Spring/Summer 2012 - Peregrines are breeding in Aylesbury town centre!!! 
Images from recent days

The Aylesbury Peregrines

The adult male bringing in food which was passed to the female.  Hopefully the two fledged Peregrines will be able to do this in due course.

The platform is now empty except for a collection of bones and feathers!!

Hopefully the pair will return next year to add excitement to the local birding scene.

Day 42 - 12th June 2012 - The above image was captured at 17:46 and immediately after this the bird flew for the first time.

The scene at just after 13:00 with an adult bringing in food.  One of the youngsters had made it safely to the parapet on the right.

Day 42 - 12th June 2012 - Both youngsters were much more adventurous after a few days of getting confidence of moving around the platform and a lot of wing flapping. 

Both these images were captured in the morning of 12th.

Day 39 - 9th June 2012 - A lot of flapping of wings seen on a windy day.  All signs of downy feathers have gone apart from a small area on the rump.

Not much food was seen being brought in during the day.  The adult birds were seen flying overhead and calling, presumably an encouragement for the young birds to leave the nest.  This was captured well in Don Stone's video.  Click here to view.

The birds are expected to leave the platform in the next day or two.

Day 36 - 6th June 2012 - These two pictures were taken at the same time and show one watching the other trying his/her wings out.

Day 34 - 4th June 2012 - A good comparison to the image below which was taken just four days earlier.

Day 35 - 5th June 2012 - Even less down than the previous day and well developed flight feathers are clear to see.

Day 30 - 31st May 2012 - A rapid growth in feathers as they replace the down.

Both chicks now happy to gaze at the delights of Aylesbury, or maybe keeping an eye out for the next food delivery!

Day 29 - 30th May 2012 - One of the youngsters spreads a wing to reveal the rapid feather growth. 

Day 26 - 27th May 2012 - Feather shafts are now beginning to show elsewhere on the two chicks.

Day 24 - 25th May 2012  - The feather shafts are much more obvious and the chicks can now stand up with more confidence.

Day 18 - 19th May 2012.   Ringer Dave Short in the process of applying the ring.  The feather shafts are developing well.

The result of the radio station "Mix 96" to name the Peregrines is "Perry the Peregrine" for the male and "Fluffy" for the female.

Day 18 - 19th May 2012 - Taken by digiscoping from the car park and after the ringing of the chicks had taken place.  Probably the remains of a Pigeon being ripped apart a short distance from the nesting platform.

The head of a recently deceased Collared Dove is another addition to the gory remains!  It seems that heads are not preferred food!

Day 15 - 16th May 2012 - An adult arrives back after a short while away.  Mealtimes seem to be more frequent. 

The young Peregrines are now rather more mobile in the nest area. They are also left on there own for short periods.  When this image was taken neither of the adults was in view, although quite likely close by keeping and eye on their young.  The remains of Arctic Tern, Cuckoo, Starling and Feral Pigeons litter the nest!!

Day 14 - 15th May 2012 - The male seen bringing prey to the nest.

The remains shown (including the bright yellow claw) in this image are that of an unfortunate Cuckoo!

Day 13 - 14th May 2012 - The chicks are progressing well.  A probable Feral Pigeon is the latest meal.  The nest is becoming a real mess and even the Arctic Tern head is still present (Top RHS).

Day 11 - 12th May 2012 - In both of these images the head of an Arctic Tern can be seen.  So either the Tern was taken as it flew over Aylesbury or the Peregrine visited one of the water bodies in the area.  (Maybe Watermead or the canal).

Note how much bigger the bill is on the young Peregrine than just a few days earlier.

Day 8 - 9th May 2012 - Lunch is served!  A Starling has been brought back to the nest.

Here the adult can be seen carefully passing the tiny morsel of meat to it's chick. 
The nest area is now becoming very messy with feathers, remains of prey and faeces littering the area.

Day 7 - 8th May 2012 - The third egg is clearly not going to hatch.  This gives the two remaining chicks a better chance of fledging.

Day 3 - 4th May - 3rd egg still not hatched but the two fledglings apparently feeding well.

Day 4 - 5th May - Maybe looking slightly stronger.

Most of these photos were taken early morning with breakfast being served in the form of the owner of the wing!  The second chick had hatched overnight and is possibly the lower bird in the bottom right hand photo, which appears to be struggling to raise it's head. 

The first chick hatched overnight after some "pipping" of the egg was noticed the previous day.  The first chick to hatch was first sighted via the web link at about 07:00 and it just appeared to be a ball of fluff!

1st May 2012 - One egg showing clear signs of the youngster chipping through the egg.  This can take several days to complete.

This adult visited the nest platform for a few minutes and approached the sitting bird.  No sign of them swopping over at this time.

29th April 2012 - Gale force winds and rain batter the nest site.  Ruffled feathers show what the birds had to put up with.

A view of the male incubating the three eggs as seen through the live video feed.  Something clearly attracted his attention.
 

27th April 2012  - The larger female is at the bottom of the photo.

25th April 2012

29th March 2012

29th March 2012 - A second egg was seen on this day.

Another view of Aylesbury from the Peregrine platform showing the side view camera.  The large building below is the Waterside Theatre.

Peregrine's eye view of Aylesbury.
The platform is shown strapped below a ledge.  The gravel in the nesting tray can be seen and the wooden box contains the camera equipment.
The platform was erected in March 2008.

View of the platform as seen through the live video feed.
 

Left photo - March 2012 - The female Peregrine perched on the edge of the platform.  The camera lens can be seen. 

March 2012 - Photos taken from the council building.

Screen captures of the live feed by various people.

April 2012 - Peregrines are breeding in Aylesbury town centre!!! 

The Aylesbury Peregrines - The Breeding Site

The Aylesbury Vale District Council Offices!!

The platform is positioned high on the office buildings.  An open fronted wooden box was provided as the nesting area and the enclosed wooden box above that holds the first camera.  The second camera mounted to the left on a concrete upright.