Peregrines in glorious colour!

When we started this Peregrine Watch Date With Nature thing back in late
March, it was always our intention to get tv pictures in front of the
public. We fitted out the hide with a big flat screen, we set up a box
outside for a propane-powered generator, and we put a radio aerial
outside to pick up a signal from the camera we planned to put on the
cliff across the lake.

Unfortunately, as we all know, nature isn't always predictable. Unlike,
say, ospreys, peregrine falcons don't make a substantial, solid nest
that they return to each spring. Instead, a pair of peregrines will get
together, decide on a ledge, make a bit of a scrape, and then lay their
eggs more or less on the bare rock - not necessarily in the same exact
spot they used last year.

So, even though the peregrine cliff at the top of Lake Vyrnwy has been
in use for over 30 years, to our knowledge, we couldn't predict exactly
where we should put the camera. By the time they had laid the eggs, it
was too late - we couldn't get up there without risking disturbance and
abandonment. We would have to wait until chicks had hatched and grown a
bit, by which time the parents would be unlikely to desert them. And
then, of course, there was the weather to consider, and the availability
of competent climbers, and support staff to position cables, battery
boxes and all the other stuff.

Finally, it all came together on Saturday, thanks to everybody who piled
in. Now you absolutely must come to the Lakeside Hide - especially if
you came earlier and went away a bit disappointed at the effort needed
to see rather little. Three strong-looking chicks are starring on the
(big) small screen in the hide, and feeding time is really exciting!
Today (Monday) the female brought in two sizeable carcases during the
morning - the first a dark-coloured body with dangly yellow legs
(moorhen, perhaps?), and the second distinctly black and white, but too
small to be a magpie (great spotted woodpecker, maybe?). She tends to
mantle over the prey while tearing bits off it for the chicks, so it
isn't always easy to identify it.

But it is such a great feeling to be able to look down into the nest and
confirm with absolute certainty our guesses about how many chicks and
how old they are. We are such proud parents! Come and join us, do, but
make it quick - they will most likely be flying before the end of the
month, or very shortly afterwards.