Leicester Peregrines - Monitoring the Peregrines of Leicester Cathedral

The Leicester Peregrine Project is a run by the Leicestershire and Rutland Ornithological Society (LROS) with the help of Leicester City Council (LCC) and Leicester Cathedral. The objective is to Identify, Monitor and Promote the Conservation of Peregrines within Leicester and its environs.

LATEST NEWS

The cameras are still streaming as both adults use the platform on a daily basis. The long-staying juvenile (PCF) has not been seen on the platform since 11 December.

To see a log of events and activities please visit the Daily Commentary Page.

Thank you to everyone for all your comments over the months.

See Videos below:

Picture – Juveniles are around the Cathedral: A quick trip into Leicester on the 18th to try and located the juveniles to confirm they both fledged successfully. P7D (below)was found quickly but PCF was a little more difficult. Eventually he was found hiding behind a large chimney pot, sheltering from the wind.

Even more dramatic at half speed!

Sitting on a nearby roof:

Watch the video below of the second chick hatching from it’s egg.

Below is a short video clip of the pair at the nest in September 2017 from the new Hi-Res camera.

Working Together in Partnership
In February 2014, a partnership between 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 entice the birds 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. Although the birds did not breed there in 2016, both the adults and the two juveniles could often be seen either on the platform or on one of the spire crosses.

We hope that the Leicester Peregrines will take to the nesting platform in 2017.