I have a Schedule 1 License to photograoh at this nest site.   It is a against the law to photograph at a Peregrine nest site and territory without a license.

Day 25 at the  Peregrines nest and again, some changes in behaviour now. The young are getting adventurous, investigating their surroundings with more and  more interest.  One bird in particular seems to be more active than its siblings, not only moving around the ledge much more but also preening  and stretching.

When I arrived I could see the youngsters on the ledge and then through  the camera lens I saw that the female was there as well.  She had obviously just fed them and continued to do this  as I watched. The kill was a Magpie (pica pica), the second or perhaps even third that she has bought to the ledge, ( that  I have seen).  My observations seem to point to a large difference in prey between the two adults. The tercel  seems to bring smaller prey such as, for example, Swallows, a Bullfinch and other small passerines, the largest prey being a Collared Dove and of course Great spotted Woodpecker……5 in total.  The much larger female catches larger birds. Magpie, Jackdaw etc.  and of course, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers of her own.  Woodpeckers as prey is a surprise to me.  

As the female continued to feed, the tercel flew  in with a small prey item which he attempted to feed to the chicks but they  were not interested in his offering, probably because they were well fed already by the falcon  and it wasn't long before he flew off again. (See above).   I could see that they were also losing interest in her prey as well and backed  away from her as their crops began to bulge with food.  The female finished the magpie off herself  and then just like I had seen her do yesterday, she made her way to a high bank on the ledge taking a wing from the kill with her. Here she was above the youngsters. This area is probably warm and a little more sheltered than lower down.  I watched her snoozing, I suppose this is as good a spot as any to rest after a feed. Here she remained for an age, reasonably alert with eyes closed only  momentarily.  Life must be good for a Peregrine. 

One aspect of behaviour from both adults is well worth recording.  I have said often that both birds do not seem to have any concerns about movement from the hide and even when I am  entering  and exiting, the birds are seemingly oblivious.  They do react if they see movement anywhere else, even if this is further from them than the hide.  With eyesight 10 times more efficient than ours, to me it is pretty obvious that they are fully aware of my presence  but choose to ignore it.  However, I have become aware that this is no longer the case.  For example, yesterday, the female came in with it's Magpie kill and I am quite sure she was going to deal with it, quite close to the hide on a nearby ledge. However with much moaning  and noise, she stared at the hide and then flew off again carrying the Magpie in her talons.   She returned to the nest ledge a little later with the now plucked prey and fed the youngsters.  I have now camouflaged the front of the hide to prevent any disturbance.