21 Mar 23 — Tom stands his ground
Tom stood his ground for once but was so surprised he had to check why Azina’d left 🤣 He came back to incubate very soon after.
Quite different to yesterday. Colder and wetter so Azina has brooded the chicks for most of the day and when she wasn’t then Tom did it. Though he’s struggling a fair bit to fit them all, and so is Azina to be fair 😉

Which means that pretty much the only times they could flap their wings were during feeds and they did that a lot.

There were 6 feeds today, one by Tom. Mostly pigeon on the menu with a bit of Starling.
One thing I noticed today and that’s thanks to the 4 day gap between the chicks. When they hatch their feet are pink. When they fledge they’re pale yellow. On the shots where you can see that the feet of the older ones have started to turn yellow when they’re next those of the younger one. Because it’s a very subtle change I’d never noticed that before, and also because we’ve not had such big gaps before (especially with single chicks! 😉 )

Shots for today:
Tom and Azina mating on the ledge this morning. A different view, from the fixed camera. Azina instigated that one, but it took Tom some time to get the message.
Pretty much the same as yesterday. A few more intruders. I happened to be walking through the cemetery this morning when I spotted Tom sparring with a female Peregrine (who may have been a juvenile – it all happened so fast). But it didn’t look overly aggressive, a bit playful. Then Azina came off the eggs, Tom went to incubate and the intruder took off East.
A clip for you: ‘If I ignore her maybe she’ll let me incubate a bit longer’… Tom ignored Azina for two minutes before she went into the nest box and then she had to beg him 😉
And a few shots from today.
The chick got four feeds today though the last feed was only a couple of minutes long, it was a bit close to the third and the chick was still full. Pigeon and Starling were on the menu.

Only a few minutes at a time but Tom got to spend a bit of time with the chick and the eggs. Very gentle as usual.

A second egg has been pipping all day. It started with a tiny hole and a crack and didn’t seem to develop so I was starting to wonder if it wasn’t a bit of down stuck to the egg but at 6.30 the hole was bigger and the chick visible. It still had a bit to go and may be hatching under Azina now as I am typing this.

There is a mark on a third egg that may be a pip but somehow I think it may just be a mark.
Shots for today:
It’s been a typical day in the life of a young Peregrine. Long periods of inactivity with pancaking or sitting watching the world go by and preening. Bursts of mad activity with running around, jumping and flapping. P6T’s flapping is getting stronger and longer.

He was fed twice, pigeon both times.

Today’s shots: