Difficult decisions

Over the past 48 hours there has been a huge swell of interest in the plight of our peregrine family and we have responded to a series of queries from interested wildlife watchers. Two of the topics which keep coming up are: why doesn’t someone intervene and perhaps hand rear the chicks; the other relates to whether or not the birds need some form of additional shelter in the future.

Home: The falcons' nest box, before the chicks arrived

In respect of the first question, whilst the sad decline of a number of the chicks due to the terrible weather over the weekend has made difficult viewing, the option of intervening hasn’t really been seriously considered by our conservation team for a number of reasons. Firstly, these are wild birds, nesting in a location of their own choice, and whilst we do have the privilege of watching the family’s progress or possible decline, we don’t feel it would be right to directly interfere with the brood. If we had tried to remove some of the chicks there would also have been the possibility that the adults may have abandoned the nest and any remaining healthy chicks.

Another key reason we haven’t intervened directly is that laws designed to prevent birds being targeted by egg collectors, thieves and people wanting to otherwise harm them mean that if we were to access the nest to remove the chicks we would almost certainly be committing a criminal offence under the terms of the Wildlife & Countryside Act.

With regard to the need for additional shelter in the future – whilst we will certainly consider all the options as part of the review we carry out each nesting season with Nottingham Trent University – the fact remains that the pair have reared a very large number of chicks in this exact location and have very rarely lost one, let alone more chicks in a season.

Another factor in the sad turn of events this year is the combination of a warm spell early in the year prompting the adults to lay their eggs early followed by the wettest April on record. Some of the chicks sadly seemed a little too young and fragile to cope.

Hopefully, in future years, with more seasonable weather, our family will continue to thrive.

Erin McDaid
Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust

A day of peregrine peaks and troughs

Well, what a day in the world of Nottingham’s famous peregrine family.  For me the day got off to a terrible start, having stopped watching the cameras during the evening last night because I felt the outlook was bleak for all our chicks. Whilst very concerned, I didn’t actually want to watch their continued demise before my eyes. As a result, when the cameras were off this morning I feared the worst.

With the cameras down there had been a number of concerned posts on the blog, as well as on Twitter and Facebook. There had also been a transatlantic call from a concerned Peregrine Cam watcher in New York, desperate for some positive news.

Thankfully the cameras were just down whilst the team had a discussion about whether it would be possible or advisable to remove the dead chicks (by now it was clear that two had sadly died) and organise a message for the front page to warn people that there were dead chicks in the nest – a very sensible decision considering that a number of schools were likely to log onto the camera this morning.

Having at first been relieved that two chicks had made it through the night, our concern switched to the continued absence of the adult male. None of the people commenting via the blog or the Wildlife Trust’s Twitter/Facebook pages had seen the male and the camera team at NTU trawled through hours of footage with no sign of him.

When midday came and went, our delight that the female looked more content (if a little weary) and the chicks looked relatively strong considering the battering they received from the elements over the weekend, turned increasingly to gloom. The longer the day went on without sight of the male, the bleaker the outlook for the remaining chicks.

One of our Conservation Officers headed over to the Newton Building to see if there was any sign of the male in areas where the cameras can’t reach – but sadly there was still no sign and we really began to think that the male may have perished.

Then, following a frantic call from staff at the University and a flurry of posts to our Facebook page and blog it became clear that he was back! Apparently whoops of delight were heard in at least one City Centre office here in Nottingham and I think many thousands of Peregrine Cam followers gave a simultaneous sigh of relief.

If the weather remains unseasonably cold and wet then I suspect that the challenges are not yet over for our pair, but at least for today the prospects look a little brighter.

Erin McDaid
Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust

Amazing dedication shows true spirit of the peregrine

Despite the torrents of rain, the mother stays resolute and protects her chicks

At first glance it might be difficult to take any positives from the sad turn of events that saw our peregrine pair lose two of their chicks over the weekend, but the sheer dedication of the female falcon to her brood was amazing. In the face of appalling weather she sat tight – following her instinct to do all she could for her chicks.

