Chichester Peregrine Blog

At last, yesterday afternoon our last female juvenile fledged!  Now all four are flying around the cathedral, perching in obscure places, watching the pigeons intently (even occasionally flying after them, although they wouldn’t know what to do if they caught up with them at this stage!), and generally giving their parents a tough job trying to keep track of them all!

This evening we were standing in the cold drizzle, and for a good hour or so, we just saw two or three perched while the others were out of sight, inside turrets or the balcony.  We were rewarded for our patience by an amazing view of all six peregrines together.  Some were perched, and some flying, all visible at the same time.  It was extraordinary, and very special!

Dad flew west at one point, closely followed by the male juvenile.  When dad got about 20 yards beyond the cathedral, our boy obviously decided it was too scary and more of a challenge than he was ready for – he halted fairly abruptly and returned to the safety of his home.  Dad realised he’d lost his companion and returned too, keeping a close eye on his charge.

One of the females dislodged dad from his perch, presumably wanting him to get some dinner.  Shortly afterwards, mum did the same, knocking him off his new perch.  He didn’t take the hint, he just found a third place to sit, trying in vain to get some peace.  Mum gave up on him and went out hunting herself, returning after a few minutes with a pigeon, to the obvious vocal delight of the whole family.

Earlier today, three of the juveniles were out flying, two were chasing each other, and the parents.  It’s all part of their hunting training, being able to follow another bird in flight.

Our boy is showing great hunting instincts.  He was sitting on top of the green roof of the cathedral, watching a pigeon perched below him at the bottom of the roof.  He was looking at it quizzically, obviously aware that it was a good opportunity and he should do something, but not quite sure how to go about it.  Eventually he flew down towards it, but alas, the pigeon had enough sense to scarper.

As far as we’re aware, the third female, number 34, hasn’t yet flown.  Of course, we’re only there from 10.00-5.00 most days, so she may have emerged early morning or late afternoon while there was nobody about.  Perhaps she’s just shy…

Couldn’t resist this on such a special day!!!

Again today both 35 (the male) and his sister 37 were out.  They flew confidently and found unusual perches below the level of the balcony.  Our boy was sitting on his perch looking very confident.  He slept briefly sitting up, the way the adults do.  Then he sat with one eye open, then closed it and opened the other eye, basically being a bit comical.  His sister found another unusual perch sitting behind one of the lower turrets, and disappeared for a while into an alcove, hiding away from everyone.  Obviously she’d had enough of being in the limelight after having Springwatch filming yesterday!

Meanwhile, the other two girls still haven’t left the turret.  They were, however, both sitting on top of the box flapping their wings for a while.  That’s the first time we haven’t had a juvenile on the nest or turret floor.  They’re getting closer.  Both were looking slightly anxious, obviously still plucking up the courage to go.

Towards the end of the afternoon the male rejoined his other two sisters in the nest where they all cuddled up for a snooze.

Our boy, number 35, finally took the plunge and flew this afternoon.  Daniel, our youngest volunteer, was lucky enough to be watching him through the telescope as he took off.  I was on my way back to the cathedral after a lunchbreak, and saw him land high on the top tracing of the spire, where dad normally sits.  I assumed it was dad that I was watching, until I went in and was told otherwise.  It didn’t occur to me that one of our youngsters would fly all the way up and land on a tricky perch like that on their first flight.  How brave!  He’d flown around the spire a couple of times and took a few attempts before successfully landing.  He sat there for well over an hour, turning around occasionally, and almost falling off – he was funny, trying to get a grip on the small perch.  When he took off again, he flew very well, flapping his wings a lot more than the adults do, but he did us proud.  He then tried to land on a few more difficult spots and gave up, going back onto the top tracing.

In the evening we got a wonderful picture of him sitting with one of his sisters, number 37, on top of the turret.  The sun came out for this special moment!  She’s the same one who was with him in the earlier post, “Coming on in leaps and bounds”.  The other two girls have yet to leave the turret.  They’re looking quite anxious and keen to get going though, so fingers crossed for this weekend!

Gordon Buchanan and his team from Springwatch were here today, enjoying finding out about our famous peregrine family.  The film they took is due to be shown on Monday’s show.

A couple of times today we had two juveniles on top of the turret, still mostly hopping from one stone to the next, or hanging on tightly and exercising their wings.  However, around 5.20 this evening, one of them was letting go and lifting off a few inches.  Didn’t go anywhere, but I expect he (or she) will be moving onto the balcony or other turrets tomorrow.

We’re also expecting Springwatch to come and see us tomorrow, so hopefully our youngsters will put on a good show for them!

Well, short hops anyway.  Again today our boy was sitting on top of the nest box and turret, with one of his sisters joining him.  The other two have yet to take that leap.  He’s getting more daring, hopping across the gaps on top of the turret from one stone to the next.  He was gripping tightly and flapping his wings to build up strength.  At one point we thought he was going to take a dive into the balcony below, but he managed to hang on.  He’ll be flying soon!

Our boy was getting more daring today, sitting right up on top of the turret a couple of times.  One of his sisters managed to join him on top of the nest box for a while, snuggling up with him to enjoy the view.  The other two girls looked on with frustration, still unable to make the upward leap.  None have yet flown properly, or left the turret to explore the rest of the cathedral roof.  Won’t be long…

At approximately 5 1/2 weeks old, our chicks are now fully grown and lost just about all of their white fluff.  They’ve spent the last few days frantically flapping their wings to build up their muscles.  Today, the young male flew onto the roof of the nest box several times and enjoyed sitting up there, showing off to his sisters.  They looked on quizzically, wondering how he’d managed to get up there.  They tried, but they’re not yet able to join him.  They’re bigger than him, so they take a little longer to grow, and their muscles need to be stronger to carry their heavier weight.  Won’t be long.  Within the next few days we’re expecting them all to be out, exploring the cathedral balcony and the other three turrets.  We were able to see our boy from the ground a couple of times while he was sitting on the edge of the nest roof – how wonderful to see him out, instead of on a TV screen!  They’re all looking so grown up now.

Today the youngsters had a good feed as soon as the rain stopped at lunchtime.  A couple of small snacks followed during the afternoon – Dad bringing in prey that was much, much smaller than the chicks.  At 5.00 he dropped into the turret with a small scrap, probably from the larder – it still had feathers on it.  One of the chicks grabbed it from him and he left.  That’s the first time this year we’ve seen them with the job of plucking, albeit a very small meal.  Two of the siblings were busy sleeping, and the fourth was looking on, obviously unsure about how to deal with the situation.  Normally a parent feeds them and makes sure they all get a fair share.  What do you do when your sibling has got all the food?  She gave up in the end and joined the others in their nap.

All four are looking very strong and healthy.  Most of the fluffy white down has gone now, with just a few wispy bits left.  They’re starting to look quite grown up!  Only another week or so until they start to fledge…