I was watching dad from around 4.45-6.15 this evening and, after preening for a while, saw him land on the nest turrett offering to do a stint of incubation. He was immediately sent away again. Undeterred, he returned a few minutes later with prey. After plucking it, sending a blizzard of white feathers down, he took it to the nest turrett to try again to entice mum out for a break. They chatted for a while, then he left, still carrying her dinner. He flew around a bit before giving up and leaving it in the larder for later, then perched on his favourite spot high on the spire.
I’ve never seen him so quick at catching and plucking prey, and it seemed surprising that mum was so determined to stay in the nest with a fresh meal on offer, so I suspected that hatching may be underway. This was confirmed later when I spoke to my colleague who was checking on the nest via the nestcam. While he was watching, mum moved, exposing three eggs and one fluffy white chick! Hatched on St Georges day, around the time of the Evensong service in the Cathedral. Happy Birthday to our 27th chick!
