Not so many shots today as the chicks spent a lot of their time sleeping on the ledge in a spot hidden on both cameras.
Chick #2 has discovered its wings 🙂
Chick #3 is now quite steady on its feet.
Chick #1 spent time sleeping sitting up.
There were only four feeds, the first one not being before 8am (it’s usually around 6am) but the last one was a double feed lasting nearly one hour. Starling and Pigeon on the menu again today.
Shots for today:
Tom begged and begged and begged…
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:
P6T spent the whole night on the wall. And, apart from 3 1/2 hours where he pancaked on the ledge and 15 minutes for a feed, he spent the whole day on the wall too. Minus a few minutes here and there where he went on the floor.
He’s sat, preened, flapped, walked, run, eaten… The only thing he hasn’t done is pancaking, maybe it doesn’t feel safe enough yet.
Nothing more to report. He’s still looking very bright. And to be honest the more he is on the wall the happiest I am as it’s away from possible contamination on the ledge.
Wildlife Aid have published a story on Chick #3 with photos of what made her ill.
Today’s shots:
With such a wet and cold day (and night) Tom and Azina have covered the eggs pretty much non stop. Tom came in at 4am for a first shift of nearly 3 1/2 hours! (I guess he wanted to shelter from the rain/snow 😉 )
Check the first two shots of Tom and Azina side by side at the entrance of the nest box. I don’t often to get to have them so close and cooperating to give such good comparative shots. Tom’s legs, cere and eye rings are orange whereas Azina’s are yellow. His chest is white and lightly speckled, hers looks darker with her big dark spots. His back is slate grey, hers is blacker.
I was out for most of the day but took my tablet to do some spot checks (which turned out easier said than done, but it worked which was the main thing). Azina waited until one minute before I was due to leave to finally get up and reveal that there were still two eggs and two chicks.
A check early afternoon gave me a hint that there may be a third chick but I lost signal and it’s not until later in the afternoon that I was finally able to confirm it and put the word out.
If you look closely at the shot above, taken at 11am, it looks like pipping on the egg on the left.
At 11:46, Azina turns and walks on the chick that’s just hatched. It’s still curled up from being in the egg! That is quite a rough start…
An hour later Azina gives us another glimpse. The chick has dried up a little.
Then, two and a half hours after it’s hatched, we get to see a fully fluffy chick at the second feed of the day. It’s the one at the back. It doesn’t get fed then but that is not a problem, freshly hatched Peregrine chicks usually don’t eat for many hours.
It didn’t have to wait too long in the end as it got its first bits of food at the next feed.
By then I don’t know if this chick was the one that had been trying to hatch since Thursday…
The chicks got 4 feeds, a mix of Pigeon and Starling.
Shots for today:
