Cromer Peregrines blog – Monday 1st May 2023
It was a beautiful warm and sunny Bank Holiday here in Cromer.
0900 hrs my shift starts with the female snoozing on the eggs
0902 hrs the female is alert & looking around
0908 hrs the female appears relaxed, then suddenly looks up
0911 hrs the male comes into box and female gets up and leaves. Vary quick changeover. Male settles down on eggs facing the back (North) of the nest box
0917 hrs the male looking around
0925 hrs the male seems more restless and alert than usual - perhaps because the chicks are close to hatching?
0933 hrs the male appears relaxed
0935 hrs the male is shuffling about
0945 hrs the male relaxes again
1000 hrs the male shuffles on the eggs and the watchpoint report the female eating at the base of the East facing pinncale
1003 hrs the male is chirruping
1009 hrs the male is relaxed again
1012 hrs the female returns to box. After some chirruping from both, the male leaves and the female settles on eggs. Male had been on eggs for an hour - the shortest time I recall him being on there.
1014 hrs the female shuffles on the eggs
1018 hrs she shuffles the eggs again
1030 hrs the male is seen by the watchpoint on the North West pinnacle
1034 hrs the female is relaxed and snoozing
1054 hrs the male is observed by our cameraman to be on the North East pinnacle
1100 hrs my shift ends with the female snoozing on the eggs
1214 hrs the Falcon is sitting on the eggs facing South-East, half in sun half in shade. She appears to chirrup slightly and looks down at the eggs and turns them slightly.
1215 hrs she settles back on the eggs facing Northwards into the box
12:16 The Tiercel flies in and the Falcon heads off. The Tiercel stands by the eggs, chirping.
The Falcon then returns and resumes incubating.
1217 hrs the Tiercel leaves
1220 hrs the Falcon is now facing West
1224 hrs the Falcon looks down at the eggs and turns them, doing a 270 degree turn as she does so, to end up facing South out of the box.
1235 hrs she is suddenly very alert, listening. Then she has a quick preen of her back before wriggling herself back down to fully cover the eggs.
1236 hrs She seems unsettled, peering down at the eggs beneath her. She stands and shuffles about, turning the eggs as she rotates anticlockwise.
1237 hrs she settles back down, now facing West again, and chirrups softly
1246 hrs she is sleeping peacefully
1249 hrs she rises and rearranges the eggs as she turns to face South-East
1253 hrs the Falcon is alert, and in the background the Tiercel can be heard calling insistently not far away
1254 hrs the watchpoint report that the tierces has moved from North East pinnacle to the South W pinnacle and they have a great view
1255 hrs the Tiercel is still calling
1257 hrs I can occasionally hear the Tiercel, but the Falcon is not bothered and dozes off
1259 hrs she pecks vigorously at the gravel, and is looking around her
1300 hrs the clock strikes one and she is relaxed on the nest
1302 hrs she turns anticlockwise, shuffling her body to make the scrape deeper, and is now facing West, the great Bank Holiday weather has made for a busy watchpoint today
1302 hrs she turns anticlockwise, shuffling her body to make the scrape deeper, and is now facing West
1303 hrs another wriggle into the gravel
1304 hrs the Tiercel call
1305 hrs the Falcon looks down and rearranges the eggs, fluffing up her feathers as she sits back down
1311 hrs the Tiercel calls in the distance, but the Falcon appears to be sound asleep, with her head drooping.
1317 hrs the Falcon is awake and pecks at the gravel in front of her. The Tiercel is calling again.
1318 hrs the male leaves his perch, flies around briefly before heading to the tower roof for changeover. The female is currently not visible from the watchpoint
1320 hrs the Tiercel stands by the eggs and then makes his way onto the scrape, chattering to the eggs until he is settled onto them, one of the eggs appears to have a crack / pip
1321 hrs he wriggles about a little to fully cover the eggs. He is facing the North-West corner of the box
1323 hrs a bit more wriggling and a couple of bobs before he relaxes back onto the eggs
1329 hrs he is pecking at the gravel just in front of him
1330 hrs he shuffles the eggs and settles back with a bob, but then stands again and rearranges the eggs, digging the scrape deeper with his talons
1331 hrs he bobs and sits back on the eggs facing North
1332 hrs another relocation of the eggs, and the Tiercel is now facing West
1338 hrs The Tiercel appears to be deeply asleep
1344 hrs something catches his attention - maybe a fly
1345 hrs he starts to doze again, sometimes with both eyes shut, sometimes just his right eye shut
1354 hrs He is awake and looking towards the front of the box. Meanwhile, the Falcon is perched on one of her favourite spots on the inside of the tower.
1355 hrs he is mesmerised by a fly buzzing around his head
1400 hrs all quiet again now and he has gone back to sleep
1407 hrs the watchpoint can see the female on the South West side of church near pinnacle
1409 hrs she’s back on the handrail on the church tower roof
1417 hrs occasionally the odd gentle chirrup can be heard from the Falcon
1418 hrs she’s moved again back to the South West side of church near pinnacle – she’s certainly restless today
1419 hrs the Tiercel pecks at the gravel from time to time for about 5 minutes
1430 hrs the female is back on the South West corner of the tower
1432 hrs a couple of sharp chirps from the Tiercel and then the Falcon can be seen on the apex of the roof in the inset frame, before flying off a few seconds later
1434 hrs the Tiercel is in full sun now, and occasionally opens his beak to pant
1435 hrs both birds are on the nest box. Male vocalising & not budging! This was quite the stand-off This continues for some minutes with dissatisfied honking coming from the female and she even gives him a bit of a kick with one of her huge talons, but he just sits tight!
1453 hrs female is visible to the watchpoint on the base of the South West pinnacle
1441 hrs she tries to shove him off the nest, but he refuses to budge, though one of the eggs is visible beneath his breast
1442 hrs she finally gives up in disgust and flies off
1443 hrs he continues to incubate the eggs
1454 hrs a quick peck at the gravel. He turns to face the back of the box (North), rolling the eggs as he does so
1455 hrs he is still fidgeting about, giving good views of the eggs, before a couple of bobs indicate that he is done and he resettles facing North-West
1458 hrs another session of repositioning, finally ending up exactly where he was before
1459 hrs he is very flat on the nest as the clock strikes three - making him turn his head
1500 hrs as my shift ends there is more rearranging - now facing West
1530 hrs the female has left but wasn’t seen as the watchpoint is so busy today
1705 hrs our eagle eyed camera crew report confirmation of a definite pip on one of the eggs! YAY 😊
Thanks to our bloggers today: Chris, Andrew, Val and Mick as well as to Bev & Jane on watchpoint with 173 visitors