Norwich Cathedral Falcons 2016

[Kris G.]

There are 4 eyases, recently banded..sad developments now.  Mom has been chased off by a 2013 female intruder, dad is trying to supply food for all 4 by himself.  

Webcam
http://upp.hawkandowl.org/norwich-peregrines/norwich-cathedral-peregrine-live-web-cam-2016/

Drama Up in The Spire at Norwich Cathedral

Over the past few days there have been dramatic events happening at Norwich Cathedral with regards to an ‘intruder’, known as GA, being seen and causing disturbance to our nesting platform at Norwich Cathedral.  For the full press release and the Hawk and Owl Trust’s policy regarding this matter, please read below:

On Saturday 14th May, a large dominant female bird was seen visiting the Cathedral Spire at Norwich. At that point our resident female appeared to be submissive to the female and was taking no action against the ‘intruder’. At that time the chicks were still being fed by both the male and the female.  The following morning, it was noted that the ‘intruding’ female had a blue ring on her left leg, at the time the letters on it could not be distinguished. However it was seen that she was starting to have a noticeable effect on our female throughout the day, harassing her and preventing her from delivering food to the chicks. The last noted time on our webcams where our female was seen on the platform was at 8.29am on Sunday 15th May.
On Monday 16th May, the day of the ringing of our Norwich chicks, the letters on the ring became visible and were confirmed as GA, this is a bird that hatched and was ringed at St. John’s Church in Bath in 2013, the sister project to our Norwich peregrines. GA was seen around the cathedral and on the spire. At one point seen on the window apex above the nest box and throughout the day catching prey, plucking and storing it on the very top of the spire. The Norwich resident female was not seen at all throughout Monday and all feeds to the chicks were delivered by the male.The ‘intruding’ peregrine, GA, is of breeding age, when she was ringed in Bath in 2013 she was described as “a large, feisty female�. However this is not the first time she has visited Norwich Cathedral, as she made an appearance in Norwich in the summer of 2015 and has appeared several times over the last winter. Sightings in the local area have also been reported showing she has been around in Norfolk over the last couple of weeks and we believe she may have been roosting in the nest box that we recently installed at Wymondham Abbey in February this year, as a blue ringed female had been observed.
GA seen briefly in the Norwich Cathedral nest box with the male and chicks at 8.00am on 18th May
The potential outcome with the introduction of GA into the arena here at Norwich, is that our female seems to have been chased away from the Cathedral, though she may still be in the area. The male now appears to have become the sole provider of food. He will continue to bring in food as often as he can, however as the chicks continue to grow and develop over the next 10 days or so, they will require increasing amounts of food. It is in this situation that ‘nature, red in tooth and claw’ may be seen in action and on our cameras. At this stage sibling rivalry may occur and the strongest and fittest of the chicks will pick on the smallest and weakest if food is in short supply.
The policy of the Hawk and Owl Trust, confirmed by Conservation Officer Nigel Middleton is that we will not intervene should this occur. This differs from the situation earlier in the week when the chicks were ringed by a licensed BTO ringer. On that occasion a veterinary surgeon was present to take samples for DNA and throat swabs as part of a research project into DNA profiling. It was a veterinary decision based on animal welfare considerations to treat a sick chick.
Peregrines are a Schedule 1 species of bird that are protected by law and for the Hawk and Owl Trust to intervene would require us to hold the relevant licence to do so. To justify obtaining such a licence there would need to be evidence of a complete abandonment of the chicks by both the parents. As the adult male is still seen to be feeding the chicks as best he can, what is happening now would be regarded as a natural occurrence and as such would not justify intervention from the Hawk and Owl Trust.

GA was seen briefly at the Norwich Cathedral nesting platform with the male and chicks at 8.00am on Wednesday 18th May

        

[carly]

Oh gees, how could they not intervene?  Those kids won't have a chance, she'll knock them out of the nest if she can.  I remember a nest in Ohio similar situation to this, 2 of the kids died I think and only 1 survived due to being rescued. 

[Donna]

Something tragic every day!! 

[Tapper Gal]

Oh dear,This is a bit distressing.Due hope it turns out well.

[MAK]

Aw jeeze! 

[Kris G.]

Oh dear,This is a bit distressing.Due hope it turns out well.

