Just seen that first chick, both proud parents present for a time
brian kirkwood said
Sun May 17 12:02 PM, 2020
Excellent, fingers crossed for number two.
steven burke said
Sun May 17 11:10 AM, 2020
Chick hatched
Roger Baker 3 said
Sun May 17 8:21 AM, 2020
Still two eggs. I've managed an hours watch from 06.50 hrs while having a brew. She has been on the whole time .... showing the same agitated behaviour as the tiercel did yesterday, moving round and round and turning the eggs. Had another look at 08.15 and she seems to have settled down solid.
Roger.
Roger Baker 3 said
Sat May 16 11:58 AM, 2020
We all seem to be on the same hymn sheet. I always reckon on a rough 32 days after last egg laid (on my May 5th post I actually mis-counted by a day) so would have expected something happening by the 13th but as you say we are three days past that ?? Another funny thing about that post was me saying about the female doing her fair share .... every time I managed a look after that it was the tiercel brooding ... HaHaHa ! Me and my big mouth ! Glad Adrian is keeping a proper record.
One thing that I have noticed this morning is that he has appeared to get a bit agitated a few times in his brooding .... I'm just wondering if he is feeling (hearing ?) movement in the eggs ??
Roger.
brian kirkwood said
Sat May 16 11:02 AM, 2020
No problem Steven, maybe a long brood time you never no with nature.
Regards Brian.
steven burke said
Sat May 16 8:47 AM, 2020
brian kirkwood wrote:
Female has been on and of the two eggs this morning, day 36 of incubation....!!!
Sorry Brian, looks like we were both thinking the same thing !
steven burke said
Sat May 16 8:44 AM, 2020
Female off the nest at 8.28am for 6 minutes, 2 eggs still unhatched. Hatching usually occurs 28-36 days, now on day 36 !
brian kirkwood said
Sat May 16 8:40 AM, 2020
Female has been on and of the two eggs this morning, day 36 of incubation....!!!
brian kirkwood said
Thu May 14 11:30 AM, 2020
Female just taken over from Male, still two eggs.
brian kirkwood said
Wed May 13 12:30 PM, 2020
change over has just occurred, still two eggs.
Adrian Dancy said
Thu May 7 10:53 PM, 2020
Craig Bell wrote:
Havent been looking too frequently but every time except once when I have looked in, the male has been doing the incubating. Has that been a regular feature of this year? (or have I just looked in at times when it just happens to be the male??) If so, thats what would be expected of an inexperienced young female which dont usually breed successfully until the second summer.
-- Edited by Craig Bell on Tuesday 5th of May 2020 09:37:20 AM
Up until the last couple of days the male has undoubtedly done the lion's share of sitting based on my records and observations.
After many, many attempts just saw the two eggs at 3.15 as I watched the male take over egg-sitting duties
Roger Baker 3 said
Tue May 5 11:01 AM, 2020
Just coincidence I think Craig, It's usually her when I look ... so she's been doing her fair share .. She's sitting now at 10.55.
Think first due to hatch next Tuesday (12th) if fertile ??
Roger.
-- Edited by Roger Baker 3 on Tuesday 5th of May 2020 11:02:12 AM
Craig Bell said
Tue May 5 9:36 AM, 2020
Havent been looking too frequently but every time except once when I have looked in, the male has been doing the incubating. Has that been a regular feature of this year? (or have I just looked in at times when it just happens to be the male??) If so, thats what would be expected of an inexperienced young female which dont usually breed successfully until the second summer.
-- Edited by Craig Bell on Tuesday 5th of May 2020 09:37:20 AM
markwoodhead said
Sat Apr 25 3:53 PM, 2020
17.47 23.3.2020 Male took over from female - two eggs.
brian kirkwood said
Wed Apr 15 12:41 PM, 2020
1240 hrs 15/4/2020.
Incubation change over just taken place, only saw two eggs but were partially hidden by wings, both birds still present.
Regards Brian.
Roger Baker 3 said
Sun Apr 12 6:10 PM, 2020
Give her a chance ... Mozart had to learn how to play piano.
brian kirkwood said
Sun Apr 12 3:43 PM, 2020
1540 hrs 12 April, there are now two eggs, but she is struggling to keep them together under her brood patch, does not look settled.
