Poisoned Peregrine Falcons

[Margaid]

You may have seen something about this on Springwatch but there were reports of a dead Peregrine Falcon in the Clee Hill Quarry in Shropshire with no sign of it's mate and probably a nest of chicks. When the rescue party got to the site they found the second dead adult near a dead pigeon and it's thought the birds were deliberately poisoned.
The story has a relatively happy ending in that the three chicks were saved and successfully fostered in other wild Peregrine Falcon nests including the nest on Salisbury Cathedral which has a web cam.

https://www.rspb.org.uk/groups/southwiltshire

 

[Marigold]

Excellent, thanks for that. This link is also about the rescue, https://www.rspb.org.uk/groups/southwiltshire/news/442478/
and that bit of video leads on to another on YouTube which has Go-Pro footage of a man abseiling down a cliff to rescue the chicks.

 

[dinosaw]

I presume this is rogue pigeon fanciers doing this, a lot of money now in breeding racing pigeons. They have now got sophisticated enough to not just be using poisoned bait but to send up 'kamikaze' pigeons smeared in poison.

 

[Hen-Gen]

Environmental Crime is the one thing that can send me into a rage. How dare they try and rob the next generation of such an iconic species. We expect those in exotic places to reach an accord with tigers, elephants and cheetahs and yet we can't coexist with a few raptors.
It makes me want to take a few sacks of poisoned grain and distribute it on grouse moors, near pigeon lofts etc were it not for the fact that the birds themselves have done no harm.

 

[dinosaw]

The sort of lunatics that do this are of the same mindset as those who burn down rival fanciers lofts (with the birds inside), every year that goes on too with a couple of the worse incidents making the papers. My brother in law has raced pigeons for nearly thirty years now, like most fanciers he's a decent normal person ,but crikey, some of them you wouldn't believe. The obsessional nature of them and the jealousy they have, doping their own birds and trying to 'fix' their rivals pigeons, attempting to cheat the time clocks, it's no surprise that some of them end up doing this sort of thing.

I find it amazing that they managed to place the chicks in other nests and they were accepted, well done to the RSPB.

 

[Marigold]

I find it amazing that they managed to place the chicks in other nests and they were accepted, well done to the RSPB.

It's a pity our Government couldn't manage to do the same for refugee children travelling alone, when the Calais camp was cleared.

 

[NicolsT]

We've been Peregrine wardens in Shropshire for a few years now, just resigned this year due to the imminent move to France. This isn't the first time. There was a poisoning on our patch last year, same MO.....pigeon. It is heartbreaking, especially if, like us, you are there rain or shine for weeks and weeks, watching them pair up, choose a nest site, lay, sit, and then start feeding the young. Best moment ever is fledging day. The rage I felt when we lost our female adult was totally personal, if I'd caught the B****ER I would have throttled him with my bare hands (and I'm only little!).

I have a certain sympathy for the pigeon fanciers, if chooks could fly better.....we'd be the ones losing our birds, but I agree with all (most) that has been said...the peregrine is very special.

 

[bigyetiman]

Quite agree NicolsT. That magic moment when the chicks fledge and fly off is so very special. After mornings standing in icy puddles watching for them to mate, then watching mum on the nest enduring everything nature can throw at her. (mine are on a pylon) so very exposed to the elements, plus I have to inform National Grid once they have mated as no one is allowed up the pylon or near it in a helicopter
It's tinged with sadness to as somehow they are not "yours" anymore.
I remember the first time they bred and that morning when the youngster fledged, mum took off calling and flew to a pylon behind me, still calling and the youngster took off and flew over me and joined her, I like to think that was a little thank you. doesn't matter how many times I see this every year is just as special.