Name…

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Name…

I have been asked a few times already about a name for New Girl. Obviously, that name is good for now but wouldn’t quite fit if she’s around for years.
I have given it some thought over the weekend. Charlie was named Charlie as I wanted a name that could be both male and female and I based it on *Char*ing Cross Hospital. I couldn’t think of a name for her first mate and ended up calling him Mr C, which suited him very well. Tom’s name is based on the initials of The Other Male.
I have had a suggestion of Violet (because she screams a lot) but she doesn’t feel like a Violet to me, she is a BIG girl.
I have a habit when naming other things/pets to use deity names. Because of the breeding failure history in recent years and the hope that New Girl is bringing of success again I have been looking at deities linked to fertility. And so I am thinking of Damara, which is a British Goddess (and the initial D is after C). But there are others that could work such as Damona, Brigid, Turan…
Or we could call her Mrs T…

What do you think? T&D?

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  • Days 5 and 6 of New Girl

    2019, courtship
    0 Comments

    #atitlikeperegrines a hashtag we used for Tom and Charlie a few times over the years, and one that could be used for Tom and New Girl on Saturday: 7 times they did it on the ledge that day, including 3 within one hour (6.32, 6.49 and 7.09am)… ‘Only’ 4 times on Sunday 😉

    Tom finally got his wish on Saturday when she joined him for a courtship display inside the nest box 🙂 He was so excited, bouncing all over the nest box, as she appeared on the wall by the nest box before jumping inside the box 🙂 She usually stays put where she is and doesn’t really join in.

    Tom paid one of his night visits on Saturday, arriving and going inside the nest box at 3.38am and staying there until 4.51am.

    Talking of night time, New Girl has been roosting on the ledge both nights but she gets fidgety at times and moves around a bit. She even spent a bit of time on top of the nest box.

    She has been staying on the nest box a bit during the day as well.  I spent a couple of hours on Saturday watching her and Tom. She disappeared from sight and we were wondering where she’d gone. Turns out she’d gone onto the nest box and we couldn’t see her from the old FledgeWatch spot.

    Another distinguishing feature is some rather prominent ‘whiskers’.

    Tom has kept her very well fed with a good stream of Feral Pigeons.

    New Girl quickly figured out the location of the ledge cache.

       

    Just a few random shots…

  • 2 Jan 2019 – courtship

    2019, courtship
    0 Comments

    A couple of attempts at courtship displays today.
    It all started early, before the cameras had switched back from night setting, with Tom landing on the nest ledge, followed by Charlie. Tom went to the nest box.
    capture_03ch_20190102080757

    capture_01ch_20190102080951

    But Charlie preferred to eat.
    capture_01ch_20190102082444
    capture_01ch_20190102084020

    capture_01ch_20190102084036
    After she’d finished eating, Charlie went to cache the remains in their usual spot on the ledge, feaked for a bit and was sitting when Tom decided to go in the nest box and tried to entice her for a display.

    But, it looks like she wasn’t interested.

    capture_01ch_20190102085541

    So he finished the remains instead.
     
    Later in the afternoon, I was walking through the cemetery, when I heard Peregrine calls and saw Tom land on the corner of the nest box. A minute later I saw Charlie arrive from the South, circle a bit and then land on the ledge at the other end. Tom immediately went into the box but Charlie took her time and by the time she got to the nest box Tom had gone on the wall.
    capture_01ch_20190102145741

    Her turn to try and entice him and fail 😉

    capture_03ch_20190102145811
    “What have I done to deserve this?”

    A great start to 2019!

  • RIP Charlie

    2019, Charlie, update
    4 Comments

     

    I had a message on Tuesday night from Stuart of the London Peregrine Partnership that he’d picked up an injured Peregrine which might be Charlie. She’d been found in a garden North of Hyde Park, had a nasty wound on her back, was bleeding a lot and was very stressed. He’d brought her to the Royal Veterinary College and we’d know more the next day. On Wednesday morning they confirmed that it was indeed Charlie and said that she’d been put on fluids and painkillers somewhere on her own and she would be assessed later. On Wednesday afternoon they said they had euthanised her, the wounds were more severe than initially thought, very deep. She was also underweight and it was thought better not to put her through a lengthy and painful recovery, especially given her age. Today I heard that they found she had an infection around her spinal area, as well as the wounds.

    We can only speculate at what happened. She might have been injured in the fight with Flame (Flame was), injuries which resulted in the infection, which weakened her and meant she couldn’t hunt as effectively and she got weaker. She may have brought down in a territorial battle with another Peregrine, mobbed down by Crows, and then attacked by a Fox.

    At least she’s not in pain any more.

    The next 2 photos are the first and last ones I have taken of her, in both cases I never knew this was to be… The first one was in the evening of the 11 October 2007, when I saw her for the first time still as a Juvenile. The second one was on 1st April this year when she was under attack from Flame.

    11 1/2 years.

    Follow a few shots from her taken on the nest ledge earlier this year.

    She was such a beautiful Peregrine, so laid back, a great Mum.

    19 January 2019
    Charing Cross Hospital, Fulham, London
    19 January 2019
    Charing Cross Hospital, Fulham, London

    Truly now the end of an era at Charing Cross Hospital.

    RIP Charlie

    April 2007 – August 2019

  • 19 January 2019: 1st mating on camera of 2019

    2019, courtship
    1 Comment

    Early afternoon on Saturday 19th January Charlie arrived on the ledge and after a short while decided to pancake on the wall of the ledge.  I find the following video interesting as it shows her settling, with a better angle than when she does this on top of the nest box as she tends to face the camera there.

    pancaked Charlie

    She pancaked for a few minutes but got up quite quickly and moved to perch on top of the nest box instead.

     

    Charlie relaxing on top of the nest box with a full crop

    There, she decided to pancake again and even have a bit of a snooze.

     

    pancaked Charlie

    pancaked sleepy Charlie

    At 1.48pm, she suddenly got up and started bowing, I thought she was going to have a courtship display with Tom but no. Instead, Tom came and mated with her!  This has to be the earliest mating on camera for this pair. I had been wondering a few times a few days before if it was about to happen, from the way Charlie was presenting herself…

    1st mating on camera of 2019

  • Day 4 of New Girl

    2019, courtship
    0 Comments

    She roosted on the ledge and spent pretty much the whole day there too, she is definitely seeing it as home now I think.
    Tom has tried again without success to entice her for a courtship display inside the box. The only time he managed was by taking prey inside with him. Very cunning! But all she did was come in and grab…


    He’s managed to mate with her more than once today today as they did it 4 times on the ledge…
    One thing I have noticed is that New Girl appears to be a bit messy, Charlie would never have left remains of prey all over the ledge wall…      

  • 4 – 6 January 2019

    2019, courtship
    0 Comments

    Tom and Charlie have managed to do 2 ‘proper’ courtship displays inside the nest box since the last post. The season is properly started!
    This was on Friday 4th January

    Tom and Charlie

    And this was yesterday.

    Tom and Charlie

    No visit to the nest ledge today but I saw Charlie perched on the usual perch and, this evening, she was on one of her roosting flues, as most days.

     

2 Comments

  1. The circular logic described to name the F&B peregrines is very familiar – very glad to hear I’m not the only one who does it this way!! And I’m also glad to have the opportunity to add a suggestion into the mix. I have family connections to Hammersmith but knew very little about the area around the nestsite other than the cemetery next door looks lovely on-camera, odd as that might sound. So what about naming New Girl “Margravine”? Bit of a mouthful I know, but (as I understand it) a margravine was the wife of a margrave who was responsible for protecting the borders of a kingdom – not unlike a peregrine defending its territory. And if Margravine is a mouthful, why not just embrace it and go with “The Margravine of Charing Cross”. Perhaps New Girl will live up to her name and carry on Charlie’s excellent work …

    Best of luck to Tom & the “New Girl”, whatever name she gets!

    Reply

    1. Wow, that’s a great suggestion, why didn’t I think of it? The cemetery is indeed a lovely place, a little wildlife oasis, I spend a lot of time there.

      Reply

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