Derby Cathedral, Derbyshire, United Kingdom

[AlisonL]

The second egg was laid at around 7:30 p.m. on the evening of March 31:

[AlisonL]

The third egg was laid at 4:21 this morning local time. Caught a glimpse of the eggs later:

[Kris G.]

Great pics..good for them!

[MAK]

 

[AlisonL]

Very sad news from Derby today. It appears that the long-time resident male, the only male who has ever claimed this nest, has either been displaced or has died. Now there is a new male at the nest, with a band on one leg.

So sad to lose this great tiercel, who was always one of the very best. He and his long-time mate were extremely bonded. He was a great Dad and an outstanding provider for his family, which in most years included four chicks. I will miss him. 

From the Derby site:

In memory of a fine peregrine

It is perhaps appropriate to look back on the life of the male who, until recently, had been present on Derby Cathedral probably since 2004 and possibly before that.

This wonderful photo of him was taken by Graham Whitmore in one of the very early years.



He looks as if he's waving to an adoring crowd below whereas in fact he was just about to preen his head:
As you can see his eye ring and cere (at the base of his beak) are a bright yellow indicating a mature adult so we think he was at least three years old in 2006 and possibly older. So this year he would have been at least 14 years old we think.

Within a week of the first platform going up (in April 2006), the male had flown down to it and enticed his new mate to follow. That first year three chicks were eventually reared, several weeks later than in any subsequent year due partly to the very late arrival of their new nest and partly perhaps because this was the female's first clutch.

Our city peregrines are a good deal safer than those living out in the countryside so whatever has happened to him, he's certainly enjoyed a far longer life than most other males in the county.

Unless he was already dead when the newcomer turned up there will certainly have been some sort of fight since males don't relinquish their hold over a female or a nest site without one.

It is unlikely his body will ever be found....but it isn't impossible if, perhaps it is on a Derby roof somewhere.
Most other urban peregrine pairs we are aware of have changed mates for whatever reason much more frequently than Derby.

At another urban nest site in Derbyshire, the male has changed at least three times in only some seven or eight years since breeding first started there.

One male probably flew into the building it was nesting on in a bad storm, another was found dead, presumed to have been killed by an intruder and a third was found dead and on xray had shot in his body.

So the change at Derby is quite a shock to us having had the same pair all these years. Together they have reared 37 chicks to the fledging stage, a very high productivity rate.

So as a new era starts, there's a lot we owe to our 'old' male.

The Project Team

http://derbyperegrines.blogspot.ca/

[Donna]

What a great dad and so sad to read this! 

[MAK]

 

[Carol P.]