The Leicester Peregrine Project is run by the Leicestershire and Rutland Ornithological Society (LROS) with the help of Leicester City Council (LCC), Leicester Cathedral and King Richard III Centre. The objective is to Identify, Monitor and Promote the Conservation of Peregrines within Leicester and its environs.
Thank you to everyone who has already already donated. It is very much appreciated. With your support it is hoped that we will be able to have sound on our middle camera later in the year.
The Next Leicester Peregrine Watch Days are on Tuesdays: 8th September, 20th October (please note change of date), 10th November and 8th December – 9:30 – 13:30.
Weather dependent.
The Leicester Peregrine Team from the Leicestershire and Rutland Ornithological Society (LROS) will be on hand to help you use our telescopes and binoculars to watch the birds, to answer questions, and to talk to you about the Leicester Peregrines Project. The Watch Point is free and no need to book.
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Breaking News:
18 Aug – UPDATE: I received notification this morning that juvenile 4AB (male) had been rescued from a gull attack near Abbey Park and was sent to the Leicestershire Wildlife Hospital. His injuries were determined to be too severe and he was euthanised. On a positive note, this does confirm our belief that juveniles were still in the vicinity being fed by the female. This gives us hope for 4BB and 4CB.
20 Jul – UPDATE: just two days after 4AB was seen on camera, 4CB was seen flying onto the platform in pursuit of XRF. The male was carrying a meal into the box and had to mantle his meal to fend off the juvenile who left after a few minutes. This is the first confirmed sighting of 4CB since 5 June and is really exciting news that at least two juveniles are still in the vicinity.
18 Jul – UPDATE: the male juvenile 4AB returned to the platform for the first time since fledging since 5 June. He took a pigeon from the female when she flew into the box. This seems to indicate that the female has been feeding one or more juveniles just outside the territory of XRF and bodes well for the survival of 4BB.
30 June – 4BB UPDATE. The grounded juvenile 4BB that was being rehabilitated at Leicestershire Wildlife Hospital was released this afternoon. During the journey to the release site at St George’s Tower (Connect 4), she was very placid and calm. We anticipated that she might take some time to acclimatise herself with the surroundings but as soon as the leaves of the box were opened, she was gone, no hesitation. She was so quick out of the box that we did not have time to record the event. She flew strongly and confidently north-east and we watched her go with a sense of relief. She soon attracted the attention of two other Peregrines, an un-aged male and an adult female. They interacted for a few minutes then 4BB flew back towards the city and landed on the railings of a building on Charles Street. She flew off after a few minutes and did a couple of loops around the Cardinal Building (BT Tower) and landed on the top of it. A few minutes later she was off and heading north-east again and lost to sight.
With grateful thanks for the assistance of Jarod and the management at St George’s Tower (connect 4) and to Amy and the team at Leicestershire Wildlife Hospital.
7 June UPDATE: the last juvenile to leave was 4DB who flew out at 11:25 on the 6th. Not the strongest of flights and I expected a call to say that she had been grounded. XRF was seen in the box two hours later being submissive and trying to bond with the female. There may have been mixed messages as she fed him on scraps of a previous meal just as if he was a juvenile. It is usually the male that brings in food and feeds the female during bouts of bonding. He snatched the scraps and flew out. An unidentified juvenile was located on the roof of the ‘Flowerbox’ shop on Loseby Lane nearby at 15:20. This was most likely 4DB. There were no reports of grounding. At 7:00 on the 7th, a juvenile was seen on the edge of a parapet gargoyle near the Gadabout cocktail bar next to the Cathedral. This was most probably 4BB who we released on a nearby roof. Another juvenile could be heard food begging but could not be seen. The juvenile on the gargoyle had gone by 10:00. A phonecall at 11:55 indicated that a bird had gone to ground in front of the Cathedral having been dive-bombed by XRF. This turned out to be 4DB and as the nesting platform was now empty, was returned to the box after checking. Soon after the female arrived with fresh Feral Pigeon prey and fed the juvenile who remained on the platform ledge with a full crop until midnight. However, a call that another bird was grounded near Radio Leicester at 21:00 was not what I was hoping for. It was inevitable that this was 4BB and she was rescued for the 4th time but the decision was made that as it was late, and there was another juvenile in the box that could get spooked, we would take it to the Leicester Wildlife Hospital for assessment and care, before being returned asap for release. I would like to my grateful thanks to all those special passersby who remained with 4BB whilst we travelled into the city centre. Your care and thoughtfulness knows no bounds.
5 June UPDATE: after looking to be ready to fledge for a few days, the male 4AB left the box by jumping on the head of 4DB and flying south then turning and heading north at 5:40. I had high hopes of him not getting grounded. However, an email later in the morning alerted to him being found on High Street, and another visit to the city was underway. When I got to the location, the observer who called in the grounding in said that the bird flew off not long after. It seems that he was being pursued by another bird. This confirmed my fear that XRF would not be happy with the juveniles in the area. We searched for 4AB but he could not be located – hopefully he’s safe somewhere. We remained in the city and located 4BB who was sitting on a roof of the Cathedral close to where she was relocated after her most recent grounding. We were watching the platform from Guildhall Lane in the afternoon and a small crowd had gathered around as 4CB and 4DB were looking restless and eager to fledge. After a few false starts, at 14:25 4CB flapped her wings got uplift from the breeze and flew north. She flew in a circle and tried to return to the platform but did not have enough height so landed on the roof of buildings on Guildhall Lane. Both the adult female and XRF were on the spire at the time. However, less than an hour later, at 15:15, XRF spotted the juvenile and dive-bombed her three times in quick succession. 4CB manages to shift position so that she was tight against the roof and XRF could not make contact. He returned to the spire. 4CB was then lost to sight.
4 June UPDATE: my sincere apologies for the lack of updates but we have been in Peregrine rescue mode over the last few days. At 15:15 on the 1 June, 4BB had a tumble from the ledge after trying to evade the wings of an exercising sibling. She was located in a nearby courtyard, and we were called by the residents – they had experience with X6F from 2025! After checking her for wing damage, she was put onto a roof of the Cathedral. There were no sights the following day but on 3 June at 10:10, she was spotted by a member of staff from the Cathedral sitting on a window ledge of premises on the opposite side of St Martins Square – so obviously flew there. Unfortunately, an hour later, she was found grounded in the car park of the Blood Donor Centre after crashing into a window. After another wing check, she was returned to the Cathedral roof but within ten minutes had flown and landed on the roof of the Guildhall. She hopped onto a tall chimney and spent some time preening. She then flew strongly towards the Cathedral and towards the nest box where she was met by the adult female. Unfortunately, an adult male (possibly XRF) dive-bombed her, but we lost her to view. We remained in the area for some time and heard her calling but could not locate her. At 13:25, she flew over our heads and landed in a tree close to the Richard III statue, where she remained until at least 20:00. Our sincere thanks to all the local residents, and the Blood Centre and Cathedral staff for ensuring the safety of 4BB.
4 May 2026 – Live Streaming is now back up and running HERE.
4 May 2026 – Whilst the cameras were down, all four eggs hatched. Three on 23rd April and one the following day. All seem to be fit and well fed.
Historic Laying and hatching Dates
| Laying Date | Time | Hatching Date | Time | ||
| 2026 | 15 March | 10:10 | 23 April -approx | ? | |
| 17 March | 18:45 | 23 April -approx | ? | ||
| 20 March | 02:15 | 23 April -approx | ? | ||
| 22 March | 15:05 | 24 April – approx | ? | ||
| 2025 | |||||
| 1 | 20 March | 14:55 | 6 May | 18:30 | |
| 2 | 31 March | 05:45 | 7 May | 04:05 | |
| 3 | 4 April | 02:30 | 9 May | 09:05 | |
| 4 | 6 April | 12:10 | |||
| 2024 | |||||
| 1 | 17 March | 17:15 | 25 April | 01:20 | |
| 2 | 20 March | 07:50 | 25 April | 07:20 | |
| 3 | 22 March | 17:45 | 25 April | 18:45 | |
| 4 | 25 March | 07:20 | 27 April | 18:15 | |
| 2023 | |||||
| 1 | 28 March | 02:35 | 05 May | 06:50 | |
| 2 | 30 March | 11:50 | 05 May | 17:35 | |
| 3 | 01 April | 21:15 | 06 May | 04:20 | |
| 4 | 04 April | 16:45 | |||
| 2022 | |||||
| 1 | 24 March | 13:20 | 09 May | 04:45 | |
| 2 | 27 March | 07:45 | 10 May | 07:45 | |
| 3 | 29 March | 19:50 | |||
| 4 | 01 April | 09:00 | |||
| 2021 | |||||
| 1 | 17 April | 10:30 | Failed | ||
| 2020 | |||||
| 1 | 21 March | 05:30 | Failed | ||
| 2 | 23 March | 21:30 | Failed | ||
| 3 | 26 March | 09:40 | Failed | ||
| 4 | 28 March | 20:20 | Failed | ||
| 2019 | |||||
| 1 | 20 March | 09:00 | 01 May | 16:50 | |
| 2 | 23 March | 07:35 | 02 May | 03:30 | |
| 3 | 26 March | 01:45 | 03 May | 07:40 | |
| 4 | 28 March | 18:00 | |||
| 5 | 31 March | 12:00 | |||
| 2018 | |||||
| 1 | 26 March | 17:30 | 05 May | 22:50 | |
| 2 | 29 March | 15:15 | 07 May | 15:15 | |
| 3 | 01 April | 16:00 | |||
| 4 | 04 April | 06:50 | |||
| 2017 | First Clutch | ||||
| 1 | 24 March | ? | Failed | ||
| 2 | 27 March | ? | Failed | ||
| 3 | 31 March | ? | Failed | ||
| Second Clutch | |||||
| 1 | 28 April | ? | Failed | ||
| 2 | 30 April | ? | Failed | ||
| 3 | 02 May | ? | Failed | ||
| 4 | 06 May | ? | Failed |
10 March – Breaking News: sightings of a colour-ringed Peregrine at St Peter’s Church in Oadby and All Saints Church in Wigston have been confirmed as one of the Cathedral’s brood from 2024 – the problematic intruding XRF. Having been seen on a number of occasions since fledging, it is hoped that he will attract a mate and settle down.
