On a Wing and a Prayer

Last month I heard that the two adult Peregrine Falcons that live in and around Worcester were back looking at the site where they last year successfully raised four chicks at Worcester Cathedral.

This is great news and hopefully they will soon begin to raise a new brood.

This and following screen shots are from the Worcester cathedral webcam

Last year the cathedral with the assistance of local bird experts built a nesting platform under one of the towers and installed web cameras which ran continuously until the last chick had fledged and left the nest. 

Keeping the newly emerged chicks warm

I first became aware of the webcam in May and whilst three of the chicks had already hatched, I was lucky to see the shell of the last egg crack open!

The web cam became daily viewing and I would check their progress each morning even though some of the chicks’ breakfasts were quite gory!

Feeding time was a noisy affair with the parent birds providing plenty of food, mainly pigeons, for the young chicks. The last chick to hatch was a constant worry to me at mealtimes as it seemed to be looking the opposite way or being trodden on by his siblings! 

By June the chicks were losing their white downy feathers and developing their proper grey feathers. At times they began to sit outside on the perches to survey their new world.

This too became a worry to me…would they topple off? Speaking to the bird experts all four chicks had to be rescued from falling from the nest and some had to be rescued twice and put back on the nest! 

A chick who fell into one of the gutters  who had to be rescued! Photo from Worcester Cathedral website

During this period, bird experts ran drop in sessions during weekday afternoons and had telescopes trained on the nest and explained about the birds to locals and visiting tourists.

It was a pleasant way to spend a few hours sitting on the grass below the tower watching through binoculars chatting with the experts and seeing the parent birds coming back with meals.

The pointed tower on the right housed the nest site, note the perches sticking out.

The nest site on the tower

A parent bird surveying the visiting onlookers

A parent bird preparing a meal!

The cathedral ran a competition to name all the birds in the family. I suggested Dave Dee Dozy Beaky Mick and Titch after the 1960’s pop group but then again I am showing my age! The Cathedral finally chose Peggy and Peter for the parents and the chicks, Penguin, Penelope, Percy and Mr Lazy…the last one to fledge!

In late May the chicks were removed from the nest to be ringed in the cathedral. From the report I read on the BBC it was a raucous affair! British Trust for Ornithology trained ringers were on hand to handle and ring the chicks with bright orange tags.

Chick ringing photos from the BBC website

I continued to visit to watch their progress as the chicks fledged and began to explore their new world around the roofs of the cathedral.

They could often be seen still being fed by the parents but as the summer progressed they could be seen further flying around Worcester city often perched on other churches.

Two of the young sitting on The Glovers Needle or St Andrews church.

Some interesting facts I learnt about Peregrine Falcons…

Worcester Cathedral has a stained glass window which features a falcon!

The term Peregrine comes from the Latin “peregrinus” a wanderer or pilgrim. A collective name for them is a “Bazaar” or a “Kettle”. A “Tiercel” is the name of the male Peregrin as he is smaller than a female.

One of the newly fledged chicks finding its wings!

Living for 6 to 8 years they are the fastest living thing on earth and easily able to reach speeds of over 200 miles per hour when they dive into a stoop. I was lucky to see this around the cathedral and see them going into a steep downwards flight.

I look forward to hearing whether the adults have selected the nest site again this year and await the new chicks, and to happy hours watching them again this Spring!

UPDATE A first egg was laid on 15 March 2024 there are now 4 eggs being incubated! Worcester Cathedral website has webcam online so do take a look at these remarkable birds!

With grateful thanks to Worcester Cathedral webcam and website for the photos credited and also the BBC website. All the other non credited photos were taken by myself or my husband David Guy.