Chichester Peregrine Blog

Dad was in fine form this morning.  He provided fresh food for his brood by a spectacular catch of a pigeon on the south side of the Cathedral in full view of the RSPB tent.  All seems to be well in the nest.

Yes now they have all arrived they really are an amazing pair to hatch a full clutch again. Dad will have his work cut out to feed his new hungry brood, and to keep Mum happy, but to our super-hero it will all be in a routine days work for him. We hope not too many of his dodgy ready meals or she will get cross .

I can not give you a time but after watching her feed 3 chicks it has to be and now there are 3 !! Amazing well done Mum.

To view the amazing pictures of our Dad being attacked by the young upstart from Brighton last Saturday go to Chichester Peregrines Home page and click on the link. The pictures truly are remarkable a sequence of 27 shots. The whole incident was over in less than 5 seconds. Dad of course came out on top with the youngster sent packing. He was a young male born at Sussex Heights in Brighton last year ….. Now we wait for the next chick to hatch !!

Second chick hatched at around 3’30

The first chick was born today at about 12.30 pm just a few short minutes ago. The chick was close to the front of his mum so showed really well. Very Pink !! The others are all still eggs will update the moment I hear any more news . How exciting!!

Today lots of people (including me!) were hanging around with baited breath, waiting for the first egg to hatch.  We’re still waiting…

While we were there this afternoon, mum looked very alert for a moment, watching the skies intently.  We looked to see what she was watching, and saw a buzzard being seen off by two gulls.  Lucky they were there to do it for her – dad was skiving on the north side of the cathedral!

I’ve just been watching the live video online, and mum moved exposing all four eggs…

Yesterday, Sunday, Dad had to cope with a lot – inquisitive buzzards, sparrowhawks and marauding seagulls – he saw one off in no uncertain terms. He was very attentive – going to the nest and asking if she needed anything.  But when he brought what looked like quite a fresh ready meal from one of the turrets (it was a scraggy looking bit of wood pigeon – mostly wing) she looked at it didn’t even get off the nest and sent him packing with the meal!Update on the fight on Saturday – the juvenile that attacked our boy was a male from Sussex Heights 2009 brood.  Thanks to Graham and Chris for the information.

This afternoon an amazing sight – A juvenile which had been hanging around for some time decided it was time to go for a take-over from this old couple.  However, he had bitten off more than he could chew and was seen off in no uncertain terms by our Chichester peregrine.  An amazing picture opportunity nearly missed by us as we were about to leave the cathedral.

All was very relaxed not long to go now, and the RSPB will be in Cloisters cafe in the morning, with live pictures of the nest. Here’s a little preview picture taken this am, and all is fine and dandy!! Janet and I will be over taking pictures this evening.