I must admit that once it became clear that we had lost at least one of the chicks and most likely two, I feared the worst and assumed she would lose them all – especially seeing how wet she had become by yesterday evening. A brief period away from the nest sparked concern that she may have abandoned the remaining chicks but her return, rather drier than when she had left, did give me a little more hope of them making it through the night.

This morning, whilst sad that we have indeed lost two chicks, I am surprisingly upbeat – delighted that some made it through. Whilst somewhat uncomfortable viewing, it is still an amazing opportunity to watch nature unfold.

In consultation with the team managing the cameras we have decided to restore the live feed – but we will not, at this stage, be removing the dead chicks from the nest. We fear that any more disturbance at this stage might make the female flee the nest.

If anyone has any questions don’t forget that you can contact us via the blog.

Erin McDaid
Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust

British wildlife heavyweights hail the arrival of our chicks

As you will already know, our peregrine chicks (or eyasses as they are technically known) hatched this week. For those of you who missed it, here is a video of the fourth chick on its way out…

Since then we’ve had some really positive comments about our work from three of the UK’s most prominent names in wildlife television.

Here are some of their comments:

“I was delighted to hear that the eggs in Nottingham’s famous city centre peregrine nest have hatched.  With thousands of people viewing the family each day, the webcam gives people an amazing opportunity to see these wonderful creatures at close quarters. Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust has been working with Nottingham Trent University to protect these birds for years but the webcams help bring its work directly into people’s homes and places of work.  I’ve heard that when Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust posts an update about the birds on its website, the city grinds to halt as everyone stops what they are doing so they can watch the webcam! This project is a great example of how The Wildlife Trusts protect wildlife on people’s doorsteps.”
Bill Oddie, Author, Naturalist and TV Presenter

“Congratulations on the new arrivals.  I’ve been checking the website every morning and it was a great thrill to see the first chick. I wish them all well.”
Tony Soper, Co-founder of the BBC Natural History Unit www.tonysoper.com

“Superb! Such great pictures.”
Chris Packham, Naturalist and TV Presenter (sent from his Twitter account)

They’re here! The first peregrine chicks hatch over the weekend

Dinner time: one of the parents feeds the three new chicks

So, after what seemed like an eternity – although only a shade over 30 days in reality – our long-awaited peregrine chicks finally started to make an appearance over the weekend. We were treated to some really fabulous footage of three hatching on Saturday and Sunday and lots of great shots of the parents bringing them regular feasts, pulling off tiny mouthfuls and feeding them directly to the fluffy chicks in the nest box. It’s just after 8.30am on Monday morning at the time of writing, and they’ve just finished breakfast!

The first chick arrived early on Saturday morning, followed by the second shortly afterwards and a third yesterday lunchtime – there is still a fourth egg remaining.

Thank you for all of your lovely comments which have been coming thick and fast to this blog – and via social media – we’ve been really overwhelmed by the level of interest. Comments included ‘First chick, whoop, whoop’, ‘I feel honoured to be able to watch these beautiful creatures’, ‘Wow, this is amazing’, ‘Amazing picture quality’ and ‘Am glued to my laptop here in Corfu’. Viewers were also sharing records of exactly what they were seeing and when, and some even took the time to send us some quality images of their own which they had taken directly from their computers.

Here at Falcon HQ, we can’t wait to watch these wonderful birds continue to develop. As Erin said in his previous blog, in a few weeks their fluffy white down will start to be replaced with feathers and they will also begin to move around a lot more in the nest – and at five to six weeks they will attempt their first tentative flights from the top of the Newton building.

Dave Rogers
Nottingham Trent University

The brood patch, the hatching muscle and what’s occurring inside our peregrine eggs

With freezing night-time temperatures there may still be some of you that are concerned about the impact of the cold on our peregrine family. As Nigel rightly pointed out in his recent blog, peregrines thrive in a wide range of climate zones across the globe. In terms of keeping their eggs warm, peregrines, like many other species have evolved a special adaptation – a featherless area on their breast called a brood patch.

Inside the egg, the developing peregrine chick has its head tucked under its wing

In this area the skin becomes thicker and there is an increased blood flow to help transfer body heat from the adult bird to the embryos inside the eggs. The more regular viewers amongst you might have even seen the female lightly plucking her brood patch to help her keep the eggs warm.

Over the next few days it is likely that the female will switch from incubating the eggs to keeping her chicks warm – and I’m sure that thousands of you have been avidly watching the peregrine camera secretly hoping to be the first person to spot the chicks hatch.

Until that moment arrives, I thought it would be interesting to highlight just what is going on inside the eggs. Whilst they are being incubated, a developing peregrine chick has its head tucked under its wing. Chicks also have a large muscle called, rather appropriately, the hatching muscle, which runs from the middle of the neck right to the top of their heads.

When the eggs have been incubated for about 30 days (any-time now) this muscle starts to contract. This makes the chick’s head snap upward and the egg tooth, a hard pointed area on the top of the beak, comes into contact with the eggshell, causing it to crack.

As the egg tooth pushes against the shell it creates a small hole in the surface and cracks then begin to spread across it. A day or two after making the initial hole in the shell, known as a ‘pip’, the chick starts to move around inside the egg. As the chick turns around the egg tooth presses against the inside of the shell, eventually cutting a line right the way around. Once this is complete the chick is able to break out.

The chicks hatch over a period of a couple of days and generally the differences in size between those in a brood is smaller than in most raptor species – however, as we saw last year, one of the chicks may develop less slowly than others as they compete for food.

The chicks, called eyasses, are covered in white down to help ward off the cold. After between three and five weeks the down starts to be replaced with feathers.

At about the same time as the feathers start to appear the chicks will also start walking about and jumping around in the nest. As they grow, they will require more and more food and at this stage the female adult will begin taking a more active role in hunting once again – giving webcam watchers more opportunities to see the chicks in the nest.

At about five to six weeks old the chicks will start taking their first tentative flights – a quite daunting prospect I would imagine when perched so high on the ledge of the university’s Newton building. They will stay close to the nest, however, and remain dependent upon the parents for a couple more months,  meaning that we’ve got plenty of time to watch and enjoy their development between now and the summer.

Erin McDaid
Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust

Breeding and nesting – and how the timing can be crucial

With four eggs in the nest again this year, the adults are set for a busy time

The recent spell of inclement (if entirely seasonal) weather sparked a lot of interest in the wellbeing of our high profile peregrine pair.

However, whilst ‘our’ peregrines had an army of concerned observers, other peregrine pairs – and indeed all other nesting birds – had to endure the elements without an audience. To me, this is one of the real advantages of the cameras that Nottingham Trent University has installed overlooking the Newton nest – it gives people an insight into the trials and tribulations faced by all our wild creatures.

It is likely that our pair and countless other pairs of all manner of species were prompted into early mating and nesting due to the unseasonably warm spell earlier in the year.  However, pinpointing exactly what factors combine to help decide nesting times is difficult. The timing will be influenced by everything from the health or ‘condition’ of the adult birds to the recent weather and relative availability of food.

For many species of bird, getting the timing of breeding and nesting right can be a matter of life and death and for some, the vagaries of the weather can have a significant impact.

If, for example, warm weather encourages trees such as the oak to come into leaf earlier than usual, some species like the blue tit, which rely heavily upon crops of oak leaf munching caterpillars (that’s not a particular species of caterpillar – but I wish it was!) to feed their chicks can be caught out.

If climate changes gradually over time then species have a chance to adapt,  but when we have unexpected changes to patterns of temperature and weather some species can suffer setbacks – perhaps failing to rear chicks at all during some seasons.

If this happens once then there should be no long term impact on a species’ numbers, but if it happens two or three seasons on the trot then species can go into a decline.

