Our peregrines - the first 20 years

 

We set up the Derby Cathedral Peregrine Project back in 2006 when we realised a pair of peregrine falcons were attempting to breed on the tower of the cathedral, but could find no suitable ledge amongst the ornate stonework large or flat enough to accommodate them.

We have watched over them ever since, noted the key events in their lives and tried to share these moments with everyone, be it via this blog our out on the street below their nest site.

And, of course, we have also fretted along with so many webcam watchers over the problems they encounter in the natural course of their lives.   

As we look back over those last twenty years and forwards -  we hope - to the next twenty, we thought we would bring up to date all our key data into one huge table. It shows how many eggs, chicks and fledglings there have been, and the numbers of all those we have ringed.

• Eggs laid: 75
• Chicks hatched: 60
• Birds fledged: 57
• Webcam views: 5.9 million 
• Blog posts: 847 separate blog posts
• Comments left:  25,900 comments

We are still adding to the 'Key Events' section of this table, which is where we thought you might wish to help us. Feel free to tell us of the key moments you've witnessed, or read about on this blog. It may be the time we watched a rat being fed to the chicks, or the snowy week during the egg laying season when we lowered a hot water bottle on a rope in a futile attempt to clear the nest platform of snow!

Leave a comment and a link to the relevant blog post and we'll select the most appropriate ones to add to the table below. 

