Peregrine Falcons first nested on Derby Cathedral in 2006 and raised three chicks there. Two more were raised in 2007 with new web cameras letting tens of thousands of people monitor their progress, day or night.
During the 2008 breeding season our cameras and project diary will bring you all the action and updates.
(If all you see on the webcam pages is a rotating "image loading" symbol, follow this link to download Flash Player)
Follow this external link to our Peregrine Project Diary, or "Blog" for all the latest news from the Project Team.
Main News: All four eggs hatched between 4th to 7th May 2008. Derby Museum has installed third web-camera on the cathedral tower. Re-landscaping of Cathedral Green continues, but completion is delayed. DVD now published on "The Peregrines of Derby Cathedral"
Background
Derby lies in the centre of England, and the ancient tower of its cathedral dates back over 470 years. Records suggest that peregrine falcons have roosted and hunted from the tower at many times over the centuries. But then in the mid-20th century their numbers crashed suddenly, and they were virtually wiped out from many parts of Britain and the world. A pesticide called DDT was found to be at fault, causing thinning of their egg-shells which then cracked during incubation. Only after DDT was banned, and peregrines given legal protection, did their numbers slowly start to recover. They began to return to their former haunts. In 2006 a young pair began to show signs of wanting to breed on Derby Cathedral. A small wooden ledge was installed to help them (shown ringed in the adjacent picture), and three young birds were successfully raised. The following year (2007) staff from Derby City Council's Museum Service installed two webcameras and began a blog to keep everyone up-to-date with events. The interest this created surprised us all, and the two chicks that hatched out were watched live around the world until the moment they fledged in June. The Peregrine Project is a joint partnership between Derby Cathedral, the Wildlife Trust and Derby Museum & Art Gallery, and we hope you'll join with us for the 2008 nesting season. Follow this link for more technical information on how our web cameras work.
Further links on this page:
- Watching Peregrines in Derby - for free
- Pictures and videos
- Further Peregrine Falcon Information
- Links to other peregrine webcams around the world
- Project Partners and acknowledgements
- Sponsors and Donors
1. Watching Peregrines in Derby - for free
Adult peregrines can be seen on most days around the tower at Derby's Cathedral Green. Even outside the March-June breeding season are often visible via one of our three webcams. Peregrine Watch Points ran on Derby's Cathedral Green every day through May and June 2007. These were organised by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust. We hope to arrange similar events for 2008.
Look for birds on the east face of the tower where the nest platform is located, or high up on gargoyles near the top. The female peregrine is considerably larger than the male. One or both birds will probably be seen "on guard" prior to egg-laying, although during incubation and brooding the female is rarely seen as she mostly stays out of sight on her nest. Of course, it's then that the web cameras come into their own. As the chicks develop during June there will be an increase of activity around the nest, with both birds bringing back food. This increases still further once the birds fledge (leave the nest), and there should be some exciting acrobatic displays to be had by watchers on the ground in Derby city centre during July as the young are taught to fly and hunt.
Cathedral Green is at the rear of Derby Cathedral, near the Silk Mill Museum in Derby city centre, England. The best viewing point is from the bottom of Amen Alley, or from Cathedral Green. Please note there will be no access to the green until at least June 2008 as this site is being re-landscaped, but arrangements are being made to ensure limited access for anyone wanting to watch our peregrines from mid-May onwards. Do bring binoculars if you have them. You can get further information on Cathedral Green by following this link to an entry in our project blog. Follow this separate link to view Derby city centre map showing the location of Derby Cathedral at the corner of Amen Alley and Irongate. For your safety: please be aware of fast-moving traffic on Full Street.
For beginners wanting an inexpensive but effective telescope, Derby Museums recommends you consider one of the small spotting 'scopes, such as the Opticron Piccolo. Costing around £50, this telescope can be obtained at some local photographic outlets, but you will still need to buy a full-sized tripod. For the price, its quality is superb, though it cannot match those costing many hundreds of pounds. But before you buy, why not politely ask other peregrine watchers if you can try their equipment? Most will be happy to let you look.
Derby Museum & Art Gallery contains an exciting wildlife gallery, showing many of the habitats and species that live here. Come and stand close to a peregrine falcon in the Derbyshire Nature Gallery, then go and watch one flying free over the City Centre! (Please note that our specimen is very old and that museums today do not condone or encourage the taking of any bird for display. We are currently planning to add further information on the peregrine specimens in our collections.)
Other nearby birdwatching opportunities include the nearby River Derwent footpath, going either upstream to Darley Park or downstream past the Council House and on to Pride Park. Just 200m from Cathedral Green, a Park-and-Ride bus from Derby Council House takes you to The Sanctuary, a new bird reserve next to Pride Park Football Stadium where many unusual birds can be observed, and where our peregrines sometimes hunt. Follow this link to watch a BBC Video on some of Derby's top wildlife spots.
