What do Peregrine Falcons eat?

What do Peregrine Falcons eat? It might be easier to ask what don’t they eat? Here’s a list of kills reported based on avian remains and feathers at the foot of the tall buildings frequented by the Cambridge Peregrines:

Bar-tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black-tailed Godwit, Carrion Crow, Collared Dove, Feral Pigeon (Stock Dove), Fieldfare, Golden Plover, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Grey Partridge, House Sparrow, Moorhen, Redwing, Robin, Shoveller Duck, Starling, Teal, Woodcock.

The Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) is the world’s fastest animal. It stoops on its prey from way above and has been recorded as reaching speeds of an incredible 300 kilometres per hour. It basically slams into its prey to kill it and carries it off to a perch where it will pluck the bird before eating. It will also cache chunks of prey on tall buildings around its territory to eat later or for feeding nesting partner, and later chicks.

 

Glossy Ibis looking glossier

UPDATE: Breeding season 2023. In 2022, I mentioned the hope and possibility of Glossies breeding in the UK. This happened in 2023.

I’ve mentioned the Glossy Ibis many times before, there are still several in and around our local patch and almost 200 estimated to be across the British Isles. There were just four at a place where I’ve seen seven recently, but that’s fine. Four is better than zero.

They were all looking rather glossy, which is presumably in time for the breeding season. Whether or not these birds actually breed here is another matter. There is a breeding colony in Spain, but this African/Mediterranean species has been extending its range and hanging around the British Isles recently, but no reports of breeding or attempts at breeding just yet.

Maybe 2022 could be the year for it! Certainly, other recent acquisitions like Cattle, Great White, and Little Egret are in on the act.

Eurasian Crane, Grus grus

I’ve talked about the Common, or Eurasian, Crane on the Sciencebase site before, there are increasing numbers of this bird to be seen on our East Anglian patch, and that’s a very positive, natural thing.

There is something quite primaeval about the species. Snapped here with a 600mm Sigma zoom on 2/3 crop sensor Canon 7Dii from about 370 metres. I didn’t know ahead of the visit that they were even there and snapped them when I saw them and left them to their own devices.

Aperture f/8 shutter speed 1/1579s, ISO 1000. RAW image imported with Rawtherapee, denoised and sharpened in Topaz DeNoize AI, and final output tweaked with PaintShop Pro. Cropped to 40% original pixel-width.

Smithy Fen Birding

UPDATE: October 2023. Despite recent heavy rains the patch of farmland, on which birders (Ian and Brendan) had ticked 160+ species, has remained unflooded so far this season. I suspect the drainage along the fields and/or the adjacent travellers’ site have been fixed. So, it was fun while it lasted and maybe it will happen again, but it seems that for the timebeing we are not going to have quite the birding on that patch as we did last winter and the previous couple of seasons, unfortunately. So much for creating a protected birdlife area.


Over the last year or more (2020-2022), a patch of farmland known, as Bullock’s Haste, which lies on the outskirts of our village has been perpetually flooded. Incredibly, over two winters it has attracted a greater and greater diversity of bird species who have spent time there feeding, preening, and roosting.

Two friends dedicated to the citizen science cause of birding (Brendan Doe and Ian Ellis) have observed and catalogued (on eBird) more than 150 species there in that time. I cannot claim to have seen even a fraction of that number there, although I have seen a good many of the “ticked” species in various other places and several of them at this site. There are a few other named spotters on the list who have ticked several species, but Doe and Ellis have done the bulk of this excellent work.

Here’s the list as it stands, in alphabetical order. I have removed terms such as Eurasian, European, Northern, and Western from these vernacular names to simplify things. You can visit the eBird list to get alternative formats. As you will see, there are a few fairly rare and unusual visitors on the list:

Arctic Tern
Barn Owl
Barn Swallow
Bewick’s Swan
Blackbird
Blackcap
Black-headed Gull
Black-tailed Godwit
Blue Tit
Brambling
Bullfinch
Buzzard
Canada Goose
Carrion Crow
Caspian Gull
Cetti’s Warbler
Chaffinch
Chiffchaff
Coal Tit
Collared Dove
Coot
Corn Bunting
Cuckoo
Curlew
Curlew Sandpiper
Dunlin
Dunnock
Egyptian Goose
Fieldfare
Gadwall
Garden Warbler
Garganey
Glossy Ibis
Goldcrest
Golden Plover
Goldfinch
Goosander
Great Black-backed Gull
Great Cormorant
Great Crested Grebe
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Great Tit
Great White Egret
Green Sandpiper
Green Woodpecker
Greenfinch
Greenshank
Green-winged Teal
Grey Heron
Grey Partridge
Grey Plover
Grey Wagtail
Greylag Goose
Greylag Goose (Domestic type) x Canada Goose (hybrid)
Greylag x Canada Goose (hybrid)
Hawfinch
Hen Harrier
Herring Gull
Hobby
House Martin
House Sparrow
Iceland Gull
Jack Snipe
Jackdaw
Jay
Kestrel
Kingfisher
Lapwing
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Lesser Redpoll
Lesser Whitethroat
Linnet
Little Egret
Little Grebe
Little Owl
Little Ringed Plover
Little Stint
Long-tailed Tit
Magpie
Mallard
Marsh Harrier
Meadow Pipit
Mediterranean Gull
Merlin
Mistle Thrush
Moorhen
Mute Swan
Nuthatch
Oystercatcher
Pectoral Sandpiper
Peregrine Falcon
Pheasant
Pied Avocet
Pied Flycatcher
Pied Wagtail/White Wagtail
Pink-footed Goose
Pintail
Pochard
Raven
Red Kite
Red-crested Pochard
Red-legged Partridge
Redshank
Redwing
Reed Bunting
Reed Warbler
Ringed Plover
Robin
Rock Dove
Rock Pipit
Rook
Ruff
Sand tin
Sanderling
Sandpiper
Sedge Warbler
Shelduck
Shoveler
Siskin
Skylark
Snipe
Song Thrush
Sparrowhawk
Spoonbill
Spotted Flycatcher
Spotted Redshank
Starling
Stock Dove
Stonechat
Swift
Tawny Owl
Temminck’s Stint
Tern
Tree Pipit
Tufted Duck
Turtle Dove
Water Rail
Wheatear
Whimbrel
Whinchat
Whitethroat
Whooper Swan
Wigeon
Willow Warbler
Wood Sandpiper
Woodcock
Woodpigeon
Wren
Yellow Wagtail
Yellowhammer
Yellow-legged Gull

UPDATE: 11 April 2022 – Little Gull has turned up

Kingfisher Bridge Spoonbills again

We ate the Spoonbill to extinction in the British Isles in the 17thC. But re-creating lost habitat, conservation work, and a reintroduction scheme is seeing their numbers crawling back.

North Norfolk is a good place to see them these days, but they’re also spreading their wings. Four have been present on one of our fenland nature reserves for weeks now, we saw them on a dull day back in the middle of winter. Kingfisher’s Bridge Nature Reserve.

Out of covid isolation at last, I thought I’d pay them another visit and was told by a birder (might have been a warden) that they weren’t around right now. Ten minutes later, two flew off the main lake and right over my head.

Normally Norfolk

We do like to be beside the seaside, especially the North Norfolk seaside. We took the opportunity for a couple of days of long walks there. Sad that our pooch is no longer with us, but it meant we managed almost 20 miles of tramping over two days.

Hopping Oystercatcher, Snettisham
…and, taking flight
Sanderlings snuggling on Snettisham beach
…and also taking flight
Turnstone having a plodge in between stone-turning sessions
Backlit Curlew in flight near Heacham, Norfolk
One of dozens of Brent Geese over Heacham
Tucked-up Teal
Titchwell Dunlin
Grey Plover, RSPB Titchwell
Little Grebe, RSPB Titchwell
Pintail, RSPB Titchwell
A coupla Curlew
Red Kite with carrion evading Marsh Harrier
Shelduck, RSPB Titchwell
Wild Ken Hill
Holkham
Lady Anne Drive, Holkham

We did attempt to spot the juvenile White-tailed (Sea) Eagle that is jaunting between Cley and Stiffkey at the moment. It is a released bird from the Isle of Wight reintroduction scheme.

Glossy Ibis in the Fens

Regular readers will know I’ve mentioned the Glossy Ibises that have seemingly taken up residence on our patch during the last year or more. There were three on the flooded farmland adjacent to Earith roundabout for a long time last winter. These are African/Mediterranean birds that seem to be spreading their wings more and more (see also Great White Egret, Little Egret, Cattle Egret). The Glossies we’re seeing here may well be hopping across from a breeding colony in Southern Spain, while the GWEs may be feeding on red crayfish in the lakes of northern France and then hopping across The Channel.

Anyway, there are now seven Glossies feeding and preening at RSPB Berry Fen just up the road from Earith. Happily, they were “showing well” from the footpaths in the sunshine today. I did a bit of photographic enhancement of this shot to show how the natural colours might show given even brighter African sunlight.

North Norfolk New Year

TL:DR – Diary item from New Year trip to North Norfolk in 2022.


Mrs Sciencebase and myself often run away to the north Norfolk coast, originally it was just the quickest route to the beach for us, but then we started looking out for aves and this part of the country is so rich in birdlife you can’t help but visit again and again. On our short trip to Morston Quay between Xmas and New Year, we “ticked” more than 60 bird species, not counting the dozen or so extras on Blakeney Duck Pond. Here are a few scenic shots and some of the birds.

Morston Quay
On the way to Blakeney
Morston Quay
Morston Quay at dawn
Morston Quay
Wells-next-the-Sea
Morston Quay
Morston Quay at dusk
Morston Quay
Male Pintail, Blakeney Duck Pond
Female Goldeneye, Blakeney Duck Pond
Barnacle Goose, Blakeney Duck Pond
Cormorants, Blakeney
Male Goldeneye, Blakeney Duck Pond
One of 100 or so Curlew we saw, this one in Blakeney
Male Goldeneye, Blakeney Duck Pond
Grey Seal, Wells-next-the-Sea
70+ Snow Buntings, Holkham Gap (not all of them pictured!)
One of four Shore Larks at Holkham Gap, first time we’ve seen this species
1000s of Pink-footed Geese over Morston Quay (not all of them pictured!)

1. Bar-tailed Godwit
2. Barn Owl
3. Black-headed Gull
4. Black-tailed Godwit
5. Blackbird
6. Black Brant Goose
7. Blue Tit
8. Brent Goose
9. Buzzard
10. Canada Goose
11. Cetti’s Warbler (call)
12. Collared Dove
13. Common Gull
14. Coot
15. Cormorant
16. Curlew
17. Dunlin
18. Dunnock
19. Goldcrest (call)
20. Great Black-backed Gull
21. Great Tit
22. Greylag Goose
23. Herring Gull
24. House Sparrow
25. Jackdaw
26. Kestrel
27. Knot
28. Lapwing
29. Linnet
30. Little Egret
31. Little Grebe
32. Long-tailed Tit
33. Magpie
34. Mallard
35. Marsh Harrier
36. Meadow Pipit
37. Mute Swan
38. Oystercatcher
39. Pheasant
40. Pied Wagtail
41. Pink-footed Goose
42. Red Kite
43. Red-throated Diver
44. Redshank
45. Reed Bunting (call)
46. Robin
47. Sanderling
48. Shelduck
49. Shorelark
50. Shoveler
51. Skylark
52. Snow Bunting
53. Sparrowhawk
54. Starling
55. Teal
56. Tufted Duck
57. Water Pipit
58. Whooper Swan
59. Wigeon
60. Wood Pigeon
61. Wren

Sunny Suffolk – Lackford Lakes

Paid just our second visit of the year to Lackford Lakes Nature Reserve in the hope of seeing the Siskins that had been reported there this week. We stopped off at the ringing hut where two of the Suffolk Wildlife Trust team had netted various birds (Treecreeper, Blue, Great and Marsh Tits, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Robin, and others) and were carefully recording the recatches and ringing any new catches for their conservation efforts.