So far, Norman, the dad, has been doing a great job keeping GA away and feeding all 4 eyases..hope it continues.  No signs of mom, Cath, since last Sunday. 

[Kris G.]

Sad news: 

Latest Update from the Norwich Cathedral Peregrines – Sadly Chick 43 Found Dead

It is with regret that at 5.30pm on the evening of Thursday 9th June, we at the Hawk and Owl Trust were informed by the cathedral authorities that a dead peregrine chick had been found in the cathedral grounds. On investigation we are sad to confirm that it was Peregrine chick 43 who had fledged earlier that day. When chick 43 fledged on the morning of the 9th, she ended up landing on the wall of the Deanery in the Cathedral Close, but being that low to the ground and unable to make her way back up to the nest box, Nigel Middleton from the Hawk and Owl Trust intervened by taking the chick back up to the roof of the bell tower and the base of the spire. At that height she was more likely to be fed by the male than nearer ground level. When she was returned to the tower by Nigel, she received a brief health check and was found to be in perfect condition. She had been well fed in the nest and was a strong chick with condition perfect feathers.
Within a short while after being returned to the bell tower, she was seen to be harassed by the now dominant female (GA) who would have taken her to be an intruding peregrine. Once chick 43 had left the safety of the nesting platform, GA would no longer see them as fledglings and would have felt threatened in what she now preserves as her territory in the absence of our missing female. Chick 43 has now been sent to have a post mortem so that we can establish the exact cause of her death. With our future fledglings, the Hawk and Owl Trust stands by the policy that in the event of an injury to any of the remaining chicks, the Trust will intervene, working with a local bird of prey rehabilitation group, to assist and treat them, however if any of the chicks were to die as part of an accident then sadly that is nature.

We will be posting further press releases and information over the coming days as our remaining chicks fledge the nest.  Thank you

I was afraid of this..hope others don't get hurt.

[Donna]

  Stressful

[Annette]

Fly free 

[Kris G.]

More sad news but some good news...

Norwich Cathedral Peregrines Update – Tuesday 14th June 2016
Posted on 14 June 2016 by Martin Lippiatt
It is with regret that the Hawk and Owl Trust has to announce that the final chick to fledge from the cathedral has been killed by the new female (GA) as of 9.15pm on the evening of Monday 13th June.

“The drama all started on the 15th May when our resident female here at Norwich disappeared after an altercation with the intruding female falcon.  With the loss off the resident female, the Hawk and Owl Trust was concerned for the 4 chicks and not sure if the Tiercel (male) could provide enough food.  Thankfully he turned out to be an excellent provider.  Last Thursday (9th June) when chick 43 fledged from the platform at 6.44am, she ended up on the wall of the Deanery, this created a problem as it is known that the Tiercel would not come that low to feed, so it was taken back to the Bell Tower by a Hawk and Owl Trust employee, within a matter of minutes the new intruding female who by this time was well and truly established her dominance at the spire.  She started to attack chick 43, knocking her onto the bell tower roof this happened on several occasions.  Later that day she was again seen attacking chick 43, and by 5.00pm the Hawk and Owl Trust received a call from a member of the cathedral staff for say that 43 had been found dead in the Cathedral grounds it had suffered a severe eye injury.   The body was sent to a local vet for a post mortem the results are still to be confirmed.

On Friday evening (10th June) chick 41 fledged from the platform and was found on Saturday morning in the Upper Close.  After four attempts at putting her back on the Cathedral, she finally succumbed to the barrage of attacks from the new female forcing her to land on the pavement in Tombland.  The Hawk and Owl Trust staff decided to intervene as these were exceptional circumstances.  It was found that she had an open wound injury on her wing.  She is now being rehabilitated under the supervision of Neil Forbes one of the country’s top avian veterinary surgeons.

On Monday morning (13th June) at 5.21am, chick YY fledged from the platform and subsequently landed at ground level.  She was immediately put back on to the Cathedral only to be attacked by the new female and ended up on the ground, again a second attempt was made to place her back on the Cathedral, which also failed.  So a decision was made to take YY into care.

With a single chick 42 left on the platform, the hope was that the Tiercel could provide more food, enabling her to become strong enough to fledge and fly.  Sadly this was not to be and at  approx 9.15pm Monday evening the new female attacked chick 42, knocking her off of the platform, she was subsequently found dead on the Bell Tower roof this morning.  The behaviour of the new female has baffled  not only the Trust but also peregrine experts, it was widely known that adult female peregrines  and male will attack each other over territories but for adults to attack fledglings in juvenile plumage is very rare.

