Bad News
4 May 2009
It has been a depressing few days for the PoCT team. After a completely normal day on Sunday (3rd May), at about 3.30pm the birds suddenly became very agitated and active around the Clock Tower. At first we thought their excitement was due to the eggs hatching, which was supported by the fact that the one of the birds appeared to bring food to the nest. However, no chicks were sighted and the feed didn’t take place. The birds then left the nest completely unattended for the next hour or so and could be seen perched at the top of the tower. As I left the site at the end of the day, one of the adults was seen forlornly circling the tower, occasionally landing at the eyrie (but not sitting) and looking generally lost.
Monday (4th) confirmed our worst fears. The eggs had failed and the Peregrines had abandoned the nest. They spent most of the day sitting on the clock tower and ignored the nest that they had been working so hard to incubate.