EVENT	2026	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010	2009	2008	2007	2006
Mating Observed?	15 March	no reports	no reports	11 March	no reports	no reports	no reports	no reports	22, 24 March	no reports	no reports	no reports	no reports	no reports	1, 10 March	16, 24 March	15 March	8,15,16, 22 March	12,13 March	21 March	no reports
1st Egg Laid	no breeding in 2026	10 March ?pm	17 March c11pm	18 March 07:30am	9 March	c.15 March	no breeding in 2020	1 April 01:00am	31 March	5 April 06:30am	28 March 13:00pm	29 March 14:15pm	29 March	4 April	29 March	2 April	24 March 5am	23 March	28 March	3 April	no cams
2nd Egg Laid	no breeding in 2026	13 March	20 March early am	20 March	12 March	17 March	no breeding in 2020	4 April	2 April 18:20pm	7 April 13:15pm	30 March 19:00pm	31 March 19:30pm	31 March	6 April	31 March	4 April	26 March 2pm	26 March	31 March	?	no cams
3rd Egg Laid	no breeding in 2026	15 March	23 March 4am	c23 March	14 March	21 March	no breeding in 2020	uncertain	6 April 07:00am	9 April 22:30pm	2 April 08:00am	3 April 04:20am	2 April	9 April	2 April	6 April	28 March 11am	28 March	2 April	?	no cams
Last Egg Laid	no breeding in 2026	18 March	25 March 7am	26 March	17 March	24 March	no breeding in 2020	uncertain	9 April 12:30am	11 April 08:15am	4 April 08:15am	5 April 13:30am	05 April	11 April	5 April	9 April	31 March 7am	31 March 3am	04 April	09 April	no cams
First Egg Hatches	no breeding in 2026	19 April 11pm	27 April	27 April	18 April	22 April 10am	no breeding in 2020	13 May	8 May 12:30pm	13 May	3 May	5 May	3 May	10 May	5 May	9 May	1 May	29 April	4 May	8 May	no cams
Ringing Date	no breeding in 2026	8 May	14 May	NOT RINGED	6 May	18 May	n/a	10 June	30 May	no ringing in 2017	n/a	24 May	23 May	29 May	25 May	30 May	no ringing in 2010	20 May	26 May	1 June	not ringed
First Fledging	no breeding in 2026	29 May	4 June (fell!)	12 June	27 - 29 May	4 June (?)	no breeding in 2020	28 June	16 June	?	16 June	17 June	11-22 June	19-22 June	14-17 June	18-22 June	14-16 June	9-11 June	11 June	23 June	7 July
No of Eggs (Laid - Hatched - Fledged)	no breeding in 2026	4 - 2 - 2	4 - 3 - 3	4 - 1 - 1	4 - 3 - 3	4 - 3 - 3	0 - 0 - 0	4 - 2 - 2	4 - 3 - 3	4 - 3 - 3	4 - 4 - 4	4 - 3 - 3	4 - 4 - 3	4 - 4 - 4	4 - 4 - 4	4 - 4 - 4	4 - 4 - 2	4 - 4 - 4	4 - 4 - 4	4 - 2 - 2	3? - 3 - 3
Ring 1	no breeding in 2026	Orange XLN (Female)	Orange XRL (Male)	no ringing in 2023	Orange XJ (Male)	Orange 042 (F)	no breeding in 2020	Orange 040 (Female)	Orange 033 (Female)	no ringing in 2017	no ringing in 2016	Orange 030 (Female)	Orange 026 (Female?)	Orange 021 (Male)	Orange 016 (Male)	Orange 012 (Female)	no ringing in 2010	Orange 008 (Male)	Orange 003 (Female)	Orange 001 (Female)	Male not ringed
Ring 2	no breeding in 2026	Orange XNN (Male)	Orange XSL (Female)	n/a	Orange XK (Female)	Orange 043 (M)	no breeding in 2020	Orange 041 (Male)	Orange 034 (Female)	no ringing in 2017	no ringing in 2016	Orange 031 (Female)	Orange 027 (Female?)	Orange 022 (Male)	Orange 018 (Male)	Orange 013 (Female)	no ringing in 2010	Orange 009 (Female)	Orange 004 (Male)	Orange 002 (Female)	Female not ringed
Ring 3	no breeding in 2026	n/a	Orange XTL (Female)	n/a	Orange XL (Male)	Orange 044 (F)	no breeding in 2020	n/a	Orange 035 (Male)	no ringing in 2017	no ringing in 2016	Orange 032 (Male)	Orange 028 (Male?)	Orange 023 (Female)	Orange 019 (Female)	Orange 014 (Female)	no ringing in 2010	Orange 010 (Female)	Orange 005 (Male)	n/a	Female not ringed
Ring 4	no breeding in 2026	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	no breeding in 2020	n/a	n/a	no ringing in 2017	no ringing in 2016	n/a	n/a	Orange 024 (Male)	Orange 020 (Male)	Orange 015 (Male)	no ringing in 2010	Orange 011 (Male)	Orange 007 (Male)	n/a	n/a
Sex ratio Male:Female	n/a	1M 1F	1M 2F	1M	2M 1F	1M 2F	n/a	1M 1F	1M 2F	2 M 1F?	3F 1M	1M 2F	1M? 2F?	3M 1F	3M 1F	1M 3F	2F	2M 2F	3M 2F	2F	1M 2F
Rescues Required	n/a	0	0	1 (Male)	2 (XJ & XL)	1	no breeding in 2020	2	1	2	0	1 (031)	0	0	0	1 (012)	0	0	3 (003,005,007)	0	1
Key Events:	New nest box sited on tower roof Feb '26.	Adult Female dies of bird flu in December. New female arrives within 2 weeks.		New male takes over (with no silver leg ring) New female takes over. Only 1 egg hatches: Male		Pure white egg laid (did not hatch)	No breeding. No internet connection due to Covid. Adult male with silver ring bonds with sub-adult female. Dried up adult male corpse found on roof.	No webcams due to loss of internet connectivity. Same male rescued twice.	Blog discrepancy suggesting male died, but the only male is 035 who paired up in Belper in 2020-2022!	No ringing; nave roof being repaired. New adult male takes over (with silver ring on left leg.)	No chicks ringed. New nest platform installed 20 December.	Female 030 subsequently overwintering at Rutland Water 2015/2016.	A young chick dies in nest before ringing.	New IP camera installed.	More video evidence of night-time hunting. 3year HLF grant to support public engagement.	Male 015 subsequently seen at Doncaster Minster in 2016	none ringed. 2 chicks die in nest. A 'world first' video capturing night-time hunting of live prey.	009 later found dead in Derby. Sent for taxidermy. 010 injured and kept by local falconer who named her 'Cathy	Four fledged	Webcams installed. Video of a rat being fed to the chicks. Two fledged.	Nest platform erected on 5th April 2006. No chicks were ringed.

