12th September

QPANI Showcase W5 - was great to see the guys from the other quarry involved in the scheme. A nice way to wrap up the whole project.

10th September

Saw lone adults return to quarry at dawn, nice to see one as they have been leaving before dawn and returning at dusk.

Over the summer it has been quiet in the quarry after they learned to fly. The birds started to spend longer and longer away from home, hunting all day away from the quarry. We think they were hunting along the coast near Greyabbey as our forklift driver saw adults and some juveniles flying there. Hopefully all the remaining chicks will survive the winter and set up homes of their own and our adults will nest again next year. It has been a real privilege to be involved in this project and I hope it paints quarries in a more positive light.

8th September

Yamal crew with Darryl Grimason and Marc Ruddock come to the Quarry to film last parts of Return of the Raptors for programme.

Monday 25 June

As you can see from our empty ledge the chicks have well and truly flown the nest, to start the next stage of their development. After a few days spent flapping from the ledge to ledge the chicks have really began to stretch their wings.

I was able to spend a couple of hours on Sunday watching as they stooped and soared using the up drafts from the quarry face, it was fantastic to watch as they were no more than 20m away on my eye level and about 50 from the quarry floor. They were performing their hunting skills in the sky by pretending to “hunt” each other and their parents where diving at each other before turning over and locking talons – A truly impressive sight!

I shall continue to watch them as they grow and shall keep the diary updated with any developments.

Some more of the pupils from Carrowdore Primary School are coming to the quarry for a visit with their teachers this Thursday. They have been very busy over the past months keeping their own diaries about the Carrowdore peregrines and doing loads of research about this amazing bird of prey. Pat O’Connor was telling me about the excellent DVD production they made about peregrines in our quarry which even featured him which made him very proud. Laverne was also telling me about the incredible artwork the primary 6 & 7 classes had made, recreating a quarry face in their classroom displaying models of peregrines made from everyday materials and painted so well they look lifelike. I like to say well done to all the children and teachers of Carrowdore Primary School especially acting Vice principle Valerie Thompson and Robin Quinlan for their enthusiasm about Return of the Raptors.  

Monday 11 June

After a lot of flapping and wing muscle strengthening Edie and Feathers our two female chicks have left the ledge early this morning, leaving Rocky and Clifford very bemused looking. The boys will have to play catch up with them soon. The parent peregrines will still continue to bring them prey back to the nest site over the next few days, but will soon be teaching them hunting skills of their own.

There were a few squabbles over the breakfast kills this morning, they even knocked the mother peregrine off the ledge in the brawl for food. They’ve started stretching out their wings now, guarding their food from any of their siblings from pinching it. It’s definitely a ‘stretch or starve’ mentality, anyone from a large family will be akin to this!  

With summer time approaching the block plant production is at an all time high, which means everyone is extremely busy at this time of year. We look forward to seeing the chicks flying around in the quarry and I’ll be back to update you on their developments soon.

Friday 1 June

A bit of a drama today as ‘Clifford’ the male chick was out of the main nest and on a slightly lower ledge! I wasn’t too worried about this as the year we had five chicks one spent a lot of time down on that ledge and was fine. Clifford soon got bored on his own and clambered back up to his siblings none the worst for his adventure.

Thursday 31 May

Marc came to ring the chicks last night with Darryl and the guys from Yamal to film. Darryl and the film crew joined Marc in the cherry picker and quickly put the chicks in a wicker picnic basket. It was a real treat to see the chicks close up and I was able to hold one as Marc ringed it. It really was a great experience to hold a peregrine falcon and see and feel its talons, which believe me are very sharp I have the scratches to prove it! The footage was all caught on the webcam – have a look

The chicks are thought to be 2 males and 2 females and were named by our local school children from Carrowdore Primary School.
Rocky, Clifford, Edie (after the lady who owns the sweet shop in the village) and Feathers! Great names we all think, the pupils are also making a mini film production about a pair of peregrines and Feathers is the female’s name in their caste.

We also collected feathers and bone from the nest and I was right in thinking that starlings were on the menu, a few pigeon, a rook and some small seabirds. Most of the prey seemed to be small birds which must be plentiful and easier to catch. We should expect to see young jackdaws on the menu soon as they are about to fledge from the quarry faces here at Carrowdore.

Tuesday 29 May

Our peregrine family is rapidly growing, with feathers beginning to replace their fluffy down. Tomorrow afternoon I’ve organize a hoist to be at the quarry to assist Marc Ruddock access the nest to ring the four chicks. I’ve witness this before along with Marc and it is an exciting and noisy experience. Marc takes the chicks down to ground level just below the ledge where he will weigh, measure and attempt to sex the chicks. One of the four chicks is slightly smaller than the rest, so it will be interesting to know what weight difference it weighs in at and if this will affect its survival. A unique identifying band will be placed on the leg of each chick in order to determine where they disperse to and where they will set up breeding territories. This is a skilled task and only possible under strict British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and Environment & Heritage Service licensing which Marc holds. BBC Return of the Raptors presenter Darryl Grimason will be assisting Marc, and they will be having a closer look at everything that is accumulating in the nest including the prey remains.