So, what did we see on the day? 46 species not in order of sighting but loosely grouped:

  1. Siskin
  2. Goldfinch
  3. Redpoll
  4. Great Tit
  5. Blue Tit
  6. Long-tailed Tit
  7. Coal Tit
  8. Marsh Tit
  9. Dunnock
  10. Chaffinch
  11. Robin
  12. Nuthatch
  13. Wren
  14. Treecreeper
  15. Blackbird
  16. Song Thrush
  17. Starling
  18. Lapwing
  19. Green Woodpecker
  20. Sparrowhawk
  21. Common Buzzard
  22. Kestrel
  23. Cormorant
  24. Goldeneye
  25. Mallard
  26. Tufted Duck
  27. Gadwall
  28. Wigeon
  29. Pochard
  30. Shelduck
  31. Shoveller
  32. Little Grebe
  33. Moorhen
  34. Coot
  35. Greylag Goose
  36. Canada Goose
  37. Egyptian Goose
  38. Grey Heron
  39. Black-headed Gull
  40. Lesser Black-backed Gull
  41. Great Black-backed Gull
  42. Jay
  43. Rook
  44. Jackdaw
  45. Wood Pigeon
  46. Collared Dove
Treecreeper being ringed
Treecreeper being ringed
Treecreeper
Treecreeper
Robin
Robin
Blue Tit
Blue Tit
Marsh Tit
Marsh Tit
Male Siskin (left) and what looks like two Redpolls)
Male Siskin (left) and what looks like two Redpolls). There were a couple of dozen Siskins around.

Birds spread their wings

A Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) flew into Berry Fen when we visited a couple of days ago to settle among the eight Little Egrets feeding there. In so doing it spooked two of the six Glossy Ibis that were feeding on the edge of a flooded area and they flew off to join four others of that species.

Cattle Egret over Berry Fen near Earith, Cambridgeshire, October 2021. Sixteen of this species seen there, the following day (county record)

Apparently, there were fifteen additional Cattle Egret in a flock on the same patch the day after we visited, which is the largest recorded gathering of this species in Cambridgeshire. A county record, in other words. The bird is ostensibly an African species that has been extending its range over the last decade or two because of habitat opportunity and climate change.

UPDATE: There were a record 57 Cattle Egret at this site at the beginning of November. I have also now seen four at RSPB Ouse Fen on the Reedbed Trail side close to Over.

Spoonbill

UPDATE: Four Spoonbills at Kingfisher Bridge Nature Reserve during November 2021. 15 February 2022: Spoonbill at Smithy Fen.

Great White Egret, one of half a dozen seen at RSPB Fen Drayton, December 2020

Back in the early 1990s when we visited Botswana and Zimbabwe we saw lots of egrets and then were very surprised to see one or two on the North Norfolk coast in subsequent years. Little Egrets are, almost 30 years later rather commonplace. Similarly, the Great White Egret is seen in many parts now and a sighting is no longer considered particularly notable. I heard that part of the reason is that there is an abundance of red swamp crayfish in the lakes of northern France which have provided a food source and hopping off point for this species. The presence of at least a couple of dozen Glossy Ibis on our patch during the last year or so, may similarly be due to individuals spreading their wings from a known breeding colony in Southern Spain. The experts may know more, but I don’t think anyone knows for sure.

Glossy Ibis feeding on farmland adjacent to the River Cam at Chesterton, just outside Cambridge, Spring 2021