Finally, we should add a note about the future of the Peregrine Project:

Having established and watched over this site for 20 years, we are obviously disappointed that the peregrines did not breed this year. Talking to Ed Drewitt - the UK's expert on urban peregrine falcons - it's evident that this can and does happen at many nest sites from time to time, but he's encouraged that the new female and her longer established mate are evidently still faithful to the tower. It's great that commenters are still saying they're seeing or hearing peregrines from time to time. They clearly haven't abandoned the Cathedral to nest elsewhere, and we stand by the actions we've taken, not only in their best interests, but also for the future longevity of the Derby Cathedral Peregrine Project.

Edge view of the old 18mm OSB platform base,
 showing how moisture had entered and caused it to fail in November 2025.

 

Before too long, we intend to carefully remove the rest of the old, unusable nest platform which had degraded to a pretty parlous condition by the end of last year. This will leave the birds with just the new box on the tower roof for the 2027 breeding season and beyond. Both we and Ed believe that by then they will almost certainly take to it as the only real nesting opportunity on the tower. But, in the unlikely event that they should fail to utilise it, we will then look to return to the old design which involves considerable technical skills and regular commitment by specialists to install and maintain. We hope our new, free-standing  box should ensure the long-term future of these wild peregrines breeding on Derby Cathedral and be far easier and simpler for anyone to manage and look after, long into the future.
 

There will be an opportunity later in the year for you to take part in a sponsored abseil off the top of the tower to raise funds for Rainbows Hospice and get a sense of what dangling off the tower feels like.
But, as always, we have to thank the incredible staff at Derby Cathedral for their support and desire to see - and indeed, hear - peregrine falcons breeding again on the most important and iconic building in  Derby City.

The Project Team
The project is run by Nick Brown and Nick Moyes, and is overseen and managed by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust with support from The Cathedral and the IT team at Derby City Council.

 

What else to watch while we wait?

As the season progresses, it does seem gradually less and less likely that the Derby Cathedral peregrines will adopt the new nest box that we needed to build for them. This is obviously frustrating for everyone involved with the Project Team who've committed so much time and effort in caring for our birds, not only this year, but over the last 20 years. We know it's frustrating for many of you, too - our dedicated webcam watchers and blog readers.

Along the way, we have tried to address many of the concerns and sensible suggestions that some of you have made on the comments section so that you appreciate the reasoning behind the actions of our volunteer team. 

Meanwhile, there are many opportunities to watch other webcams focused on different bird species around the country, and to learn more about their lives and perhaps return to the Derby web cams for next season.

Here are some links to a few live cams in the UK of  other species that you may find of interest. A few have no sound and all are best watched during daylight hours. Feel free to add a comment with a link to your own personal favourite wildlife webcam.

                                  The (introduced) white storks at the Knepp Estate in Sussex:

The ospreys nesting at Rutland Water:

The exciting spoonbill colony in North Norfolk:

The white tailed eagles nesting in the Outer Hebrides:

A goshawk nest at Loch Garten in the Cairngorms:

and a barn owl nest in Yorkshire:

There are many more, especially of ospreys and peregrines  as you will know.
If not, search for them on You Tube.

Incidentally, peregrines nesting in UK towns and cities have increased massively in the last 20 years.
There are now nesting urban peregrines in almost every English county with as many as 50 pairs nesting in Greater London!
Nest success rates are higher than those in the countryside where threats from egg and chick thieves and from deliberate persecution still occur every year.
To learn more about the persecution of raptors like eagles, peregrines and hen harriers in the UK, check out the excellent Raptor Persecution blog: Raptor Persecution UK .

The Project Team

Still around

It was all cracking off at the cathedral earlier this afternoon just before 2 pm. With what looked like the female on the nest platform, the other adult repeatedly flew around the tower, not calling, but often veering off to range far out across the River Derwent to the east before returning again. It looked like he was carrying food but seemed reluctant to land with it.

Suddenly, a third peregrine arrived on the scene and pretty soon all three were in the air. It was hard to see which was which, but pretty soon the interloper disappeared. Interestingly, one adult then flew back to the tower, landing in a very small alcove on the top left-hand side above the bell tower louvres. This tiny space was precisely where, back in 2006, our peregrines first made a futile attempt to nest and which resulted in the Cathedral permitting us to install the tower ledge platform for them.
Soon after that both birds left the cathedral and headed out eastwards, rapidly disappearing out of sight.
It's encouraging that they can still both easily be seen from below even when it may appear that one, or indeed none, are visible in our web cameras.

