch these birds throughout the year. In addition to a lively blog, there are three webcams, two focused on the nest and a third above it which give live coverage of everything that happens.In the last week, viewers across the world have seen the pair scraping a depression in the gravel in the nest, displaying to each other and mating as well as eating prey - which has included a woodcock and a moorhen.”
Last year the birds laid four eggs and raised all four young to fledging. One subsequently flew into a building and another had to be taken into care, having a damaged wing.
Nick Moyes, of Derby Museum added:
“In December, the project team captured footage of one of the peregrines bringing back live prey during the night. The video clip showing the action was a world first, proving that these raptors feed at night as well as by day."
It is hoped that a special Watchpoint with viewing telescopes will be run on Cathedral Green on Full Street on the morning of 1st April to coincide with the Queen's visit to the cathedral.
To see the webcams go to : http://195.224.106.202/peregrine/webcam.htm
To see the blog - http://derbyperegrines.blogspot.com/
Or (and a simpler link) go to the Homepage: www.derby.gov.uk/peregrines for links to both blog and web cams.
The project is a partnership between Derby Museums, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and Derby Cathedral.
Story by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust