We have all waited patiently with fingers crossed to see if our pair of buzzards would settle down and raise a family on our webcam nest but after a lot of early activity they seem to gone to somewhere else. So not to worry here at Arne we have always got something else up our sleaves and I am sure a lot of you will remember our kestrel family from last year. They had a brilliant 2011 by succesfully raising four healthy chicks including the smallest one that worried a few people early on.
We have decided to put this nest back online now and you can also come and watch it in the visitor centre. The female is sitting on 5 eggs at the moment and this is the same as last year although one failed to hatch. We are not sure when she laid her eggs as she was already sitting on the 5 when we turned the camera back on a week ago. However we think she is at least 2 weeks earlier than last year and the first chick actually hatched on the 21st May 2011. It is a bit difficult to predict when they will hatch but the female will incubate for about 28. So given this information please feel free to have guesses on dates!
To Watch this webcam online follow the link on our main web page or click here http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/a/arne/webcam.aspx
Don't be confused by the buzzard information still on the page it will be updated in the next couple of days!
Hi all - Am watching an empty nest tonight and getting very dark now - heard them shouting outside though but no-one ready for bed yet!! Saw mine again today - chick in nest hole early & then on telegraph pole rung (favourite perch) and mum on cliff but so windy here today as it seemed to be everywhere!
2013 photos & vids here
eff37 on Flickr
There he/she is - didn't let us down!!
Hi Wendy - chick made such a racket at 21:17 so I thought it might come in earlier, see you made the capture! Here are a couple I snapped
I'm assuming this lone fledgling is the youngest. I wonder why it feels the need to return and how long it will do it for.
Tiger and Chloe's Osprey Info
Checked in too late again. Brilliant Wendy & birdsong. Wonder if any of the others pop in a bit later to roost but too dark for us to see on the webcam, we won't know but just a nice thought :-)
Hi all - just logged onto nest box to await any arrivals - have sound on so I can listen for kestrels - in the meantime I can hear the evening birdsong - so lovely!
Afraid didn't catch any last night - very annoyingly I was distracted at about half nine and when I got back just after ten it was pitch black - but I have just seen my chick here stretching & preening in the nest hole and then s/he was gone - I must look up about when they get adult colours!
Hi all - have been watching again but no joy -think I here them around outside and noises on the box but is too dark now!
Just arrived - catching ghostly glimmers of two at least but can't capture pic - mine here has been hugging nest hole nearly all day as was windy & wet! s/he's a wimp!!!
Hi all - am so excited - just looked at my nest in cliff and saw TWO kestrel chicks side by side at front of hole - have had only one for the last two weeks and thought that was it - now need more powerful binos but have new camera coming tomorrow with 35xzoom - that should do it!!!
I knew that mine were far behine Arne chicks but, even so, I didn't expect this!