JUNE 2026
1 Jun – the female lands on the ledge at 3:15. The four youngsters huddle in the box until 3:45 when 4AB and 4BB wake and start preening, then they all run onto the platform and 4BB forces the female to fly out. 4AB takes his position on the ledge whilst his sisters do wing-flapping exercises. 4BB joins its sibling on the ledge at 4:35. At 5:00, there is a lot of running around and wing flapping; 4AB returns to the ledge. They huddle together on the platform at 5:50 and intermittently do exercises, stretches and preening. The female flies in at 7:25 with fresh Feral Pigeon prey and goes into the box. They have finished feeding 30 minutes later and she flies out. The four siblings rest up in the box or on the platform. They start wing flapping and exercising at 10:00 and the female arrives with fresh Feral Pigeon 15 minutes later. They have finished feeding at 10:50 and the female eats the remains and flies out at 11:10. After another bout of exercising, the youngsters settle down on the platform. They start preening and become more active at 13:00 until 14:15 when they settle down again. They begin intense wing flapping at 15:10. A few minutes later 4BB, who is watching its siblings from the ledge, overbalances trying to evade the flapping wing of a sibling. She tumbles backwards and desperately tires to keep grip of the ledge and stonework below, but the momentum was too much. 4AB and 4CB run from the box to join 4DB on the platform to watch their sibling fall. [Please see 4 June update.] The three remaining youngsters soon resume their exercises until moving into the box at 15:35. 4CB has a walkabout at 16:45 but soon returns to the box. The adult female lands at 17:20 but the juveniles do not respond to her presence. She flies off at 17:55 and returns at 18:30 for 20 minutes. She is back with fresh Feral Pigeon prey at 19:15 and takes it into the box. There is nothing left at 19:55 and she flies out. The youngsters settle in the box a few minutes later. 4DB looks out from the platform for five minutes at 21:10 and again at 23:40 for ten minutes.
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. A call at 16:00 reported that 4BB was grounded again, this time in St Martins courtyard. Once again she was returned to the Cathedral roof where she remained until at least 18:00. Whilst we were there the female arrived at 4:45 with fresh Feral Pigeon and was quickly followed by a male. She went into the box at he sat on a cross where I was able to confirm that this bird is, as suspected, XRF. 4BB was begging from the roof but the female continued to feed the three in the box. The male flew off at 16:50 but was back ten minutes later.
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.
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 express 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.
8 Jun – 4DB remains sleeping on the ledge from the previous evening and is joined by the female at 1:45. 4DB runs towards the female at 4:05 and forces her from the ledge. XRF lands a few moments later and 4DB jumps into him and he flies off. She then does wing flapping exercises, running around the platform and picks at scraps. She looks to the sky and calls loudly, no doubt begging to be fed. The female arrives at 7:00 with part-eaten pigeon. 4DB tries to snatch it but the female holds on and feeds the juvenile. The female leaves with the meal after five minutes and 4DB feeds on scraps then returns to the ledge. The female is back at 7:10 with a few scraps that 4DB takes from her. She then flies off and 4DB goes into the box at 7:20, falls asleep and returns to the ledge at 8:00. The female is back at 10:10 and goes into the box. 4DB chases after her and she flies out. 4DB does some wing flapping exercises. Surprisingly, she sits out on the ledge/platform in the pouring rain. The female brings in freshly plucked pigeon at 13:15. 4DB takes it and feeds for 20 minutes then sits on the ledge with a full crop. After an exercise session, she lies on the platform at 14:00. She picks at scraps at 15:55 and runs around the platform wing flapping. The adult female returns with another pigeon meal at 16:15. She takes it into the box and feeds the juvenile who is already well fed, and she flies out with the meal after ten minutes. 4DB moves back to the ledge then lies down on the platform. The female returns with another Feral Pigeon meal at 19:15 and feeds the juvenile. 4DB has had enough by 19:30 but the female tries to force feed her and follows 4DB around the platform until she is chased off at 19:50. The juvenile lies down at 20:40 and remains on the ledge until midnight.
8 June UPDATE: a relatively quiet day. 4BB was taken to the Leicestershire Wildlife Hospital this morning. Thank you to Amy, Harriett and the team there. 4BB was a little underweight and below 1kg (less than when she was ringed in may). Thankfully, she was otherwise healthy and her wings were not damaged from her interaction with XRF and her grounding. A little feeding up and time and space to exercise her wings and improve her muscle tone will enable her to be released soon. 4DB has remained in the box and is being fed by the adult female. She should be eager to leave very soon. There has been no sign of 4AB or 4CB, but they may well be in another part of the city.
9 June – UPDATE: messages and a phone call at 7:30 in the morning is never a good sign. A bird was down in the Highcross Centre. A frustratingly slow drive through the rush hour traffic ensued and we pulled into the Service Yard. 4DB was dead in a box. She had flown into a wire fence and a few minutes later into a glass window. It appears that XRF was pursuing her, and she lacked the flying skills to avoid his attacks. Birds cannot see glass as an obstacle. To them reflections are perceived as a continuation of an open area. Window strikes is one of the leading causes of mortality in fledging urban Peregrines.
