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Author Archives: Francis Hickenbottom
Wakefield Peregrines in the News
It was good to see Wakefield’s peregrines and Wakefield Naturalists’ Society receiving recognition on this evening’s television news. The ITV weatherman Jon Mitchell did a good job of informing the public about the opportunity for seeing these exciting animals in … Continue reading
Posted in Nature notes
Tagged falcons, itv calendar, jon mitchell, nestcam, peregrines, Wakefield cathedral
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Four Peregrine Chicks
On Tuesday, heavy rain fell for long periods and we had to wonder what state the young peregrines, which were just approaching one week old, would be in. A check of the video recordings showed that they looked almost untouched by … Continue reading
Transit of Mercury
An interesting astronomical event took place today when the planet Mercury crossed the face of the Sun, appearing as a small, circular black dot against the much brighter disk of the Sun. The transit began at 12:12 and 19 seconds … Continue reading
The Peregrines Have Four Chicks
A check of the video recorder showed that all four eggs have now hatched. Peregrines begin incubation on laying the penultimate egg – in this case, the third – which explains why the first three eggs hatched within 24 hours … Continue reading
Posted in Nature notes
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The Early Bird Catches the Worm
Arriving in Wakefield shortly after 5 a.m., I was just in time to see the female peregrine circling above the precinct with prey in her talons. I did not get there early enough to see whether the male had brought … Continue reading
Tawny Mining Bees
Each year, the grassed area around Wakefield Cathedral is the place to spot tawny mining bees (Andrena fulva). During the past week, they have created many small “volcanoes” as they have excavated their burrows. Sunny weather has brought the bees … Continue reading
Ten Days to Hatching
With approximately ten days of incubation remaining, it is interesting to see a change in the behaviour of the male peregrine. During the first three two weeks of incubation, he stopped bringing food to the box. However, in recent days he … Continue reading
Posted in Nature notes
Tagged falcons, incubation, peregrines, raptors, springwatch, webcam
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Peregrines tread carefully.
Peregrines are equipped with sharp talons and they can, occasionally, cause damage to an egg as they step into or out of the nest scrape. To reduce the chance of this happening, the birds move very carefully , particularly when … Continue reading
Posted in Nature notes
Tagged falcons, nestcam, peregrines, raptors, Wakefield cathedral
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Sweep’s brushes at Ackworth School
A sure sign of spring is the flowering of field wood-rush (Luzula campestris), which is also known as sweep’s brushes. This species likes to grow in damp lawns, where it is usually inconspicuous but becomes more obvious when the dark … Continue reading
Posted in Nature notes, Sightings, Wildflowers
Tagged Ackworth School, grasses sedges, Wakefield wildlife, Yorkshire sedges
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Wakefield’s first breeding peregrines fledge successfully
The three young peregrines have now fledged successfully, without mishaps. The first youngster to fly from the box did so on Saturday, 11th July and it found itself on the roof of the jeweller’s shop Herbert Brown. It spent most … Continue reading
Posted in Nature notes
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