Three juvenile Peregrine Falcon hunting together (1 Viewer)

[trw]

Maybe its not unusual but I've never seen three juvenile Peregrine Falcon hunting together,but I did this morning, on the Kent estuary ,Cumbria.
I'd read three juveniles had been seen practising hunting moves a few weeks ago in the same area,so presumably they were the same trio.
This morning a flock of gulls took flight, spooked by the three young Peregrines.
One caught a gull and landed on the nearby sands.It started to eat it's prey and the other two stood by waiting for any leftovers.

 

[coaltit]

Maybe its not unusual but I've never seen three juvenile Peregrine Falcon hunting together,but I did this morning, on the Kent estuary ,Cumbria.
I'd read three juveniles had been seen practising hunting moves a few weeks ago in the same area,so presumably they were the same trio.
This morning a flock of gulls took flight, spooked by the three young Peregrines.
One caught a gull and landed on the nearby sands.It started to eat it's prey and the other two stood by waiting for any leftovers.

Its nice to see the Peregrines doing well when other birds of prey are not.

 

[trw]

Its nice to see the Peregrines doing well when other birds of prey are not.

The latest records[2014] showed that 43 pairs reared 96 young in Cumbria.
Locally there is a good combination of ideal nesting habitats of steep side hills and quarries with a plentiful supply of prey on the Kent Estuary.Unless the tide is very high there are hundreds of unsuspecting birds roosting on the sands.

 

[Nutcracker]

Its nice to see the Peregrines doing well when other birds of prey are not.

Well, one family of three chicks has fledged, which is nice. Sadly, Peregrines are not doing at all well in many other areas, e.g. upland Northumberland. And the ones that were colonising Newcastle city centre a couple of years ago seem to have disappeared this year.

 

[Paul Chapman]

Well, one family of three chicks has fledged, which is nice. Sadly, Peregrines are not doing at all well in many other areas, e.g. upland Northumberland. And the ones that were colonising Newcastle city centre a couple of years ago seem to have disappeared this year.

I found a visit to Northumberland this year in July quite sobering for the lack of raptors. In five days:-
one Sparrowhawk sighting
five Kestrel sightings
one Peregrine sighting

A friend from Sussex remarked on a similar absence though he at least had a Buzzard or two around Rothbury.

All the best

 

[coaltit]

The latest records[2014] showed that 43 pairs reared 96 young in Cumbria.
Locally there is a good combination of ideal nesting habitats of steep side hills and quarries with a plentiful supply of prey on the Kent Estuary.Unless the tide is very high there are hundreds of unsuspecting birds roosting on the sands.

I use to visit cumbria a lot when I was a youngster with my father he came from carlisle and we used to travel far and wide when visiting and stopping with relations there, I always found it quite and peaceful then on the coast and coastal towns I was more into sea fishing with my father at that time but the tranquility of the area and open spaces I never forget and always found The people friendly a nice mix to have, If I,m truthful a foundation stone leading to some of my Interests today.

 

[Paul Longland]

I remember the bad old days when practically the only raptor you ever saw was a kestrel at the side of the motorway. Red kites practically extinct, Osprey only just making a comeback in Scotland, peregrine, buzzard et al still in the doldrums from DDT, mixamatosis, persecution etc. Any sort of harrier was simply a pipedream for us fledgling birders of the seventies.

Despite the best efforts of Botham and his buddies we have been blessed in recent years in ever increasing numbers and range expansion of the majority of our raptors (albeit sadly not in all cases Honey Buzzard seems to be on the decline as a breeding bird in UK). Perhaps we have reached a natural saturation point based on available hunting/nesting habitat and food supply?

I too have noticed, particularly in the case of peregrines, far fewer sightings this year. Hopefully this is just part of the natural cycle of predator/prey self regulation and not an early indicator of something more sinister going on.

 

[trw]

I use to visit cumbria a lot when I was a youngster with my father he came from carlisle and we used to travel far and wide when visiting and stopping with relations there, I always found it quite and peaceful then on the coast and coastal towns I was more into sea fishing with my father at that time but the tranquility of the area and open spaces I never forget and always found The people friendly a nice mix to have, If I,m truthful a foundation stone leading to some of my Interests today.

There are still some peaceful places up here,if you know where to find them.
Just been on the Kent Estuary again and there was just one of the young Peregrines around this morning[two Kestrel as well].
Apart from Peregrines the other success story locally is the Ospreys breeding at Foulshaw Moss,adjacent to the estuary.Three chicks this year.
Another bird of prey I see more often is the Marsh Harrier which visit us from Leighton Moss.I've seen the male twice recently on the Estuary and several times at the newly created wetland in the nearby Lyth valley.
Buzzards seem to be doing well.There was a report in the Cumbria Bird report of a cyclist seeing 25 on a cycle ride from Kirkby Lonsdale to Killington,not a great distance.
This doesn't surprise me as I often see good numbers in that area.
I know of several areas where I am more or less guaranteed to see Sparrowhawks at some stage during my regular visits.
Its not all doom and gloom.

 

[Owene]

I used to see sparrowhawks regularly when I was in Kirkby Lonsdale and saw my first osprey in Cumbria so not all bad, spent some time in north yorks and Northumberland recently without seeing a single raptor

 

[Goneandhopefullyforgotten]

Nice to have seen three Peregrines together. I've only ever seen two.

I see them a lot whilst driving trains over the Kent and Leven viaducts. They quite often perch on the viaduct railings and only fly off at the last moment so I sometimes get nice close views. (It's a shame though that the speed limit on the viaducts was increased from 30 to 60 mph a few years ago as I now get far less time for wildlife watching!).

I see large numbers of Kestrels, Sparrowhawks and Buzzards too and saw a Merlin on the saltmarsh beside the Leven a few days ago.

 

[trw]

Nice to have seen three Peregrines together. I've only ever seen two.

I see them a lot whilst driving trains over the Kent and Leven viaducts. They quite often perch on the viaduct railings and only fly off at the last moment so I sometimes get nice close views. (It's a shame though that the speed limit on the viaducts was increased from 30 to 60 mph a few years ago as I now get far less time for wildlife watching!).

I see large numbers of Kestrels, Sparrowhawks and Buzzards too and saw a Merlin on the saltmarsh beside the Leven a few days ago.

Not surprising you see these birds of prey on your travels in that area.They seem to be doing well around there.It's a hotspot for fishing Osprey from Foulshaw Moss too.
Sparrowhawk seen to be doing particulary well around there.They are regulary seen around Hevesham Moss and I saw two hunting together near Halforth last year.