In the many years that field workers have been monitoring and studying in Bowland, a lot of experience is gained about individual sites, birds and rearing capabilities. These can obviously vary as the same bird and even same pair of birds aren’t guaranteed to be in the same site every year, but to a point, over time you gather a good understanding for each site.
Site 6 is a new one but we are fairly confident that it is the same pair of birds from a previously well used site in the near area which obviously isn’t occupied this year.
This understanding of the birds gives a great insight when inspecting. For example some falcons and tiercels will be completely silent until field workers are within 30-50metres of the nest. Other pairs will be vocal the moment a human or any sort of disturbance that they deem intolerable is in sight – often when you are well in excess of 300-400 meters away. It has to be remembered that Birds Of Prey have tremendously good eye sight, much better than the best pair of binoculars money can buy. Continue reading Site 6 Private Estate 18.5.2009 – Persecution or Natural Causes? You decide!
Site 2 now has 2 healthy chicks and 1 unhatched egg – chicks very healthy, and approx 10 – 14 days old.
Site 6 – it was assumed that all 3 eggs had been “tampered” with. However, on inspection today one chick was found just hatched (within last the 12 hours) and the other egg pipping/hatching.
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Private Estates Nest 3
Visiting any private estate in the Forest of Bowland to examine Peregrine nests usually leads to a very disappointing and sad experience. Nests that had been located earlier in the spring containing complete clutches of eggs are, when revisited, found to contain a single chick, dead embryos or eggs which have failed to hatch at all. In the worst scenario, the nest is completely empty and deserted. Today was a mixture of both.
To my complete surprise this morning, when I examined site 3, three eggs had already hatched successfully and the fourth was on the verge of hatching. What a shock to my system, but I felt sheer euphoria; throughout the 3 decades I have been watching this territory tenanted by a variety of different pairs over the thirty years, never before has anyone recorded a nest on this estate containing 3 chicks, possibly 4 by the end of the day. This site will now be carefully monitored and photographed during the next five weeks up until all chicks – god willing – fledge. Any disappointing news, together with good, will of course be posted on the web site at suitable intervals.
Continue reading Private Estates 3 & 5 – update
Summary of Attempt to Poison a Nesting pair of Peregrine Falcons in West Cumbria this year.
Location: Salterhall Quarry, Rowrah, Cumbria
The Circumstances were discovered by Geoff Horne, Peregrine Coordinator
Cumbria 14th April 2009
On the 6th March I visited Salterhall Quarry in West Cumbria, which has been used by a pair of Peregrines to successfully breed for a number of years. The purpose of this visit to the quarry was to establish if the territory was occupied by falcons this season, and also to try and locate any potential nesting site. Under normal circumstances, this particular pair of Peregrines would have laid a full clutch of eggs by the 14th April. On this visit I observed an adult female falcon at the site.
Continue reading Attempt to Poison a Nesting pair of Peregrine Falcons
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