Regards Brian.
Adrian Dancy said
Sun Apr 12 3:40 PM, 2020
Second egg now laid...a few inches apart from first and had difficulty knowing how to sit on them being so far apart.
steven burke said
Fri Apr 10 11:55 AM, 2020
Great stuff. She needs to be a bit more careful with that egg, she has clumsily knocked it around on numerous occasions this morning
Roger Baker 3 said
Fri Apr 10 10:18 AM, 2020
Paul Whiting wrote:
First egg this morning
.................................... So she's finally getting the hang of things ... great stuff .. I had virtually given up hope.
Looking at the webcam this evening it looks very much like the action is about to commence....Tuesday 7/4/20
steven burke said
Mon Apr 6 8:26 PM, 2020
hi roger, I check everyday but have only been seeing the male doing his scraping, first time I have also seen her for a while. yes, craig mentions in his post about the females usualy need to be older. the pair are probably just bonding with each other & the box, hopefully next year. have been watching them webcams & several others, all well in front.
Roger Baker 3 said
Mon Apr 6 7:59 PM, 2020
I've been checking regular Steve but haven't seen her at all for past 4 days ... the male keeps turning up scraping and cleaning the box but I just think she is too young ... although she's certainly a big girl ! Watching the Wakefield and Nottingham University birds, they are well in front so one can only hope.
Roger.
-- Edited by Roger Baker 3 on Monday 6th of April 2020 08:00:27 PM
steven burke said
Mon Apr 6 5:47 PM, 2020
The immature female was sat down in the tray earlier looking as if she may of been on an egg but unfortunately she got up & nothing there. Currently she is preening on the box edge.
Craig Bell said
Mon Mar 16 6:00 PM, 2020
Hi Steve.
thats exactly what happened Fri and Saturday. Imm female quickly joined by adult male calling, almost looked like they were going to mate then male flew off. Imm female stayed a short while even scraping on the Astro turf then quickly left. looks like hes got a young bird!
Not usually a successful breeding combination. Females usually need to be 2 yrs old to breed successfully.
-- Edited by Craig Bell on Monday 16th of March 2020 06:01:07 PM
steven burke said
Mon Mar 16 2:49 PM, 2020
Hi craig, I have been looking at the webcam since ian mentioned it was up & running in his post below every day but only once or twice a day & only briefly. I have seen nothing on the webcam until last Tuesday or Wednesday in the morning when the immature female was briefly on the tray, obviously a different bird & I didn't think any more of it as I thought it might of been an intruder. Then I seen your post & looked at the webcam a bit more since & only this morning around 10.20 am when the immature female flew in on the ledge & then on the tray, she was obviously calling as then the adult male came in & they were there for a minute or so just calling at each other then the male flew off, she stayed a little longer & what looked like a Woodpigeon ( I seen one on the tray yesterday morning) almost landed on the ledge & then realised a peregrine was there needless to say it soon flew off. Female flew off shortly after. From what I could see of the legs of both birds there were no rings. Not sure what is going on so definitely worth watching on site. Maybe someone else knows a bit more.
Craig Bell said
Sun Mar 15 11:14 AM, 2020
The webcam is now up and running and after a quick watch yesterday there is an immature female and an adult male, at least, coming into the tray. I would be interested to know from anyone watching the birds on site or via the webcam frequently, if there are 2 adults (a blue pair) and the brown female present yesterday is an intruder or whether the male has paired with an imm female.
The brown female I saw on the tray had no leg rings.
Ian McKerchar said
Sat Feb 22 1:34 PM, 2020
The live webcam is apparently now back up and running.
Adrian Dancy said
Thu Nov 14 6:05 PM, 2019
Yesterday
9.00am Peregrine at top of spire on Town Hall (not a usual perch) for local peregrines. 9.45am Peregrine perched at same level as nest tray but on opposite side of building. I do not know if it was the same bird a at 9.00am.
