Around 4pm Tom brought in a Collared Dove. He quickly took it away since Azina wasn’t interested in grabbing it.
This is the first time I record one as prey here. I have not seen one in Fulham (or Hammersmith) yet. I suspect he may have caught it in Barnes, and even there I don’t know that they are that common.
The chicks ended spending a fair bit of time on the ledge this afternoon and had two meals back to back out of the box. Tom had fed them for about 20 minutes. Less than 10 minutes later Azina arrived with more food. At first the chicks didn’t seem interested but one by one got more food and that feed lasted 40 minutes!
If you’re on facebook that double feed was during a long Live session.
There was variety on the menu again today with pigeon, starling and blackbird. Tom fed the chicks three times and Azina three times too. Very well fed kids!
Chick #1’s back is looking even more like a pincushion and Chick #2’s back has started. It’s somehow clearer in the night mode shots.
Chick #3 is still making real efforts to stand up and Chick #2 is getting better at it.
Shots for today:
Tom was doing long shifts at the beginning of the long weekend but this got seriously reduced today. From 5hr19 on Friday to only 1hr21 today. The reduction today could be due to the weather and today’s downpours and Azina preferring doing the most of the incubation in these conditions. But this also corresponds to Tom starting bringing prey after not doing so for three weeks. This is the exact same pattern as last year two days before hatching…
Here are a few shots from the last four days.
And a couple of videos:
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:
Dramatic scene at the hospital this morning! If you look very closely the pigeon gets away from Tom and will have learned not to play with fire hopefully!
Light entertainment with an image in image clip. A couple of pigeons spent a few minutes on the ledge in front of the nest box and I thought it would be nice to add Azina in the nest box and her reaction to it. What do you think? 😉
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:
