Todays blog is the 50th and final blog of this season. A huge thank you to all of the volunteers who have taken time to participate in this project. It has been a joy to read the daily activities of the Cromer birds.
9.00 Box and roof view with no birds to be seen
9.17 Bird flies in with a kill quickly followed by one of the youngsters - who may have flown from the concrete Fleur de Lis. Adult flies off leaving the youngster to sort out the kill which it seems to have some difficulty in doing - moving from ridge onto the tiles, back again and eventually down into the 'gutter'
9.28 Out of sight
10.04 One bird flies up onto the ridge from the 'gutter' then hops onto the fleur de Lis
10.07 Second bird flies up onto the ridge from lower down out of view. First bird then flies to a higher pinnacle and the second bird flies onto the vacant spot.
10.26 Bird on the lower position flies out of view and the other bird flies down onto the roof, then back onto the ridge the up onto a Fleur de Lis out of view.
11.00 Kill brought in
11.00 Camera shot from top of box no birds inside or on the roof to be seen.
11.14 Camera changed. picked out two chicks fighting over small bird .
11.16 Camera panning zoomed in, one check on the ridge preening (did not get sight of ring but think it was one of the male chicks).Chick still in the same position.
11.36 Check more alert looking round but still In same place
11.40 Looking around alert and flapping wing
11.41 Walk down the roof and disappeared .
11.46 Camera panning picking out a male chick on the steel walkway watching a second chick number 49 which was eating prey, pulling out wings down dragging it along the bottom walkway.
11.55 Still eating prey
12.04 Male chick moving back along steel walkway . female under steps with the carcass.
12.19 Male still moving back moving back on the metal walkwayfemale still underneath dragging its large carcass and trying to drag it up onto the tiled roof.
12.15 Now all birds out of sight
12.16 Male bird still on bridge
12.17 All birds out of sight again
12.21 Camera panning picked up two of the chicks looking over the seafront towards the pier appeared to be observing birds flying underneath.
12.36 Number 49 left alone and flies up onto parapet
12.52 Flapping wings as if to attempt a flight but didn’t.
12.54 Moved along the wall
12.57 Still watching birds below
13.00 Number 49 still looking from parapet.
13.10 49 is still on the edge looking out over the Hotel de Paris. 13.21 Turns to face inwards, lots of wing flapping and rotating on the edge. 13.23 Hops down on to the roof. 13.29 49 comes back to the edge, walks along and lays down for a few seconds, stands up. 13.34 49 is facing inwards then twists her head to preen her back. 13.36 48 comes to join her where they stay together looking out to sea. He then goes back on to the roof out of view. 13.39 49 practices wing flapping then goes down onto the roof. 14.43 48 joins 49 down on the ridge then moves right under the walkway. Camera is scanning around showing 2 juv. on the roof near the box. The view settles on one of them, 48, cleaning talons and scratching head. 13.55 48 walks along the ridge, hops onto the fleur de lis then up onto the top where he practices wing flapping. 13.56 48 flies away. 13.57 Camera scans east and finds 47 on a fleur de lis 13.59 Flies down to the roof. 14.00 Camera finds 47 in a corner but he flies out of view. 14.01 49 and 47 are together on the ridge looking around and calling. 49 goes onto the lower part of the fleur de lis calling. Both still calling. 14.06 47 goes down to the left out of view. 14.07 49 hops off to the left out of view. 14.11 Camera is scanning, on a bird hunt. 14.20 Finds 49 on the ridge. 14.25 49 cleaning talons 14.26 47 and 49 together. 49 at the end of the ridge with 47 on the fleur de lis who hops from one fleur de lis to another a few times, wobbles, slips then catches balance. 14.31 47 flies out of view. Too quick and too close to see where he went. 14.32 Camera scans and finds 49 on the edge, she jumps down onto the roof and hops out of view. 14.38 A chick is found, no ID, under the walkway close to the wall. 14.40 49 is at the edge looking out. 14.50 49 preens tail feathers. 14.56 49 still preening.
15.09 Chick stretching its wings
15.15 Chick stays put and looks around
15.27 Chick surveys the surrounding area
16.10 Chick hops onto the roof to join the others
16.38 Chicks huddle together
17.00 Our final line on the final blog for 2020 finds all 3 chicks huddled together
Thank you to Ann Cleall, James Ramshaw, Julia Ivison and Brendon Ollett for todays blog