5 Mar 23 — Preening Tom
Tom preening on the ledge last night while he kept an eye out on the egg. A good thorough job, including talons.
I am posting only one video today. It’s a long one but has a bit of everything: chicks on their own, Tom feeding Azina, Tom feeding the chicks under Azina, Azina feeding the chicks, Azina brooding the chicks… And the little one went on a small adventure and Azina had to bring it back into the fold…
Sometimes the begging works 😉 But it can be quite tough getting up when you’ve been lying down for nearly six hours…
Very quiet day today. Tom did three shifts totalling 3hr44 which is average. Azina did two day shifts and the night shifts. At the end of the day she’ll have incubated for 19hr16. The eggs were not left alone for one second 🙂
A day of rain and sunshine. At the end of the day Azina had to act as an umbrella as a heavy shower battered the nest box.
But the chicks were left on their own for even longer periods today. I was showing the Peregrines to people this lunchtime and Azina was perched on top of one of the blue cranes. From there she’d have a great view of the chicks in the box. And Tom was by the ledge. So the chicks were not really alone.
They continue to develop nicely. The two oldest ones are now doing a bit more wing flapping (even if they often end up with their face in the gravel) and even did some while holding food. And they’re starting to move around a bit. You can see a shadow of the cheek feathers starting to come up too.
There were six feeds today and some were over thirty minutes. It was only pigeon on the menu.
Watch the small chick steal a big piece of food from one of its siblings’ mouth! No push over that chick! I want that piece and I will have it! 🤣 (and it dropped it in the end…)
And a bit of a funny one 😉
Shots for today:
Another case of persistence paying off 🙂 Azina came back 1hr31m later having stuffed herself 😉
I know I am starting to sound like a broken record but it’s been another quiet day 😉 Tom ended up doing a total 4hr21m over three shifts (though one was only 8 minutes long) and Azina will have done 19hr37m. She came back for her night shift with a very full crop, she’d put Tom’s shift to good use.
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
And this was yesterday.
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.
I have put the #FledgeWatch notices up around the hospital this morning. P6T is in the second shot, he was preening on the left hand side corner of the ledge.
I really hope there won’t be any accident during the weekend because I have to go away. I will be keeping an eye on the cameras when I can. I have asked some friends and neighbours to keep watch and help to rescue P6T if necessary.
I will start Fledge Watch on Monday morning.
Anyone is welcome to come and help watch, keep me company or relieve me for a while. I hope he fledges on Tuesday or Wednesday but, with young Peregrines, you really can’t tell!
Indy had her accident on Day 40 (that’s Monday for P6T) but really didn’t fledge until 4 days later, Walnut fledged on Day 43 (Thursday), Jack fledged on Day 44 (Friday).
He again spent the night out on the wall, in the same spot at the night before. He hasn’t been in the box since Monday unless going after a parent. Which has given Tom the opportunity to go and do a bit of housekeeping in there. It’s needed!