Despite its iconic status, many people don't realise that the Peregrine has increasingly become an urban bird of prey. It is likely that a pair would be breeding on a large building or structure not far from them, and regularly hunting over the roofs of the city. Peregrines are powerfully built raptors, a bit larger than Woodpigeons in size, but with proportionally longer wings. Adults have a slaty-grey back and black cheek stripe with a creamy underside, barred with thin horizontal lines. Juveniles are browner and with brown vertical stripes underneath. They soar easily to great heights and hunt using a stoop, descending at great speed to hit and grab their prey, which consists mainly on birds of medium size, including pigeons and gulls.
Status and distribution in Hull
In his Birds in the Hull area (2002), Richard Broughton summed up the status of Peregrine as 'increasing [...] scarce winter visitor and passage migrant." It is amazing that in just two decades, Peregrines have become a resident species in the city. Several pairs, possibly about five, are breeding in an variety of human-made structures: large buildings, pylons and even a chemical plant across the city. Despite their presence, Peregrines can be easily overlooked. When not feeding, they sit for long periods on buildings or structures, often high up near their nest sites. Even when hunting, peregrines often soar high, where they can be hard to spot. They don't build a nest, but lay eggs on a flat area, a scrape, on a platform, generally located high on a cliff or structure. Peregrines readily use nest boxes.
Conservation and management
The Peregrine has had a chequered history. As a result of pesticide use (in particular DDT and dieldrin) which affected egg shell thickness and drastically reduced nesting success and persecution and egg collecting, Peregrines became almost extinct in the UK in the 1960s. The banning of DDT and reduced persecution, which is now illegal, resulted in populations of Peregrines recovering. A BTO survey that took place in 2014 revealed that there are now about 1500 pairs of peregrines in the UK, and increases in the last couple of decades have been driven by colonisation of lowland areas, while in the uplands populations appear to still be declining. Peregrines expanded out of their upland crags and coastal cliffs and became urban birds, starting to use churches, tall buildings and electricity pylons for nesting and taking advantage of buoyant urban population of Feral Pigeons as food source. It is a remarkable story of conservation success, and UK Peregrines were moved from Amber to Green in 2009, and are not regarded as a species of conservation concern, although illegal persecution or egg and nestling taking for falconry can be an issue and Peregrines are protected by several national and international regulations. Despite this, the species is monitored and regular national census are carried out. The following are conservation actions that could be implemented in Hull:
1. Peregrines are a flagship species, and as part of their conservation and management, a public awareness campaign, with the installation of a live-stream webcam in one of the nests in Hull will help educate the public about peregrines, and increase the appreciation for this bird of prey, a natural control for urban feral pigeons and gulls. Once the pair is well establish, a view point could allow people to watch the Peregrines from a suitable location with an information board installed.
2. Contacting owners of buildings frequented by peregrines so that they are aware of their presence and nest boxes are installed to encourage pairs to settle. Also, owners should have organisation contact details in case young became stranded during fledgling.
3. Monitor Peregrines in the Hull area and record breeding success in conjunction under necessary licence and in coordination with the BTO, RSPB and other conservation organisations.
Note: Due to the fact that nests in Hull are not watched, I haven't given details of the locations of sightings of Hull peregrines. The placement of live high-quality webcams in nest boxes have brought the Peregrine closer to the general public. One of these nest boxes is located in the Salt End chemical plant. Robert Fuller installed the cameras and produced videos of the pair raising their brood in 2019. Watched pairs nearby include the pair breeding at York Minster (check @YorkPeregrines tweets, with updates on exact locations). A pair has bred in recent years on or near Beverley Minster and two pairs breed at Scarborough and can be seen from the main beach and Marine Drive.
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