A pair of Peregrines which have nested successfully in the very centre of a town in north-west England has created much interest amongst the local inhabitants.
The parent birds took over a disused Ravens’ nest on a ledge on the north side of a high stone-built building and the three eggs laid hatched about seven weeks ago. Since then it’s been interesting to watch these three small downy chicks develop into strong-flying fully-feathered birds. However, they certainly weren’t always strong-flying, two of them had to be rescued after their first outing, one of them flying directly into a nearby shop window and becoming temporarily stunned. For their own safety, both were then cared for by members of the raptor protection group but after a few days were reunited with their sibling and parents amidst a great of noise and commotion. When all had settled down, the third chick even sidled up to one of the re-united birds and touched bills, apparently a welcoming home gesture. It’s good to report that all three are now flying strongly and rapidly becoming independent although their parents still keep a wary eye on them.
Some photographs taken over the last few weeks of the adults and young are below. These are not in any special order and I've been waiting for the young birds to fly before putting any photos on here.
[Welcoming back]
.jpg)
Fantastic Peregrine shots here Michael, such beautiful clarity, and very interesting behaviour.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed them.
Christian