-- Edited by Adrian Dancy on Thursday 14th of November 2019 06:06:11 PM
Charles Farrell said
Sun Oct 27 12:25 AM, 2019
Single male Peregrine seen on the Town Hall tower, sheltering rather lower down the tower than I have seen before.
steven burke said
Thu Aug 29 11:01 AM, 2019
2 adults perched on the town hall yesterday afternoon. No signs of any of the juveniles.
Adrian Dancy said
Sun Jul 28 6:04 PM, 2019
fredford wrote:
Please bring us up to date with news of the peregrines. Thank you.
I have not been to the site for a while. I am being updated by a local observer. I'm not aware if anyone has seen a juvenile recently. Ordinarily, the juveniles should be seen near the nest site on a daily basis owing to the fact that they will still be dependent.
The Rochdale Borough Council Facebook page has published an update which is designed to conform to a success narrative. Given the fact that I put in about 10 hours a day observing the birds and reporting my findings and having my reports ignored, I now wonder what is the point in providing them with updates. I am of course grateful to Rochdale for their cooperation in all regards except I no longer have time for their media office.
If you want to read a crock of **** click or copy and paste the link below:-
https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=rochdale%20borough%20council&epa=SEARCH_BOX See post dated 23rd July
-- Edited by Adrian Dancy on Sunday 28th of July 2019 06:09:52 PM
fredford said
Sat Jul 27 8:30 AM, 2019
Please bring us up to date with news of the peregrines. Thank you.
Adrian Dancy said
Tue Jul 9 11:02 PM, 2019
Debbie Elizabeth wrote:
First post but have been a lurker for a while...so apologies for any novice questions....according to the Rochdale Borough Council fb page, the female potentially has a new mate, can anyone confirm this please as the intruder male, thankyou..
Hi Debbie,
Welcome to the forum. I have spent about 9-10 hours a day on site (since 15th June) watching the Falcons and dealing with issues should they arise. A new male came in and tried to kill the juveniles. In one aerial battle, the wing of one juvenile was damaged but it will not affect its flight much. The attacks by the male were vicious and brutal and in my view amounted to more than just trying to chase the birds out of the territory. For that reason, I searched Rochdale town centre looking for their dead bodies or otherwise injured birds. The female made an attempt to drive away the male but the male has been persistent. The juveniles are too scared to come back to the town hall roost and only do so occasionally. The female has been taking food out to the juveniles where they are in effect hiding from the male. The female is tolerating the male...but I cannot be sure why. The juveniles are not going to get the training they need if the male stays around much. The female has made contact calls with the male which are similar in nature to courting calls and I cannot understand why. One can only speculate.
I find the Rochdale FB post to be inconsistent with my observations which is regrettable since I have provided them with the facts and photographic evidence.
The images attached show the intruding male begin its attack on a perched juvenile. The second image shows the juvenile flipping itself over to defend itself with its talons. The juvenile then took to the sky and the male attacked it and damaged its wing.
All the best
Adrian
-- Edited by Adrian Dancy on Wednesday 10th of July 2019 03:43:19 AM
First post but have been a lurker for a while...so apologies for any novice questions....according to the Rochdale Borough Council fb page, the female potentially has a new mate, can anyone confirm this please as the intruder male, thankyou..
Mike Berry said
Tue Jul 9 11:19 AM, 2019
Adult at nesting site on Sunday and again this morning [Tuesday.]
myself & Adrian seen 6A male today 7th, so it seems all three are still around but keeping out of the way, but sneakily coming back to the town hall. the intruder male was also around later in the evening, needless to say the juveniles were not around. photo attached is the resident female on the left, intruder male on the right.
I'm delighted to say that yesterday I saw 7A (male) and 5A (female) today. I have also seen the female taking food out shot of the town hall suggesting she may be feeding young in safer places.
Charles Farrell said
Thu Jul 4 11:09 PM, 2019
A few more details are available in these articles. I was only watching the birds myself on Monday evening, so its disappointing to read Adrian's latest update.
-- Edited by Charles Farrell on Thursday 4th of July 2019 11:04:19 PM
Richard Thew said
Thu Jul 4 11:30 AM, 2019
Many many thanks to Adrian for keeping us upto speed and for his dedication!
