Well, in a week when we had better not mention the other Cardiff (blue) birds, we have good news from the clock tower from our other iconic capital mascots! We can now say we know that there is one peregrine chick this year, which is not bad considering the weather we have been having. The ‘cute*’ bundle of fluff has been gorging itself on various bits and bobs brought in by the loving parents. Note: the parents are not wearing red shirts, it is just leakage from their prey! (*the term cute is not mine, peregrines are many things, but cute? Noble, magnificent, even spectacular, but not cute!).
I’m always amazed at the speed with which these chicks grow, they really are protein converting machines. We have been playing the ‘guess what it was’ game with the remains taken from the nest. I’m pretty sure that the female had a turkey the other day, judging by the size of the ribcage she carried off. (joke, honest! Though it was possibly a gull). We have been finding lots of wings in the local parks, always good evidence of a peregrine in residence. The original male is back in force and has been seen chasing off his younger rival, he even looks a bit smarter than he did a month ago; perhaps it was someone he ate?
We can now look forward to the day when the chick comes out of the nest and starts walking along the ledges, hopefully not repeating the trick of last year’s chick and falling off the tower! If you are around at the weekends, come and have a look and catch up with these fantastic birds.
If you like this remember to check out the Date with Nature Blogs at www.rspb.org.uk/datewithnature too!
Also the Cardiff peregrines page at: www.rspb.org.uk/.../149834-peregrines-on-the-clocktower