10 Jun – the female flies in at 1:30 carrying very fresh Quail prey. She stashes it by a column and sits on the ledge until flying off at 2:20. XRF lands at 4:20 for 45 minutes. He is back at 5:30 and goes to collect the stashed Quail but it jumps up and flies out of the box; it was still alive. XRF manages to catch it and partly-plucks it, then stashes it at 5:40. However, it is still alive and slowly crawls along the platform. XRF is back with part-eaten Feral Pigeon prey at 6:10 and stashes it near to the Quail which finally succumbs at 6:15. He sits on the ledge with a full crop until flying off at 7:30. He is back at 9:15 and goes into the box for 15 minutes, then sits on the ledge until 10:40 when he briefly returns to the box. He flies off at 13:00 and returns an hour later. He looks out from the platform before flying off at 14:15. He lands briefly at 17:50. The female arrives at 21:00 carrying Feral Pigeon prey but quickly leaves. She is back with it 20 minutes later, checks the box and leaves again. Was she looking for one of the juveniles 4AB or 4CB? That is the only reason I can think of why she brought the meal to the box twice.
11 Jun – the female lands at 00:20 with another Quail meal and stashes it by a column, then leaves. XRF lands at 4:05 and sits on the ledge for 30 minutes. He then spies the stashed Quail, picks it up but then drops it. He looks at it again a few minutes later but leaves it and takes a short flight at 4:40. He goes into the box at 5:45 and flies off five minutes later. He is back at 13:30 and checks out the previous day’s Quail but does not eat it. He goes into the box for a few minutes to make scrapes in the stones, and takes a short flight in the rain at 14:00 then leaves at 14:25. He flies into the box at 16:45, makes scrapes in the stones and flies out a few moments later. He is back briefly at 18:25. The female lands at 19:15 quickly followed by XRF who goes into the box. She picks up the stashed Quail and flies out; he quickly follows.
12 Jun – the female arrives at 3:20 and picks up the stashed Quail and flies out. XRF lands at 3:35 and sits on the ledge. He takes a short flight at 5:20 and flies into the box then leaves at 5:30. He returns at 7:15 and goes into the box to tend the scrapes and leaves ten minutes later. He is back at 7:55 and sits on the ledge until flying off at 8:50. He is back at 9:40 quickly followed by the female. He goes into the box, but she calls from the platform then quickly flies off. He moves to the ledge and soon follows. He is back at 12:15 and sits on the ledge. He goes into the box an hour later, on the arrival of the female and she follows. He flies out a few minutes later and she tends the scrape for ten minutes then flies at 13:25. He lands briefly at 16:15. He flies onto the ledge at 21:10 with a full crop but quickly leaves.
13 Jun – the female arrives with unidentified prey at 1:35 and stashes it by a column. She flies out 20 minutes later. She is back briefly at 3:10. XRF flies in at 3:50 until 4:35. He is back ten minutes later and sits on the ledge with a full crop. He makes a scrape in the box at 7:35 then returns to the ledge and flies off ten minutes later. He is back after five minutes and calls to the skies before sitting on the ledge. He visits the scrape briefly at 9:15, then flies off. He is back at 10:25 for five minutes, and briefly at 11:15. He returns at 14:00 and goes into the box, then moved to the ledge, flying off at 14:15. He flies into the box at speed at 15:45. The female lands a few minutes later and picks up the stashed meal and flies out with it. XRF moves to the ledge and soon follows.
14 Jun – XRF lands at 00:05. He flies off at 4:35 but quickly returns and goes into the box to tend the scrape, then returns to the ledge. He flies off at 4:45 and is back in the box briefly 30 minutes later. He returns at 5:50 carrying Feral Pigeon prey and is followed by the female. He goes into the box, but she immediately flies off. He soon follows with the meal. He is back at 6:20 with a full crop, leaving at 7:30. He goes into the box scraping at 8:05 where he remains for an hour. He moves back to the ledge and flies off at 9:30. He is back in the box briefly at 10:10, then leaves. He returns at 15:05 and remains until 16:00. He flies into the box at 18:25 but soon leaves and again briefly at 19:35. The female lands at 20:00 quickly followed by XRF who goes into the box, and she joins him. He flies out after five minutes and she leaves at 20:10 after tending to the scrape.
15 Jun – XRF lands at 4:15, checks the scrape, then sits on the ledge and flies off at 4:30. He is back briefly at 5:40. He returns at 8:05 and goes into the box tending the scrape for ten minutes, then sits on the ledge with a full crop until 9:40. He is back in the box an hour later, moving stones and laying in the scrape, then moves to the ledge at 10:55 and flies off after an hour. He returns at 14:40 and goes into the box for 25 minutes in the scrape. The female lands at 15:10 and he returns to the box. She follows but he quickly leaves and she remains until 15:25. XRF is back at 18:20 and sits on the ledge for 20 minutes.