I'm sure now it becomes more clearer now asto the likely reason why the male hasn't been seen (to my knowledge) feeding the chicks since his beak broke as he was trying his best to feed himself but unfortunately with little success.
A very sad outcome indeed!
I'm sure I will speak for everyone when I say thankyou so much for the dedication of those who have worked hard to follow and watch these stunning birds as they have given us much pleasure to watch the dramas that unfold. Who knows what the future would bring next!
Adrian Dancy said
Thu Jul 4 12:02 AM, 2019
A post mortem was carried out on the deceased male. It was not able to eat, its immune system was challenged and the bird died from an infection.
Today there was an intruder on the territory and there is no male to defend it. It is possible the chicks are now dead or that one or more are hiding away from a male peregrine determined to kill them. What I saw today can only be described as brutal. I might have expected this to happen with birds that have not fledged or birds that have only recently fledged, but not with juveniles that fledged nearly 3 weeks ago!
Adrian Dancy said
Mon Jul 1 5:57 AM, 2019
Richard thanks for your concern. I hope you will forgive me but I do not wish to discuss this matter in detail on the internet. It seems some are labouring under the belief that the injury to the bill was the result of a collision on the day the bird was picked up. I do not want the vet labouring under that false history because clearly, the bird had issues before, which I think you accept. I informed Ian who cared for the bird of the fact that the bill was defective for several weeks prior to its being taken in. I did not say that I knew for sure there was a problem in 2014. Over the years I have made many hundreds of images and I recall at one point being concerned when viewing an image at what appeared to be a split/layer coming off the lateral aspect of the bird's bill. It could have been a photo anomaly but I did not think so at the time. The defect could easily be missed because of the nature of light on smooth shiny surfaces when there are not many pixels on the subject area. I have worked in the law for 35 years dealing with medical issues...diagnosis and causation can attract wildly differing opinions.
AD
Richard Thew said
Sun Jun 30 11:41 PM, 2019
Adrian Dancy wrote:
Robin Parker wrote:
Given they've been there together since 2008, what is likely to happen now to the site? Will the female attract a new male, or will she go? Could a new pair make their home here?
Predicting the future for wildlife is a big ask. It would not be unreasonable to expect the female to protect her dominium. Opportunistic males and females will pass through her territory. If she can defend against another female I might guess there will be a good chance she will happen upon a male that has probably been born in or near our county and hopefully she will breed next year. Any male that replaces the one now deceased will have some big boots to fill.
Despite what may be said elsewhere on the internet, I am 100% sure he did not break his bill in a stoop/dive or chase on the day he was brought into care. He had problems with his beak weeks ago and possibly as far back as 2014 and before. That does not mean that he didn't have a collision...I simply say his beak was not injured by it. Hopefully, we will know the likely cause of death next week.
-- Edited by Adrian Dancy on Sunday 30th of June 2019 12:50:41 AM
Hope you dont mind but Im not sure why you feel the male has had issues with his beak since 2014? This is because as you know I've been visiting the birds for the past year or two and I've not seen anything myself that would be classed as abnormal unless you feel it might be a slightly overgrown beak in places??
. Many people already know that I have worked with wild birds and delt with birds of prey for a good many years and I've seen all kinds of injuries and ailments such as those pictured kindly by Adrian.
Usually, these kind of breaks/injuries are caused by an unfortunate collision and our feathered freind at some point recently has obvously had something dramatically gone wrong with its beak and has survived for a time! But, as pointed out already, lits now a matter to await for the outcome of the "investigation" to see what's what.
Ta!
--
-- Edited by Richard Thew on Monday 1st of July 2019 02:21:14 PM
Robin Parker said
Sun Jun 30 2:52 PM, 2019
Thanks, Adrian, let's hope for the best. It would be so sad to lose peregrines from the Town Hall
Just seen that first chick, both proud parents present for a time
Excellent, fingers crossed for number two.
I've managed an hours watch from 06.50 hrs while having a brew.
She has been on the whole time .... showing the same agitated behaviour as the tiercel did yesterday, moving round and round and turning the eggs.