As predators sitting at the top of the food chain peregrines are a little better insulated from changes in our climate. They do not rely entirely upon a particular species of prey and are able to adapt to their surroundings. For example, birds living in a city will feed on a different range of species from those living close to a wetland area.

With four eggs in the nest, our pair will be very busy when the chicks hatch sometime in the next ten days or so. We’ll then have about six weeks to enjoy watching their development before they head off on their own and have to work out for themselves how best to cope with the world around them.

If you can drag yourself away from the falcon cam and manage to spot any other peregrines, sparrowhawks, kestrels or other birds of prey across Nottingham, then please do let us know using the special Raptor Watch survey form on the brand new Wildlife in the City website.

Erin McDaid
Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust

How are the falcons coping with the current weather?

No problem: The female braves the elements

Some of you may have wondered how our peregrine falcons cope in terrible weather like we’ve seen today. Falcons naturally nest on ledges on cliff faces and our man made cliff face is very natural to them – that’s why they chose our Newton building as a suitable home. Like other urban birds of prey they prefer a high vantage point and this also helps the young when they start learning to fly. But as you may have seen today, the strength of the wind is moving the camera considerably and is driving rain and sleet over the nest box.

The male has probably been sheltering on one of the ledges out of the wind’s reach and will put in an appearance at some point, possibly with food. A rain and sleet shower in Nottingham is hardly a challenge to the birds though, as peregrines can breed in a wide range of climates from arctic tundra to tropical rain forests; in fact it’s one of the most widespread birds of prey which can be found on every continent except Antarctica.

We’ve also heard a couple of people ask whether the nest box might fill with water. The answer is no – the tray has drainage holes under the gravel which allows the rainwater to drain into the gulley. When the falcons first chose the building as their home the nest area was often waterlogged, so we fitted a nest box that was slightly raised off the guttering floor to allow the water to pass underneath.

Nigel Smith
NTU Resources Manager

Keep your eyes peeled for other birds of prey

Encouraging biodiversity at NTU

The sedum roof on the university's Newton building

The Environment Team has been glued to the falcon cam over the last few weeks and cheers were heard through the Eco Office when we saw that a fourth egg had been laid, matching last year’s clutch.

The chicks should hatch before the end of April. Hopefully they will time it for a weekday – last year’s hatched over the royal wedding bank holiday weekend – so we’ll be able to see the action from the comfort of our desks. Even if we miss it the hatching should get caught on camera and the footage posted online.

Along with the tawny owls, Brackenhurst is home to a few other interesting species, including badgers and great crested newts. The Clifton campus has a resident green woodpecker who can be heard tapping away during the spring and summer, and the city campus is an ideal habitat for urban foxes.

The falcon cam is just one of the many projects we have up and running to encourage and promote biodiversity at NTU. Over the last couple of years the Environment Team has been working closely with our academics and grounds managers to further improve biodiversity on our campuses.

In the next few weeks we will be developing a Clifton trail to showcase the various habitats on campus.  The first stage will be a planting day with Glapton Primary and Nursery School where we will plant insect-friendly shrubs and flowers such as western gorse, lavender and barberry as well as building habitat boxes including hedgehog houses, bat roosts and wood piles to provide homes for insects and beetles.

Over at the City campus, the peregrines are nesting high above our living Sedum roof which stretches around three sides of the Newton tower.  The green roof attracts birds and bugs of all kinds, increasing the variety of habitats for wildlife right in the middle of the city centre.

Not only is the sedum roof great for wildlife, but it also brings other environmental benefits. Green roofs act as a great insulator, keeping the building below warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.  It also intercepts rain water that would otherwise go down the drains, helping to reduce the risk of flash flooding.  Another beneficial property of the sedum roof is that it absorbs sunlight, helping to reduce the ‘urban heat-island effect’ which makes cities 2-3 degrees C warmer than non-urban areas.

Gill Crofts
NTU Environment Team