2. Pictures and Videos
2.1. Pictures from 2006 - Use the image links below to view larger, high resolution photographs in a new browser window. There are more recent pictures constantly being added to our "Peregrine Blog"
2.2 Videos 2008: - To watch videos please use the links below:
Videos 2007:
An exciting new DVD entitled "The Peregrines of Derby Cathedral" is now available for purchase. It includes a large number of high quality video highlights from the 2007/2008 breeding season. Each is described with a commentary by Nick Moyes from Derby Museum & Art Gallery. The DVD lasts about 35 minutes and tells the story of Derby's peregrine falcons and features Chris Packham, well-known as a BBC TV presenter.
The DVD is available to order by post at £13.99 GBP from the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust office in Belper [see below]. You can also buy copies direct from our Museum shops for £12.99.
To pay by debit /credit card and have one posted direct to your home at no extra cost (if you live in the UK) please phone the Wildlife Trust on 01773 881188 (Mon-Fri 9am - 4.30pm). Your copy will be dispatched the same day. UK cheques should be made payable to Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and sent to the Trust at: East Mill, Bridge Foot, Belper, Derbyshire, DE56 1XH. We can post abroad but we will ask you for an extra 'donation' of £1 GBP towards the higher postage costs.
2.3 Press Coverage
3. Further Peregrine Falcon Information
School Resources (this element under construction)
- Peregrine Hat for children - Download, print, cut and colour.
- Ideas for using Derby Cathedral's Peregrine Webcams in school classes
- Peregrine Fact Sheet
4. Links to other Peregrine webcams around the world
Other webcam projects, not in English:
5. Project Partners and acknowledgements
The three project partners are: Derby Cathedral, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and Derby City Council’s Museum Service. We work closely together to bring live pictures of the Peregrine Falcons. We are grateful for the superb hosting of our webcam by Streamdays.com and for technical support from Capita.
For more information about the project please contact:
Derby Museum & Art Gallery,
The Strand,
Derby, DE1 1BS.
Telephone 01332 716659
Email peregrines@derby.gov.uk, or
Derbyshire Wildlife Trust,
East Mill, Bridge Foot,
Belper,
Derbyshire, DE56 1XH.
Telephone 01773 881188
Email enquiries@derbyshirewt.co.uk
The Derby Cathedral Peregrine Project has benefited from the help or support of many people: N. Brown; N. Moyes; N. Evans; T. Grantham; W. Dillon; J. Osborne; K. Brewer; Eco-Watch; T. Cairns; J. Salloway; D. Slinger; M. Mallender; J. Heaton; R. Kilgour; E. Jones; H. Hopkinson; J. Connolly; R. Jones; C. Parkinson; J. Taylor; E. Drewitt; N. Dixon; P. Precey; Streamdays, the BBC, plus the many peregrine watchers and, of course, to the vergers and authorities of Derby Cathedral without whom none of this would have been possible.
Funding or material support for the web cameras came from many sources: Many small donations at Peregrine Watches in 2006 and 2007; other anonymous donors; Derby City Council's Wild Derby, Development and Tourism, Highways Department and ICT units. The peregrine project partners have high hopes for developing these webcam services in the years ahead as additional resources or sponsorship permit. Please contact either Derby Museums or Derbyshire Wildlife Trust if you would like to contribute to this project.
6. Sponsors and Donors
- Capita are our first major sponsor, offering us free IT support services and a significant financial contribution (2007+ )
- Acam Technology Ltd. kindly gave us our third webcamera (2008).
- Media On Demand are generously providing a live audio/video stream from our nest camera (2008) Follow this link to view live Windows Media Stream in a pop-up. (This link is under test: please do not publicise)
- Individual donors: C.Crowe (2008); K.Kolling (2008); British Falconers Club (2008); Veronica B. (2008).
If you wish to make a donation to the Peregrine Project, there are currently three options:
Donating from within the UK:
1) Ring Derbyshire Wildlife Trust in office hours on 01773 881188 to make a payment using your debit/credit card (please specify Peregrine Project).
2) Send a cheque made out to DWT to Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, East Mill, Bridgefoot, Belper, Derbyshire, DE56 1XH. clearly marking it ‘for the Peregrine Project’.
Donating from abroad:
3) Contact your bank and arrange for a money transfer to DWT. For details of the Trust’s bank, sort code etc please email enquiries@derbyshirewt.co.uk
We like to put donors' names on our list of supporters on this homepage, so please let us know when you make your donation if you wish to remain anonymous.
There's more to Derby's wildlife than you thought. Follow this link for more information on Wild Derby.