Had another look at 08.15 and she seems to have settled down solid.
Roger.
I always reckon on a rough 32 days after last egg laid (on my May 5th post I actually mis-counted by a day) so would have expected something happening by the 13th but as you say we are three days past that ??
Another funny thing about that post was me saying about the female doing her fair share .... every time I managed a look after that it was the tiercel brooding ... HaHaHa ! Me and my big mouth !
Glad Adrian is keeping a proper record.
One thing that I have noticed this morning is that he has appeared to get a bit agitated a few times in his brooding .... I'm just wondering if he is feeling (hearing ?) movement in the eggs ??
Roger.
No problem Steven, maybe a long brood time you never no with nature.
Regards Brian.
Sorry Brian, looks like we were both thinking the same thing !
Female has been on and of the two eggs this morning, day 36 of incubation....!!!
Female just taken over from Male, still two eggs.
change over has just occurred, still two eggs.
Up until the last couple of days the male has undoubtedly done the lion's share of sitting based on my records and observations.
A couple of screen grabs attached.
After many, many attempts just saw the two eggs at 3.15 as I watched the male take over egg-sitting duties
Think first due to hatch next Tuesday (12th) if fertile ??
Roger.
-- Edited by Roger Baker 3 on Tuesday 5th of May 2020 11:02:12 AM
Havent been looking too frequently but every time except once when I have looked in, the male has been doing the incubating.
Has that been a regular feature of this year? (or have I just looked in at times when it just happens to be the male??) If so, thats what would be expected of an inexperienced young female which dont usually breed successfully until the second summer.
-- Edited by Craig Bell on Tuesday 5th of May 2020 09:37:20 AM
17.47 23.3.2020 Male took over from female - two eggs.
1240 hrs 15/4/2020.
Incubation change over just taken place, only saw two eggs but were partially hidden by wings, both birds still present.
Regards Brian.
1540 hrs 12 April, there are now two eggs, but she is struggling to keep them together under her brood patch, does not look settled.
Regards Brian.
....................................
So she's finally getting the hang of things ... great stuff .. I had virtually given up hope.
Roger.
Looking at the webcam this evening it looks very much like the action is about to commence....Tuesday 7/4/20
have been watching them webcams & several others, all well in front.
Watching the Wakefield and Nottingham University birds, they are well in front so one can only hope.
Roger.
-- Edited by Roger Baker 3 on Monday 6th of April 2020 08:00:27 PM
Hi Steve.
thats exactly what happened Fri and Saturday. Imm female quickly joined by adult male calling, almost looked like they were going to mate then male flew off. Imm female stayed a short while even scraping on the Astro turf then quickly left.
looks like hes got a young bird!
Not usually a successful breeding combination. Females usually need to be 2 yrs old to breed successfully.
-- Edited by Craig Bell on Monday 16th of March 2020 06:01:07 PM
From what I could see of the legs of both birds there were no rings.
Not sure what is going on so definitely worth watching on site.
Maybe someone else knows a bit more.
The webcam is now up and running and after a quick watch yesterday there is an immature female and an adult male, at least, coming into the tray. I would be interested to know from anyone watching the birds on site or via the webcam frequently, if there are 2 adults (a blue pair) and the brown female present yesterday is an intruder or whether the male has paired with an imm female.
The brown female I saw on the tray had no leg rings.
The live webcam is apparently now back up and running.
Yesterday
9.00am Peregrine at top of spire on Town Hall (not a usual perch) for local peregrines.
9.45am Peregrine perched at same level as nest tray but on opposite side of building. I do not know if it was the same bird a at 9.00am.
-- Edited by Adrian Dancy on Thursday 14th of November 2019 06:06:11 PM
No signs of any of the juveniles.
I have not been to the site for a while. I am being updated by a local observer. I'm not aware if anyone has seen a juvenile recently. Ordinarily, the juveniles should be seen near the nest site on a daily basis owing to the fact that they will still be dependent.
