We went by the Tower site to put the nestbox to sleep and to get some detailled measurements for a nestbox - will be one of our more complex boxes but it's going to be neat to design! Before we went up to do work we went around looking for either of the resident pair and didn't seen anything. As we were unloading our equipment, lo and behold, up popped one of the birds. Despite the presence of Wowser and Dennis' excellent eye, we couldn't get a good look at the bird's leg, though we could see bands on both. Leaving Wowzer downstairs we included Wanna-Be-Wowzer in with the rest of our gear (Wowzer is very heavy) and we headed up. Knowing where the bird was we carefully exited onto the roof so as not spook it - we didn't have to worry, the bird had moved into the sun and didn't so much as twitch when we appeared. Dennis managed to get more photos but it looks like it wasn't until we had finished our work and Dennis was photographing again and then the bird decided to leave and he managed to get most of the band ... and from what I can see of the band, I have little doubt it's Alice - whoo hoo! That's two years in a row, one with Zeus and one without so as long as she survives the winter and returns, she'll likely be back to the Tower site - and then hopefully she'll have not only a choice of mates but also two nestboxes to chose from. And yes, someone figured out what the nestbox was for - nice sized scrape right where I'd expect to see one. Given the amount of time she spent over at the hidey-hold, finding gravel there next year, I don't think she'll have any problem figuring out what its for.
All in all, a great way to spend our last visit to the Tower site for 2012!
Not sure what to call the hidey-hole - how about the "hide"? It makes me think of the hides biologists use to watch wildlife - and if they nest there, it will definitely "hide" the peregrines from potential predators and bad weather. Comments?
