The New Forest goshawk chicks have been ringed and weighed, and the results are in...There's two girls and a boy! The team have worked this out using the chicks' weight, wing and leg measurements because at their age, the females are much heftier and leggier than the males.
Jeremy Peters, our man on the ground, updates us on the chicks process:
"All three chicks have been getting good amounts of food, provided by the parents. The excitement will increase over the next two to three weeks as the chicks develop into juvenile birds. It's always a special moment watching them take their first flights, which should be around the first week of July."
Don't forget, if you can't make it down to the New Forest in person to see the chicks, then you can watch them live on the webcam.
It's all going on in the north of England at the moment. The first of the Lake District osprey chicks hatched on Friday and the second egg should be hatching any day now. Head over to the Lake District Osprey Project blog and the Facebook page for all the news as it happens.
Then the exciting news came in yesterday that two of the Manchester peregrines had fledged! Jo Keene, People Engagement Manager, tells us more:
"I was up early this morning to catch the train up to Penrith for a meeting with one of my team. Fresh from the shower at 6:20am, I was stumbling around in my half dazed state when my mobile started to ring loudly. It was Roy, Manchester Peregrines' finest volunteer and dedicated early riser, ringing to tell me that the first two peregrine chicks had just fledged the nest whilst he was watching the webcam. My sleepy haze was instantly gone as I hopped round my room in excitement!
From now on visitors to the project in Manchester city centre will be treated to aerial displays as the parents teach their young how to hunt and fend for themselves. Pigeons beware! If you haven’t managed to check out the peregrines yet in Manchester the team will be in Exchange square every weekend from 11am until 6pm and dotted around other locations in the city centre midweek - just look out for the green marquee and the telescopes!"
For all the news from the nest, you can follow the Manchester peregrines on Twitter.
Photo by Ben Hall (rspb-images.com)
Springwatch is over for another year, but don't despair if you have webcam withdrawal because we've got just what you need - more webcams! You can check out all the action live from the nests at the following Dates with Nature:
Manchester peregrines
Edinburgh sparrowhawks
Lincoln peregrines
New Forest goshawks
Chichester peregrines
Loch Garten ospreys
So grab yourself a cuppa, get comfy, sit back and enjoy!
It's been three weeks since the Malham peregrines made their first appearance out on the grassy ledge in the Cove, allowing people to see them. Since then, the youngsters have been growing fast and all three of them have taken their first flights this week. To start off with, one of the chicks seemed more stable than its siblings, but all three are now doing well.
So to celebrate the weekend, here's a recent family portrait and some blue skies for you courtesy of our volunteer, Phil Smith. Enjoy!
Check out the New Forest Date with Nature on tomorrow morning's episode of Wild on CBBC. The show is all about forests and the BBC team went along to visit Dominik Reynolds, who at 13 years old is one of our youngest volunteers. He's been volunteering with us in the New Forest for the last four years and he's done loads more to help us save nature, including representing the RSPB at No. 10 Downing Street.
Tune in tomorrow from 9 am!