The Rochdale Borough Council Facebook page has published an update which is designed to conform to a success narrative. Given the fact that I put in about 10 hours a day observing the birds and reporting my findings and having my reports ignored, I now wonder what is the point in providing them with updates. I am of course grateful to Rochdale for their cooperation in all regards except I no longer have time for their media office.
If you want to read a crock of **** click or copy and paste the link below:-
https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=rochdale%20borough%20council&epa=SEARCH_BOX See post dated 23rd July
-- Edited by Adrian Dancy on Sunday 28th of July 2019 06:09:52 PM
Hi Debbie,
Welcome to the forum. I have spent about 9-10 hours a day on site (since 15th June) watching the Falcons and dealing with issues should they arise. A new male came in and tried to kill the juveniles. In one aerial battle, the wing of one juvenile was damaged but it will not affect its flight much. The attacks by the male were vicious and brutal and in my view amounted to more than just trying to chase the birds out of the territory. For that reason, I searched Rochdale town centre looking for their dead bodies or otherwise injured birds. The female made an attempt to drive away the male but the male has been persistent. The juveniles are too scared to come back to the town hall roost and only do so occasionally. The female has been taking food out to the juveniles where they are in effect hiding from the male. The female is tolerating the male...but I cannot be sure why. The juveniles are not going to get the training they need if the male stays around much. The female has made contact calls with the male which are similar in nature to courting calls and I cannot understand why. One can only speculate.
I find the Rochdale FB post to be inconsistent with my observations which is regrettable since I have provided them with the facts and photographic evidence.
The images attached show the intruding male begin its attack on a perched juvenile. The second image shows the juvenile flipping itself over to defend itself with its talons. The juvenile then took to the sky and the male attacked it and damaged its wing.
All the best
Adrian
-- Edited by Adrian Dancy on Wednesday 10th of July 2019 03:43:19 AM
First post but have been a lurker for a while...so apologies for any novice questions....according to the Rochdale Borough Council fb page, the female potentially has a new mate, can anyone confirm this please as the intruder male, thankyou..
the intruder male was also around later in the evening, needless to say the juveniles were not around. photo attached is the resident female on the left, intruder male on the right.
https://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/128678/peregrine-falcon-found-injured-in-broadfield-park
https://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/128792/injured-peregrine-falcon-dies
https://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/128861/peregrine-falcon-died-due-to-infection-postmortem-reveals
As for the aggressive intruder, this summary of the story of the Norwich Cathedral birds in 2016, shows just how aggressive they can be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5XZ6qDg3rs
-- Edited by Charles Farrell on Thursday 4th of July 2019 11:04:19 PM
I'm sure now it becomes more clearer now asto the likely reason why the male hasn't been seen (to my knowledge) feeding the chicks since his beak broke as he was trying his best to feed himself but unfortunately with little success.
A very sad outcome indeed!
I'm sure I will speak for everyone when I say thankyou so much for the dedication of those who have worked hard to follow and watch these stunning birds as they have given us much pleasure to watch the dramas that unfold. Who knows what the future would bring next!
Today there was an intruder on the territory and there is no male to defend it. It is possible the chicks are now dead or that one or more are hiding away from a male peregrine determined to kill them. What I saw today can only be described as brutal. I might have expected this to happen with birds that have not fledged or birds that have only recently fledged, but not with juveniles that fledged nearly 3 weeks ago!
AD
Hope you dont mind but Im not sure why you feel the male has had issues with his beak since 2014? This is because as you know I've been visiting the birds for the past year or two and I've not seen anything myself that would be classed as abnormal unless you feel it might be a slightly overgrown beak in places??
. Many people already know that I have worked with wild birds and delt with birds of prey for a good many years and I've seen all kinds of injuries and ailments such as those pictured kindly by Adrian.
Usually, these kind of breaks/injuries are caused by an unfortunate collision and our feathered freind at some point recently has obvously had something dramatically gone wrong with its beak and has survived for a time! But, as pointed out already, lits now a matter to await for the outcome of the "investigation" to see what's what.
Ta!
--
-- Edited by Richard Thew on Monday 1st of July 2019 02:21:14 PM
Thanks, Adrian, let's hope for the best. It would be so sad to lose peregrines from the Town Hall