Peregrine Falcons

 

We have the privilege of hosting peregrine falcons on our Church tower. They are  rare and protected so Barry Trevis, a recorder and ringer for the British Trust for Ornithology, has been helping us.

He writes:   

After setting up the nesting box on top of the church tower, we returned to the churchyard the male Peregrine appeared with prey and perched on the north ledge gargoyles. Shortly after that the female arrived and there was much interaction between them, including noisy mating, food passing, running along the upper, outer ledges, interspersed with spectacular flights around the church.

The birds spent much time on the upper ledges of the tower where it is clear they rest and pluck their prey. The ledges appear to be quite wide in places, particularly behind some of the gargoyles. It could be that the birds will try to nest on one of those. Hopefully once they discover the tray they will be tempted to use that. However, I am afraid that I feel breeding itself is unlikely to happen this year. 

Now I have seen the birds well it is apparent that although the male is in adult plumage the female is a juvenile from her brown plumage (bred only last year). So I think they will spend the next two months or so 'playing at' breeding behaviour and establishing their territory on the church for the future. This is what happened with the Welwyn Garden City birds in 2019 which was followed by successful breeding in 2020 and they are about to lay again there this year.

At some point the nest box will be carefully checked and later on, if appropriate, rings will be placed on the birds as they are so rare, and have only been in Hertfordshire in the last three years.  

A Prayer

God of all feathered beings,
Thank you for the birds.
Thank you for their early morning songs.
May I also lift a song to heaven when morning breaks.
As Jesus said,
Have You not gathered us the way a mother hen gathers her chicks?
The morning song of a bird announces a newly dawning day, fresh, with new life.
Give us fresh spirits.
You know my imperfections.
I ignore the baby chick within.
All that is fresh and new, and desires growth,
Sometimes I ignore it or fight it.
I am sometimes too fragile to allow the new within to survive.
Create within me the ability to greet each day like Your birds.
And to care for animals as You would, God,
You who would gather us all within
Your outstretched
wings.

From the words of  Carol Adams