Latest on the Bath Peregrines

Female having a plucking good time. Photo: Hamish Smith

Earlier last week, Hamish and Colin were out watching the Bath pair of Peregrines. Hamish spotted them mating for the first time on Tuesday 19th March, and Colin (Hawk and Owl Trust) checked the camera view on the nest box - there was no sign of a scrape or eggs. 

And on Wednesday 20th Hamish says, 

'No birds on the church at first, but very soon a flock of pigeon lifted from the surrounding buildings as the female came in from the direction of Parade Park, carrying a pigeon which she proceeded to prepare on one of the turrets.  Bath Peregrine Watch veterans will be only too well aware of AA’s (the male) attention to catching and sharing of prey.  In essence, what he catches is his, and what the female catches is his also.  AA flew through a shower of pigeon feathers directly at the female, and amid much vocalising but very little debate, AA was left on the turret with nothing but feathers as the female headed for a gargoyle with her catch.  She proceeded to eat her fill, then flew off to the Abbey, presumably to cache the remains as she returned ‘empty handed’ a few minutes later.  

Female safe on her gargoyle, but keeping a close eye on her mate. Photo: Hamish Smith

And how about the Bristol Peregrines?

Bristol Peregrines mating. Photo: Sam Hobson (samhobson.co.uk)

Sam has been keeping a close eye on the Peregrines which nest in Bristol's City Centre. The pair have been seen mating a lot, and we hope to see eggs soon. They copulated twice within the space of nine minutes on the weekend! When they do begin laying, they won't start incubating immediately - eggs will be laid every two days. They will start to incubate once the penultimate or final egg is laid. Anywhere between one and five eggs (three or four most common) may be laid. 

At least three pairs of Peregrines nesting in London have already laid eggs. However, this is still relatively early for Peregrines. Most lay in the third and last week of March (and perhaps even into April), although laying dates do appear to be getting earlier. 

Female Peregrine in Bristol in flight. Photo: Sam Hobson (samhobson.co.uk)

The photo below by Sam shows one of the Bristol Peregrines on the weekend with a pigeon - this was being used in a food pass. A food pass involves the male catching prey, and handing it to the female in flight.  It is a way in which the male Peregrine shows his mate that he is a capable hunter, and can support her and the chicks over the coming months. 

Bristol Peregrine with a pigeon as part of a food pass on the weekend. Photo: Sam Hobson (samhobson.co.uk)

Sam also discovered Golden Plover feathers on the 14th March (see below). Golden Plovers have been wintering around the west, and many will be moving north to begin setting up territories on the moors in northern England, Scotland and Scandinavia. As they move overhead, they make for an easy target for the Peregrines. Sam also found the head of a Chaffinch on the weekend - a common prey item. 

Golden Plover feathers. Photo: Sam Hobson (samhobson.co.uk)

Chaffinch head. Photo: Sam Hobson (samhobson.co.uk)

Fancy a Woodcock or two for tea?! Peregrines certainly do.

I have been excited by, and interested in Peregrines now for 14 years - and what sparked my interest was looking for what they had been eating. I loved finding various wings, heads and legs of birds below office blocks in the middle of Bristol, and often right outside Pizza Hut! It was an adventure, and I often had to think like a detective to work out what the prey items were from. 

Whilst I have less time to actually do the searching these days, Sam has been regularly visiting the Peregrines in Bristol's city centre, and as a result, he has been finding lots of prey (see previous blog). 

On Thursday evening, Sam was down near the Peregrines' roost site and discovered three Woodcocks on the ground - they had no doubt been blown down by the winds from a Peregrine cache. To ensure they have enough food during cold periods of weather, Peregrines store food. With the recent cold spell, it is likely there was a surge of Woodcocks in the region - escaping colder places further east. Many Woodcocks arrive from the Baltic states and parts of Russia. Sadly, modern buildings are not great for a cache - the dead birds just get blown down like these ones did! In more traditional haunts such as cliffs, they would be hidden in crevices and cracks in the rocks. Its' a remarkable find which not only tells us what the Peregrines are feeding on, but also that Woodcocks are in the area (even though we may never normally see them around). 

The cold weather movements by wading birds are common at this time of the year. As wet, muddy woodlands and meadows become frozen across Europe, birds such as Woodcocks head west, where they can find moist and, in relative terms, milder conditions, to feed on worms and other invertebrates. Cornwall, Devon, and even the Western Isles of Scotland are hotspots for Woodcocks in the winter because they are relatively ice free, meaning plenty of worms to feed on!

Here you can also see three Peregrines together taken by Sam over Bristol, near where the Woodcocks were found - we reckon this is the city centre breeding pair and their youngster (left), haggling over a half eaten pigeon! 

Images by Sam Hobson. 

Peregrines are on the move - watch out for who's who

At this time of the year, Peregrines are on the move. Young birds hatched earlier in the year will be travelling around the UK, sometimes short distances, perhaps only a radius of 50 miles; others will be moving much further, up to 120 miles or more. 

Urban sites with wintering Peregrines may consist of not just local birds, but falcons from further afield. Of course, they look the same, but with some careful observations of age, sex, and other plumage markings, you may be able to tell the individuals apart. A city centre roost may have four or five individual Peregrines using the site, even though only one or two are seen at any one time. 

Many urban Peregrines are now marked with colour rings on their legs under a Schedule 1 Licence - these allow the birds to be identified from a distance. Others, particularly those ringed in quarries, may only sport a unique, BTO metal ring (which the colour-ringed birds will also have). 

Either way, the rings can tell us a lot about individual Peregrines, from where they have travelled from, to how old they are.  When spotting Peregrines, keep an eye or for their legs and any rings. With a good scope or camera, the colour rings can be read. The metal rings require powerful lenses, but if a bird is close enough, they can sometimes be read too. 

Report any rings and their codes to ring.ac and myself! The colour rings I use in the Bristol and Bath region are light blue with black letters.