Abseiling rangers create new peregrine eyrie in Kielder

16/12/2008 14:56:05 Kielder Water & Forest Park wildlife rangers have come to the aid of the peregrine falcon - until recently one of the most persecuted birds in Britain.

December 2008.The Forestry Commission has sent in a specially trained team to excavate a new nesting site on the side of a sheer rock face in the 62,000-hectare (155,000-acre) Northumberland woodland, Kielder Forest. The work has been done to replace a natural stony ledge, which crumbled away due to erosion earlier this year, threatening what had been a highly successful nesting site over recent years. Crowbars were used to chip away at the rock, creating a spacious new ledge which has been covered with turf.

Peregrine nests
Peregrines build their nests, or eyries, on cliff-ledges, quarry faces, crags and sea-cliffs, where young are protected from predators. Kielder has 13 pairs and last summer seven of these bred, producing a dozen chicks, all of which were ringed before they fledged allowing experts to keep tabs on their welfare. The local population is now stable after fighting back from the brink of extinction just a few years ago. They are one of the swiftest birds in the world, swooping on their prey at speeds of over 110mph.

Tom Dearnley, Forestry Commission Ecologist, said: "The peregrine is a Kielder success story thanks to careful monitoring and conservation measures. It was a bit of a blow when the rock ledge crumbled, because it's been a very good and productive nest site. But the new ledge does the job and hopefully will provide a base for more chicks to get a good start in life next spring."

Peregrine falcon, and chick. Credit Forestry Commission.

Legally protected
The peregrine is a "schedule one" species, meaning it enjoys the highest legal protection from disturbance. Egg theft, persecution and the use of pesticides all contributed to its previous downfall. Indeed so rare did the bird become that when a pair nested in Kielder in the early 1990s a 24-hour security operation was mounted to protect the site, similar to the operation staged nearby over the past two years for hen harriers.

Abseiling
Philip Spottiswood, Chief Wildlife Ranger, added: "The project was only possible because we have a small team of wildlife rangers intensively trained in climbing and abseiling skills. Since Kielder was planted in 1926 it has become a haven for bats, red squirrels and birds of prey. But as the forest matures, we need to scale the trees to keep an eye on them all and undertake conservation tasks. It takes a head for heights, but you get a great view from the top."