Latest Activity 2026:
23 December 2025 – BREAKING NEWS: a phone call from Leicester Wildlife Hospital this morning brought bad and infuriating news. One of this year’s juvenile females [X6F] was found in Kibworth and taken to a local vet. Subsequent X-Rays showed that she had been shot and had injuries so bad that she had to be euthanised.
Latest News 2025:
17 June 2025 – X6F knocks X4F on the back and both birds tumble from the platform.
29 May – the three chicks were colour-ringed under licence this morning. All three looked healthy and were a good weight, especially X6F at just under 900 grams. DNA swabs were also taken and this will confirm the sexes of each chick.
9 May 2025 – the third chick of the season hatched at 9:05, over two days from the second.
7 May 2025 – there are now two chicks and they were being fed at 7:05.
6 May 2025 – the first chick hatched at 18:30.
UPDATE on juvenile XRF: the long-staying juvenile that had caused so many issues with the start of the breeding season this year was last seen on camera at the Cathedral on 22 March. A photograph was shown to me at the Watch Day on Tuesday 8 April of a juvenile Peregrine seen in Bradgate Park on 5 April. From the coloured ring on its leg, I was able to identify it as our bird XRF.
Photograph taken at Bradgate Park on Saturday 5 April 2025 (c) Karen Fox
XRF ring is showing clearly to allow identification (c) Karen Fox
31 March 2025 – The second egg was laid at 5:40. Ten days, 14 hours and 45 minutes after the first. The disruption by the over-staying juvenile (XRF) obviously had a significant effect.
20 March 2025: despite the issues surrounding the long-staying juvenile (XRF) who has been trying to bond with the female (his mother), and fighting with the resident male (his father), the first egg of the season was laid today. It is going to be interesting to see the development over the coming days and whether the pair will continue to allow the juvenile to interfere.
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DNA testing of the 2024 juveniles reveal that XRF and XNF are both males. Unfortunately, the sample for XSF failed.
To see a log of current events and activities please visit the Daily Commentary Page or for older information please the Archive Page.
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Leicester Peregrines – The Story So Far
In February 2014, a collaboration between the Leicestershire & Rutland ornithological Society (LROS) and LCC was formed called Leicester Peregrines to monitor the habits and activities of a known pair of Peregrine Falcons in Leicester city centre. A group of volunteers from LROS started surveying the city and noticed the birds frequenting a number of tall buildings. These included Leicester Cathedral, the Old Lewis’s Tower, the Cardinal Building (BT Tower) and St Georges (Blue) Tower. It quickly became apparent that the Leicester Peregrines were intent on breeding.
Unfortunately, the location of the nest was less than secure and the decision was made to erect a number of artificial nest boxes on various buildings to try and encourage the birds to move to a safer location.
With the agreement of Leicester Cathedral and after the input of an independent Urban Peregrine expert, a 5-star nest platform was erected on the east facing side of the Cathedral spire in March 2016. Unfortunately, this was slightly too late for that breeding season but when the juveniles fledged later that year, the adults immediately brought them to the Cathedral.
Although the pair did not breed here in 2016, both the adults and the two juveniles could often be seen either on the platform or on one of the spire crosses. This gave us hope that they would return in 2017. And so it proved: they never left the Cathedral and could be seen almost every day either on the platform or on one of the Spire crosses.
In March 2017, the female laid 3 or possibly 4 eggs (the cameras were playing up) only for them all to fail. A few weeks later a second clutch of four was laid but unfortunately these too failed. Video footage showed the female eat the eggs when she realised they were not viable. The reason for the failure was unknown but not uncommon in Peregrine falcons.
Despite this setback, the pair remained around the Cathedral defending the nest site for the remainder of the season and through into 2018.
In 2018, we were hopeful that they would attempt to breed again and all signs were positive. The first egg was laid on 23 March and the clutch of four was completed on 5 April.
On 6 May, just over 40 days later, the first egg hatched at 01:30 in the morning. A few days later a second egg hatched but unfortunately, the two others were not viable.
Both chicks were well looked after by their parents and grew steadily. On 24 May, they were large enough to be ringed under licence from the BTO becoming known as P7D and PCF. It was thought that the larger chick P7D was female it’s sibling a male.
Just three weeks later and P7D had taken flight and fledged the nest. PCF followed the following day. Their first flights were not without concern but thankfully both survived and were frequently seen around St Martins Square and on the Cathedral whilst their parents taught them how to hunt for their own food.
Juvenile P7D (always the more adventurous of the two) was the first to leave the area but PCF remained until at least 11 December and could often be heard calling/begging for food. We wish them both well and hope that they may be identified by their rings somewhere in the UK and they manage to set up a breeding territory of their own in a couple of years time.
