0900 hrs Following a sleet storm and the egg being unattended for a few minutes, the tiercel returns, bobs and settles into the scrape
0930 hrs He stands and looks about, the settles. He is in the shade so dark it is tricky to see him on my screen.
933 hrs He bobs and settles facing away from the camera
1020 hrs He bobs and settles facing left
1024 hrs Squawking off screen and suddenly she arrives at the nest box. They chatter to each other, and he makes a hasty exit around the back of her.
1025 hrs Falcon squeaks and lumbers over to the egg and hunkers down facing away
1026 hrs Falcon shuffles and changes position ending up facing left
1044 hrs She gets up and flies off leaving the egg unattended
1050 hrs Calling off screen
1051 hrs Tiercel lands, bobs and moves egg with his beak. Settles facing right
1053 hrs He changes position and faces outwards
1100 hrs The church bells dong and I leave the tiercel doing his shift
12.00 Gulls can be heard squawking over head the tiercel looks up.
12:04 He repositions himself and turns the egg.
12: 38 The tiercel sees the Falcon approaching the box, walking up the run way (the center of the roof) and moves off the egg ready to take a break.
12.39 Incubation change over! the falcon takes over from the male. They have a vocal exchange and she settles down on the egg.
13.00 The Falcon is sitting on the egg facing west, looking quite sleepy, but is suddenly alert, cocking her head on one side and looking up . The Tiercel can be heard calling in the distance.
13.01 It seems to be a false alarm so she settles back down.
13.02 Something briefly catches her attention but then she resumes her relaxed pose.
13.03 She is starting to doze off.
13.05-13.12 She shuts her eye occasionally but is still clearly aware of what is going on around her, looking around from time to time. As time passes she becomes more and more relaxed.
13.13 Suddenly awake and looking around.
13.14-13.17 Back to dozing.
13.18 She preens her back, showing off her tail as she rearranges her feathers.
13.19 She stands and has a quick look at the egg. Then she sets about preening her chest feathers.
13.20 She snuggles down onto the egg with little peeps. She has her back facing me now and I can see her body expand each time she breathes.
13.22 She has a quick look over her shoulder.
13.23 She is pecking at the gravel in front of her, and I can hear the sound of the stones chinking against each other.
13.24 She stretches further to reach more of the gravel.
13.25 She turns to face east, pecking away at the gravel and reveals the egg.
13.26 She makes another turn and tucks the egg under her
before settling down facing south west.
13.27 The gravel here also needs to be sorted out!
13.28 Up again, a quick shuffle of the egg and now she's settled back down facing south east.
13.29-13.39 She is alert and moving her head about.
13.40 She bobs her head a couple of times.
13.41-13.44 She is starting to doze off, sometimes one eye shut, sometimes both.
13.45 The Tiercel is calling, but the Falcon doesn't appear particularly interested and soon returns to snoozing.
13.53 She wakes up and peers upwards.
13.54 Back to sleeping.
13.59 The church bell strikes two, but the Peregrine doesn't react.
14.00 Screeching from the Tiercel makes the Falcon look up.
14.01 Back to sleep again!
14.02 The Tiercel is screeching and clucking in the background, while the Falcon stares intently for a few moments.
14.03 She is quite alert.
14.04 The Tiercel is calling in the distance again, but the Falcon is obviously not expecting a changing of the guard, sitting tight and relaxing.
14.05 Her eyes are shutting again.
14.06 She is looking around, with her head on one side.
14.08 She stands and raises her wings, mantling over the egg.
14.09 She is standing facing the back of the box.
14.10 She peers over her shoulder, and then lowers herself back onto the egg, facing west.
14.11-14.16 She has her head turned to face the camera, and seems relaxed.
14.17-14.18 She is suddenly quite alert, looking up and around.
14.19-14.2 She returns to dozing, with the odd glance around.
14.25 She gently preens her chest and neck feathers and pecks half-heartedly at the gravel.
14.26 She stands and shuffles the egg about in the gravel with her huge but gentle talons and then settles down facing south east.
14.28 She is soon looking very relaxed, well down in the scrape, and back to slumbering.
4.32 Suddenly she is wide awake and rushes to the front of the box where she stands and squawks repeatedly.
14.33 The Falcon continues to stand on the edge of the box.
14.34 She takes flight. The egg is left unattended in the centre of the box.
14.35 The Tiercel comes in and bobs several times over the nest before settling down into the scrape. He looks quite diminutive in comparison with the female who has just vacated the nest.
14.36 He kicks some gravel backwards to enlarge the scrape and then returns to brooding.
14.38 He pecks at the gravel and then gently turns the egg with his beak.
14.39-14.46 He is settled but awake.
14.47 His eyes gradually shut.
14.49 The other bird lands on the tower by the eastern edge of the platform.
14.50 The Tiercel continues to doze.
14.51 Both Peregrines glance upwards, but don't seem perturbed by what they see, and remain in the same place.
14.59 Three bongs, but all is quiet on the roof of the tower.
1500: Theron egg, having a snooze. Falcon in view outside nest box.
1507: Falcon disappears from view and can be heard calling.
1540: Tiercel stands to reposition egg and has a look around.
1541: He stands to peck at gravel.
1542: He turns round and scrapes at gravel round egg with talons.
1543: He repositions egg with beak.
1544: He settles back down.
1603: Falcon heard calling.
1604: Tiercel alert.
1610: Tiercel looks around.
1613: Tiercel chirps.
1615: Falcon is outside box. Tiercel leaves sharpish and falcon comes in.
1616: She briefly scrapes gravel around egg and then settles down. Could she be ready to lay?
1627: Falcon seems relaxed.
1643: She has a preen then pecks at gravel.
1645: She sits on edge of scrape and pecks at gravel.
1648: She settles back down on egg.
1650: She stands to scrape at gravel with talons.
1657: She stands to preen.
1658: Settles back down on egg.
1700: End the shift. Hopefully 2nd egg won’t be long.
Thank you to today's great team of volunteers for this blog- Debbie, Val and Andrew
Could tonight be the night the falcon lays her second egg?
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