Rare peregrine falcon chicks ringed

Wildlife experts ringed rare peregrine falcon chicks amid fears that poor weather and poaching have taken their toll.

Ornithologists working in Kielder Forest’s 155,000 acres are monitoring 11 nests in Northumberland’s most remote corner.

Numbers were so bad in the 1990s that nests were kept under 24-hour protection, and while things are much better now, conservationists are worried that last month’s storms have killed chicks.

Gales and lashing rain made it almost impossible for adults to hunt for food and some famished newly-hatched peregrine chicks perished.

Martin Davison, Forestry Commission ornithologist, said: “The bad weather couldn’t have come at a worse time.

“Young chicks have no body fat reserves and so need feeding soon after birth. One of the peregrine nests I’m monitoring has been reduced from three chicks to just one.

“And that little one only pulled through because mum fed it with the two dead chicks.”

There were also fears that nest raiding was back on the increase.

Mr Davison said last year three nests he checked, not on commission land, were raided for their eggs or chicks.

He said: “Back in the 1980s half of all peregrine nests in the county were raided by criminals searching for eggs or young birds.

“We are certainly not back to those desperate levels and the birds’ revival has been encouraging, but we can’t be complacent, as last year’s thefts show.”

Peregrines are one of the swiftest birds in the world, swooping on their prey at speeds of over 110 mph.

They often nest on rocky ledges to protect them from predators.