At one point in the afternoon a buzzard and a sparrowhawk were seen flying in the area at the same time, neither particularly aggressive – one parent went after each, and both mum and dad returned quickly to the cathedral.
Later, dad had obviously had enough excitement for the time being, and completely ignored a buzzard flying high above the cathedral while he had a rest on the north side of the spire. Mum was sitting on the nest and, realising he wasn’t going to chase it away, she left the nest – we thought to go after the buzzard – but instead she went after dad, squawking loudly, obviously not pleased with him. They both flew around each other for a minute before returning to their original positions. By this time, the buzzard had left of his own accord, presumably having decided it was best to avoid this mad house!
All four chicks are doing well – we caught a few glimpses of them through the day, and they look healthy, getting bigger and stronger by the minute!