The action at the nest site will be happening between 4pm and 6pm (Wednesday 30th May), so watch the webcam and the archives for pictures of the ringing process. BBC will be there filming the entire process for their second TV programme. Carrowdore Primary School is naming the chicks; I wonder what names they come up with for our four celebrities?

I will keep you posted on the chick ringing and naming soon.

Friday 31 May

There was a blast at the quarry today and we watched the monitors closely to see how the chicks would react… would they be frighten and flap around or jump about a bit??? Well, I think the camera shook more than they did and that was minuscule; they didn’t seem to mind one little bit! I suppose if you were born and raised in a busy quarry environment you wouldn’t mind either, none of our wildlife does!

Monday 21 May

I have noticed the male peregrine is keeping his right eye shut today, he does open it to take off, so hopefully it’s not too serious and he has maybe just scratched it while hunting. There is so much more detail that can be seen with these fantastic cameras and everybody here tries to get a look when they can. The chicks are over 2 weeks old now.  

Saturday 19 May

The starling chicks in the quarry have started to leave their nests and by the amount of the starling feathers in the nest they must be going down well with the peregrine chicks. The jackdaws still have their ‘devil may care’ attitude and choose to ignore there neighbours hopping around the nest and flying around it. The woodpigeons on the other hand seem to know that they should leave their nests through the trees and follow the back lane away from the quarry on their return. They come in fairly low and fast often flying below the quarry’s conveyers and between the quarry buildings as if to void the hungry neighbours.

Thursday 17 May

The nest area is starting to look like a peregrine falcon site again, as the rain had washed away all last year’s droppings. The chicks have very much a “Point and Squirt” attitude to their housekeeping!!! You can see for yourself on the webcam how ‘whitewashed’ the ledge is getting.

Monday 14 May

Good feedback from everyone who saw the TV programme. I saw a lone peregrine falcon in the quarry today. At first I thought our birds would get very upset, but the male didn’t seem to mind and just followed the lone bird out of the quarry. After speaking to Marc Ruddock he suspected it may have been one of last year’s chicks.

Saturday 12 May

I watched the programme last night and thought it was very good. All the good work was certainly worth it as it made excellent viewing.

Some members of the public arrived at the quarry today and wanted to see the nest but we had to explain that we do not allow this since access is restricted to the quarry and the nest site. We take safety as a number one priority in all our quarries and operate strict procedures. No one is allowed unsupervised into the quarry as it is an extremely hazardous working environment. Entering the quarry without permission would be treated as trespass. So please don’t arrive, as refusal often offends and please understand it is for your own safety. We appreciate everyones interest in the peregrines, and would advise you to visit Scrabo Country Park, outside Newtownards, which provides excellent viewing of peregrine falcons.

Tuesday 8 May

Chicks and parents are all doing well. Nick Walker from Yamal called today to get some footage recorded from the webcam monitor. You’ll be able to see the footage on the Return of the Raptors programme on BBC One Northern Ireland Friday 11th May at 7.30pm. I’m really looking forward to it.

Saturday 5 May

Just my luck – the eggs hatched when I’m not there! The office staff watched closely on the webcam monitor, and we can successfully see that the four eggs have hatched. It’s great to see them out and all look ok and feeding well on a first meal of woodpigeon.

Thursday 3 May

Still no chicks, but must be soon. Hopefully not tomorrow as I’m having a well earned day off!

Monday 30 April

I spent some time over the weekend at the quarry watching the peregrine falcons although not much is happening as they are still incubating in shifts of about 3 hours each. There is more activity in the quarry from the prey items of the peregrines that nest here; there are about six pairs of woodpigeon and collard dove, but 100+ pairs of jackdaws nesting on the same quarry face as the nesting peregrines. Some are just a few metres away from the falcon nest! Not the best neighbours to have if you’re a jackdaw!!

Friday 27 April 2007

Eco-watch were back at the quarry last week to make a few tweaks to the web camera. We have the ability to maneuver the camera from our office. The peregrines have been constantly sitting on their nest over the past few weeks and I have seen the male taking over from the female to allow her to go and feed. We’ve had a breakdown at the block plant so I’ve been busy attending to that. The weather looks great for the weekend so I’m hoping to get out and about more to observe the peregrines.

Thursday 12 April 2007

Over the pass few months, staff from the quarry have been carrying out a number of tasks on the technical side of things. Trenches were dug and cables laid down. We’ve had broadband installed in one of our offices and our electrician has been busy! Everything was in place for todays visit from Eco-watch who are installing their web cameras and recording equipment. Marc Ruddock oversaw everything and closely monitored the time we spent at the ledge so as not to disturb the peregrine for any length of time. We saw the camera footage for the first time. I was totally dumbfounded! Seeing this makes all the effort the quarry staff and the BBC team have put in so worthwhile.

Monday 26 March 2007

I joined Marc (Ruddock) today and set up the scopes to have a closer look. He confirmed she is sitting on four eggs.

Friday 23 March 2007

The female peregrine is now sitting on the nest.

Thursday 15 March 2007

I’ve seen the pair of peregrines frequenting their ledge over the past few days. They must be preparing it for nesting. Chances are she might lay early! We currently have a dummy camera in position on the ledge.