Parkinson Peregrines lay third egg

Eagle-eyed followers are monitoring the progress of three eggs spotted in the nest of a breeding pair of Peregrine falcons currently ruling the roost on the Parkinson bell tower!

image supplied by Paul Wheatley, @LeedsBirder

Peregrine Falcon, a bird with tan and grey feathers perched on the Parkinson Building.

Cameras provide a bird’s eye view of all the latest activity from a safe distance, showing parents and eggs are in fine feather and offering hope of a cracking Easter treat for all twitchers. 

Peregrine falcons are large and powerful falcons with long broad pointed, dark blue wings and a relatively short tail. The falcons are the fastest creatures on the planet, reaching speeds of up to two hundred miles per hour when diving down to catch their prey. The peregrine falcon is protected in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981. 

The Parkinson pair featured on local news recently, after the Twitter page People of Leeds raised an unofficial public poll to name the upcoming hatchlings. The winning name, Rima, is shared by local Radio Leeds presenter, Rima Ahmed, who interviewed Sustainability Project Officer Michael Howroyd on Monday morning.  

Michael said: 
 
“It is great to see the Peregrines choosing the tower once again as a nesting site and the great attention they receive from the Leeds community. As we face new and interesting opportunities to improve our estate and the city, it is great to see that we are a valuable urban location for wildlife to thrive!”  

Peregrines have been nesting intermittently on the Parkinson Tower since 2018. In that time, ten chicks have successfully hatched. We typically see most activity around the tray from around February / March onwards. Eggs are usually laid around the end of March and are expected to hatch just after the Easter Holidays.  

Ringing of the chicks happens in partnership with the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, and is expected to take place around mid-May. 

You can view the Peregrine cameras on the sustainability website and listen to the interview between Rima and Michael for the next month on BBC sounds. The interview begins at 2:43:51.  

The Sustainability Service share updates on peregrine activity on their social feeds; Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, and you can also sign up to their newsletter. To find out more about our campus biodiversity monitoring programmes or for any queries about the cameras, please email sustainability@leeds.ac.uk

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