Cooling Marshes, Kent, 7th December 2014

Monday 4 July 2011

Raised in the City

Peregrine, London, April 2011 (image captured with scope)

Before leaving London I thought I’d write about one of my favourite bird watching experiences in the capital. I guess it’s easy to feel a little jaded when birding in an urban area since there is little scope for turning up something unusual. While there are rewards in becoming familiar with any species even common ones, I think every birder secretly craves that bolt from the blue every now and then.
I must’ve attracted some strange looks, standing by Lewisham roundabout one evening last month, bins raised to the dismal office tower overshadowing it. But circling the area and spooking the local feral pigeon population was a local first for me – an adult Peregrine falcon. I never thought there’d be a time in my life when I’d be able to see a Peregrine on my way back from Tesco.
In truth it wasn’t particularly a surprise. I had heard of Peregrines in the area and seen them elsewhere in south London. For the last year I’ve made a point of scanning the tower for any tell-tale silhouettes whenever I’ve been passing. Still, what luck to see such a magnificent bird in my own grimly urbanised part of south east London.
Nowadays a mention of a Peregrine sighting in London barely causes a stir. They have become a welcome though fairly regular presence, but that has not always been the case. With the first breeding pair reported in the late 1990s, the population has since risen to 18 pairs in 2010 and possibly 22 in 2011 (I’m sure I read this somewhere). It’s an impressive rise but what are the reasons for this?
For a bird that traditionally resides in hilly, upland areas and around coasts, the city is a surprisingly good alternative habitat. For one, there are plenty of tall buildings with undisturbed spaces that recreate their ‘natural’ environment of cliff ledges and rocky outcrops. Just as important is the food supply and the abundance of feral pigeons (as well as Starlings and anything else going) in London is one of the major factors credited with their boom. Although they are now arguably ‘urban’ birds they still bring an element of the wilderness to towns and cities, allowing urban dwellers a glimpse of life ‘outside’.
Someone asked me recently what happens to the birds that fledge each year, where do they go? It’s a good point because Peregrines are territorial and although London is a huge city, it can presumably only support a certain number of territories. Some young birds obviously leave the area and move elsewhere but the excellent London Peregrines website also suggests that there are birds literally ‘waiting in the wings’ for a chance to takeover or establish space for themselves. I find that really interesting. It goes on to point out that territories have decreased from an approx 3mile radius in the early part of the last decade to ¾ mile in 2010.
The marked upward trend in breeding pairs has a natural limit but a stable population of birds in London looks likely to continue and the city is richer for it.

Amazing Peregrine footage on YouTube:

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