Spot the ultimate urban predator ‘stooping’ to catch prey this summer
Mike Dilger’s WILDLIFE SPECTACLES The broadcaster, naturalist and tour guide shares the most breathtaking seasonal events in Britain
HUNTING PEREGRINES
Few, if any, birds are capable of commanding a fraction of the respect and awe bestowed upon Britain’s largest falcon. Recovering from a low in the 1960s, when only 385 pairs were recorded, the recent upturn in the peregrine’s fortunes to reach about 1,750 pairs is one glimmer of hope amongst a veritable tsunami of species declines recorded elsewhere.
Justifiably deserving its title of ‘fastest bird on Earth’, the peregrine falcon is also the world’s most cosmopolitan bird of prey. Comprising at least 17 different recorded subspecies, peregrines can be found breeding on every continent bar Antarctica.
In Britain, peregrines were traditionally confined to craggy locations or coastal areas, primarily in the north and west. However, having reinvented themselves as the ultimate urban predator, an increasing number are now nesting in towns and cities, where power stations, pylons, high-rise tower blocks and cathedrals offer the perfect replicas of this species’ ancestral cliff-ledge home.
Like many birds of prey, the female or ‘falcon’ is about a third larger than the male or ‘tiercel’, but both sexes have the same blue-back upperparts and streaked underparts, while a black hood and ‘moustache’ contrast with their white cheeks and throat. Courtship flights and mating take place in March and clutches are laid a few weeks later before hatching after a month-long incubation. By early June the brood are well-feathered and have an insatiable appetite; parents need to put in long hunting shifts if they are to keep up with the incessant demands of their young family.
Did you know?
Under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, it is an offence to intentionally take, injure or kill a peregrine falcon
Peregrines feed almost exclusively on small to medium-sized birds. They will also frequently focus on what may be locally most abundant – such as golden plover and red grouse in the uplands, and seabirds on the coast, while feral pigeons and starlings make popular meals in urban areas.
However, studies of plucked feathers and grisly prey remains have revealed peregrines are also supremely opportunistic – an Arctic tern was recorded at a nest site in Derby, while corncrake was found to be on the menu for a pair breeding in Bath.
