Chichester Peregrine Blog

Mum took a short break just before 8.00 this morning giving us a chance to see there are still only 2 chicks.

Last night Dad attempted to catch a pigeon.  Coming out of the nest he spotted a pigeon below and made after it at speed.  He cleared the stonework of the choir and pursued it westbound along the top of the buttresses until he realised he was headed for the solid wall of the bell tower at which point he did a spectacular turn up and over the roof.  The whoosh of the wings was incredible.  Watched by David, and Graham from the RSPB, neither had seen or heard anything like this before!Having failed he went off and got  a small offering for Mum and then proceeded to eat it himself!!!

Just a few minutes ago Dad flew in and took over the nest.  First he tried to arrange himself over the 2 eggs and 2 chicks.  Having decided the chicks were too restless he is now feeding them.  Here are some pictures taken from the nestcam.

This morning Mum showed us she has now 2 chicks.  Well done!!  At 10.30 they were both being fed so Dad must have come up with something better than his well known ready-meals.

4.12 and Dad makes his first visit to see the newborn chick. It is the second time today that she has told him to go away!!

It may not be the best picture but it is the first posted of the birth of our first chick.

The first egg is starting to hatch right now (3pm) – if you can, watch on live webcam, link from our home-page.  Mum is sitting tight at the moment, but she will move at some point, exposing the newly hatched chick.  They normally feed new chicks within the first hour or two, so it’s worth watching closely…

The first egg is hatching as I am writing this.  3.00 pm today!!

We’ve got one very hot mama, panting in the heat, sitting on – oh dear, still 4 eggs!  Waiting with baited breath for the first chick to appear…  Pop to the cathedral to share in the anticipation if you can, or keep an eye on the webcam via our home-page – be warned, once you start watching, it’s very hard to look away in case you miss anything!

There hasn’t been much to see at the cathedral today – mum was sitting on the north side of the spire in the shade for a long time before going back into the nest.  Dad was seen flying very high before disappearing from view.

The chicks are due to hatch any moment – we’ve still got 4 eggs now, but it won’t be long…