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 Day: Tuesday 8 July 2025 at 09:30 – 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.
Latest Activity 2025:
2 Jul – X4F goes into the box at 00:30 and is joined by X7F at 00:50, whilst X6F remains on the ledge. X7F moves to the ledge at 4:50 as does X4F a few minutes later. X6F and X7F fly out together at 4:55 and X4F goes into the box for 30 minutes. The female lands with fresh Feral Pigeon prey at 5:40 and is quickly followed by the two juveniles. She drags the meal into the box and feeds all three juveniles. She flies off at 6:05 and X6F soon follows and X7F a few minutes later, whilst X4F remains on the platform. X7F is back at 8:15 and the two lay on the platform until 9:45 when X7F leaves and X4F five minutes later. Both are soon back feeding on scraps in the box. X7F flies out again at 10:35 and returns briefly at 10:45. The female lands at 11:15 carrying fresh Feral Pigeon prey but before X4F could grab the meal, X6F flies in and snatches at it from the female. She manages to keep control and feeds the two. She flies out with the remains at 11:35 and X6F leaves ten minutes later. X6F returns at 14:00 and the two settle on the platform until 17:40 when the female drops off a plucked pigeon. The two juveniles fight for the meal and eventually feed on it together. The female sits on the ledge but is knocked off by the arriving X7F. The female lands at 18:10 pursued by X7F and they go into the box. The female then sits on the ledge and X7F calls at her begging, whilst X4F runs at her and pushes her from the platform. She lands on the platform again at 19:35 but is forced off by X4F flies after her. She tries again five minutes later and at 19:55 but the two remaining juveniles do not allow her to land and X4F flies after her. X4F and X6F soon return to the platform to join X7F. The siblings huddle together for the rest of the evening.
Latest News 2025:
17 June – 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.
| 2025 | Laying Date | Time | Hatch Date | Time | |
| 4th | 6 April | 12:10 | |||
| 3rd | 4 April | 02:30 | 9 May | 09:05 | |
| 2nd | 31 March | 05:45 | 7 May | 04:05 | |
| 1st | 20 March | 14:55 | 6 May | 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.
Historic Laying and hatching Dates
| Laying Date | Time | Hatch Date | Time | ||
| 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 |
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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.
