Peregrine

Peregrine Falcons have been present in the centre of Aylesbury since July 2007. The birds favour the Buckinghamshire County Council building (see photo below). It first bird was initially found by Mike Wallen who has continued to watch the birds and has provided the information below. I

The Buckinghamshire County Council have taken an interest in their rare visitor and a platform has been erected in the hope that the bird will attract a mate and stay to breed. To see the county councils web page on the Peregrine nesting platform, visit the following web page:

http://www.buckscc.gov.uk/bcc/content/index.jsp?contentid=-682873005

The story so far in more detail :-

A 1st Summer male first seen very early morning of 27th June 2007 carrying prey onto the building.
A 2nd Winter female joined the male in early January 2008 and confirmed on 9th January.
A platform was erected by the county council on the 13th March 2008, after much territorial behaviour by the pair. Although they have been seen close to the platform, neither have ever been seen to use it.
On 31st March both birds were still present, but then no further sightings of either until .....
26th June ( check that out for consistency ) the male was back on the building in the evening, 1 yr to the day !!
30th June- both birds back together, and present everyday since.
As of August 2008 both birds have been aged as 2nd Summer birds.
Prey species are predominantly feral pigeonsfrom the town centre, but Woodpigeon, Lapwing, Starling and Swift have also been recorded. Many of the prey item remains are carried away from the building before being dropped.

Compared to the photographs below the bird is now showing a more uniform blue grey upperparts, with the grey brown feathers of the juvenile bird being gradually replaced.

The pair have been seen almost daily throughout March and are often seen close to the platform.

It seems likely that the bird has been raised on a tall building at an inland site and hence quite at home in the centre of Aylesbury.

This immature Peregrine was watched for 10 minutes as it sat in the middle of a large ploughed field. It was thought to have prey in it's talons. To view a graph of Peregrine records in the county click here.

This juvenile bird was found at Shardeloes Lake near Amersham by Rob Andrews. It had a greyish ring on it's left leg but with no letters visible. Just before dusk it flew to a nearby copse, presumably to roost. It has not been seen since.