Wednesday 6 June 2007

Live Peregrine Video Stream now in Derby’s Silk Mill Museum

The gallery staff at The Silk Mill will be pleased to welcome you and show you the webcam pictures.Thanks to sponsorship from Capita IT Services, we've now got a computer monitor showing our peregrines in the front shop area of The Silk Mill – Derby’s Museum of Industry and History.

It's just 20 seconds away from Derby Cathedral, and so visitors to our Peregrine Watch points can now pop in to watch live streaming video of the birds and check on their progress. These pictures show all the action - and sound, too. Although we recognise that the Streamdays service that internet users currently see is very effective, the live video and audio really is something else. Why not pop in when nest platform activity is low and find out if our chicks are asleep, or just hiding from you!

It takes just a few moments to saunter over from the Peregrine Watch Point to The Silk Mill museum beside the River Derwent. Whilst you're there, why not look out for one of the Vickers-Vimy engines that powered the first trans-atlantic flight by Alcock and Brown in 1919? Derby is the design and manufacturing base for Rolls Royce aero-engines, and the Silk Mill has an impressive collection of engines, right up to the huge RB211 jet engines.
Of course, nothing equals the majesty of a falcon in flight, but sometimes man's efforts can be impressive, too! (Admission to all Derby's three museums is free.)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I notice that the chicks now have identification rings around one leg. When/how was this done? and did the parents try to attack whoever was doing it?

also, when are the chicks due to fledge the nest? I'll no doubt be glued to my monitor that day :)

In fact, can I put in a request that they fledge on a saturday or sunday, then I can be there with my video camera!

Thanks everybody for a brilliant web cam, definately the best peregrine web cam out there!

Peregrine Project Member (Nick M.) said...

Scroll down to Friday 1st June for information on the ringing event that day. It was done by two officially licenced bird ringers, one of whom abseiled down from the top of the tower, put both birds in a bag and lowered it down to his partner on the roof of the nave below. They were replaced back on the nest within 15 minutes, the parent bird then reappearing 10 minutes after that.
You can see some pictures of how the abseil was rigged up last year by going to the main peregerine page at www.derby.gov.uk/peregrine

There will be a video of last year's ringing on YouTube soon.

Whilst the parents do make alarm calls when disturbed, they didn't physically attack us!

Anonymous said...

If you want to see what an angry pergrine looks like when somebody visits its nest, take a look at the Columbus Ohio Link below (see blog entry for May 3).

http://bp2.blogger.com/_Hfr16O7c2gQ/RkSokm8Sv9I/AAAAAAAAAO8/-uLmxI3St2w/s1600-h/scoutmad.jpg

I have put this on my computer as wallpaper and it scares me every time I switch it on.

Peregrine Project Member (Nick M.) said...

Yep, it's an absolutely stunning shot. Thankfully our birds weren't quite so up-clos-and-personal.
I've had one of the Ohio peregrine pictures as desktop wallpaper on my PC here for some while, now.
Some of our own Derby photographers have been capturing some stunning shots, and we might consider creating some wallpaper downloads for next season.
Meanwhile, you can browse these options from Ohio:
http://ohiodnr.com/wildlife/dow/falcons/downloads.aspx