: Museums, Exhibitions and Events

As with last year the Peregrines were around over the winter, I could see, or hear, them from the office most days. It seems August/September is when they are least visible, probably while they are moulting their feathers after the breeding season.

The camera was back up and running in mid-March just in time to see the female start incubating eggs some time around the 20th.

Let's hope that they have a better season than last year!

Or at least the Peregrines do. There was a worrying moment yesterday morning when I didn't see any activity around the nest for hours, I couldn't see a bird on the nest - and it was raining. I eventually saw the female at the nest late morning but she just had a cursory glance at the nest then flew off.

She returned a little while later and then sat on the nest for the rest of the day. The male flew in a couple fo times and on one occasion I am pretty certain brought in a little lump of food. The female didn't stir but it's possible the chick hatched sometime yesterday (or over the weekend).

When I switched the camera monitor on in my office this morning I saw the female was sitting on the nest then the male popped in with a morsel of food. The female stood on the edge of the nest, started tearing small chunks off and was stretching into the back of the nest to offer the food to the chick. This went on for about 10 minutes until the female resumed incubation.

Peregrines normally lay 3-4 eggs and start incubating as soon as they lay the first one, which means the first egg laid hatches first. Assuming the other eggs hatch there will likely be more chicks over the next few days but it could be a couple of weeks before they are big enough to be seen over the rim of the nest.

At long last all the natural history galleries are now open again at National Museum Cardiff. You can see old favourites such as the Humpback Whale and the world's largest recorded Leatherback Turtle but there is also something new.

We have created a new gallery which is an introduction to marine biodiversity - or life in the sea. The gallery has over 100 new marine specimens on display with a focus on marine invertebrates rather than fish and you will also find specimens of seaweeds, an often neglected group when it comes to museum displays.

Nearly all the specimens have been displayed in indvidual cases which allows you to get up close and marvel at the intricate design of some of these beasts (and algae!). We have reserved the 3 large cases to display heavy or fragile specimens. Two have displays of some of our fantastic Blaschka glass models. The detail in these models has to be seen to be believed and all the more amazing is they were made over 100 years ago.

So if you are in Cardiff and have an hour free why not pop in and have a look at the new galleries.

At long last the female has been seen carrying food into the nest so we know at least one egg has now hatched.

As the eggs are incubated as soon as she lays them the others should hatch at 1-2 day intervals.

The west wing natural history galleries have now been closed for well over a year. This has been due to the building works replacing the west wing roof and installing the new contemporary art galleries on the top floor. These works are completed and we are now working hard to get the ground floor natural history galleries back into shape.

The front gallery remains mainly the same but we have taken the opportunity to give the dioramas a deep clean, replace the carpet and redo the lighting. As a result the space is looking much brighter and fresher.

The remaining ground floor gallery space has seen some big changes. We are currently installing a new display area called ‘Insight’. This is a series of modular displays, many with interactive touch screens, which will explore the science that goes on behind the scenes at the museum.

Beyond this is another new display area that looks at evolution, and provides a linking space to the newly refurbished science education room.

These spaces will all be fully open to the public on April 16^th when we look forward to welcoming you back into these gallery spaces.

Unfortunately the mezzanine area gallery spaces, where the Leatherback Turtle and Humpback Whale can be found, will remain closed a few months longer. Once the ground floor is open we will be cleaning and redoing some of the displays in this area in preparation for the BBC Wildlife Photographer exhibition which opens in mid June.