The Hawk and Owl Trust hasn’t taken the decision to bring birds in for rehabilitation lightly and it is on welfare grounds that this has been taken.  Once the remaining chicks (YY and 41) are fit and healthy, they will be released back in to the wild at a location here in Norfolk to allow for our male and females legacy from 2016 to live on.

Also as of midday on 14th June, the new female, GA, has been seen entering the nest box to consume a feed there.   This has shown to us here at the Hawk and Owl Trust that she has now asserted her dominance on what she now recognises as her territory on the Norwich Cathedral spire.  With evidence recently that our resident Tiercel has been seen to be showing bonding behaviour towards GA, there is now a possibility that she could be the new breeding female at Norwich Cathedral for 2017 onwards, but we will have to wait and see.

The Hawk and Owl Trust would like to take this opportunity to thank our followers online and on social media, the staff and volunteers at our Cathedral watch point and the cathedral community and staff for the resounding support during this very traumatic time.�

Thank you

Nigel Middleton – Hawk and Owl Trust Urban Peregrine Projects Co-ordinator

Tuesday 14th June 2016

Filed Under: Norwich Peregrines, Press Release, Urban Peregrine Project

    Fly free, little one..now you're with your sister.  

[Kris G.]

More sad news...

http://hawkandowl.org/norwich-cathedral-peregrines-update-sadness-reporting-chick-41-died/

Fly free, 41!

[Annette]

 

[AlisonL]

Months ago, while there were still two surviving chicks, the Hawk and Owl Trust posted the following:

URGENT APPEAL: We are anticipating the return of the Norwich peregrine fledglings YY and 41 in the next few weeks from the rehabilitation centre and we need to provide a hack aviary for them for a period of 10-15 days. We are requesting for a donation or loan of a commercial polytunnel frame, which can be clad with soft netting to allow them to get used to the area and landscape that they will be released in. It is required to be a large enough structure to allow them to fly and build up their muscles. This will only be a temporary measure used to allow the peregrines to get used to their surroundings prior to their release. Please contact us at our main office on 01328 850590 or email Nigel Middleton at nigel.middleton@hawkandowl.org

We have now also worked out the costs for this appeal and are hoping to raise £650. If you would like to contribute towards this then please visit our 'How to Donate' page by clicking on the link below. When asked 'Where do you wish your donation to be used?', please select Norwich Cathedral Peregrines and write in additional comments 'Peregrine Hack Aviary', your money will then go directly to this cause. Many thanks

This really made me wonder. A plastic tunnel that they could cover with netting? Did they not have any adequate facilities for the different stages of rehab?

Then, of course, chick 41 did not survive.

In September, an update on the last survivor, YY, was posted:

September 12 2016

Here she is at her current recovery place - ICBP Newent who rescued her after the escapades in Norwich along with her remaining sister who sadly didn't survive - however she is doing well they are teaching her to catch prey and planning to return her to Norfolk to an unknown place towards the end of September together I believe with a rescued male from Avonmouth.

[AlisonL]

Today, a new update on the last surviving chick, YY:



YY Update December 2016

Posted on 6 December 2016 by Adrian Blumfield

In the Summer of 2016 Peregrine YY having fledged from the nest at Norwich Cathedral was unable to fly effectively. A decision was made by the Hawk and Owl Trust to remove the bird and send it for rehabilitation. During this process when flying after live prey she suffered another setback, fracturing her scapula.

The healing was going well and her flying had recommenced, however it was very obvious that things were not right. So YY was taken back to Neil Forbes and had a CT scan. The CT scan shows she had a ‘un-united coracoid and scapula’.

The results and advice we have been given indicates that this injury will now not heal without surgery. The chances of a positive outcome are less than 50%, however a united decision has been taken that we owe YY a chance of recovery as the alternative is euthanasia.

If she gets through the surgery, which will happen later this week, then it will be a long process to get her flying again as she will need to have a rest and moult before any flying can be attempted, therefore it could easily be late 2017 before she is released.

When more information is available we will update this site.

Poor little YY. She has been through so much. I hope for the very best for her.  

However, at this point I have lost all confidence in the Hawk and Owl Trust.  

[Carol P.]