Since mating was observed on 15th March, our pair of peregrine falcons, with its new female, seem to have been constantly teasing us all. It seems that on many nights, one or other of the adults has often spent at least a few hours roosting on the frame of the old nest platform. As yet we've no evidence that either bird has visited the new nest box that we finished installing in early March. Obviously this is quite frustrating, although it's still fairly early on the their breeding cycle, and it's heartening how many of you have been monitoring our webcams closely in the hope of spotting or hearing a visiting bird. And many of you have left a wide and really interesting range of comments, questions and observations.

We're slowly getting used to the new sounds heard over the camera's inbuilt microphone. Most noticeably, we hear the constant slapping of the flagpole cord against the tall fibreglass flagpole. Then there's the wind noise and the banging of the framework against the stone parapet which sometimes sounds like the scrabbling of claws over the woodwork. But, as yet, this hasn't proven to be so. 

Earlier this week, Andrew Brooks sent us the photo below of a peregrine perched on the stone parapet near our new box, which is certainly a positive sign!

Addendum: We have made a few small changes which have been mentioned in recent comments, and are repeated here for clarity. 

Firstly, a few weighty lumps of slate have been scattered across the front ‘landing stage’ area. Why? Well, why not? Peregrine ledges are rarely flat and level, so we wondered if this might help.

Secondly, we’ve masked off the peregrine head in our logo on the back of the new nest box. Will this make a difference? Who knows, but a few commenters have wondered if it might. So we acted on that.

Thirdly, some foam padding (= pipe insulation) has been stapled on where the side panels meet against the stonework in a bid to reduce the clattering heard over the microphone on windy days. You can decide for yourself whether it works! Finally, on or two of you have commented on the constantly flagpole cord on the tower roof, and suggested it is off-putting to the birds. We very much doubt that as we have seen them ignore both bells and people once they know they pose no threat. But we will be working up an idea and a design to present to the Cathedral which might theoretically reduce the wear on the flagpole ropes caused by the wind and which would also reduce the flapping sounds.

The Project Team

This project is managed by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust staff and volunteers with great support from the Cathedral staff and the city council's IT team.

Mating observed

 Despite there being no evidence as yet that our pair of Peregrine Falcons have discovered the new nest box we’ve constructed, there are nevertheless positive signs our birds are not abandoning the cathedral site.

On most nights we have been seeing the female roosting on the crossbar of the old platform (we removed the collapsing base earlier this month).

Most positively, keen webcam watcher, Wendy Bartter, captured the clip below of the pair mating on 15th of March. These moments are inevitably brief and infrequently seen, and even less frequently captured on film.

And HERE are a few other mating sequences from past years on our own YouTube channel.

We can only hope that the urge to egg lay will drive our birds to look for suitable sites somewhere else on the Cathedral Tower. We know they’re really aren’t any,  back in 2006 that was the whole rationale for us constructing an egg laying platform for them to use. It was installed on 5th April 2006.

It took them a couple of weeks to find it in that first year, and eggs were laid there around 21st April. The rest as they say is history and Derby Cathedral has seen 57 Peregrine chicks fledge from the tower since that time.

We also know that a pair of peregrines at St Albans, whose eggs were unlawfully trampled on by a worker on the roof in 2025, started laying a second clutch on 4th May. 

So, we've not given up hope by any means, and you shouldn't either! We know that, as at 20th March,  one of the adults is still roosting for part of most nights on the old platform, visible in Nest Cam 2. Also on Friday 20th March we captured this clp of the falcon on the old nest patform who flies off to greet the male who is calling with food above her. He lands on the platform with a processed prey item, which she then proceeds to consume with gusto. All still very promising. 

So keep watching and do continue leaving your interesting comments for us all to see.

BTW: Should you wish to, you can add a name or pseudonym when you post a comment here. Instead of posting just as 'Anonymous', you may wish to select 'Name/URL' and pop in a moniker of your choice. That way we'll all know if you're a regular commenter, or a first time visitor to the comments section and people can address the right person if more than question is posed. It's your choice!

Up and running - a new nest box for 2026!

Webcam view inside the new "tower top box"

This week, we finally completed work on the construction of our brand new peregrine falcon nest box. A live webcamera is also now operational there, too (SEE HERE).

The new "tower top box" nearing completion.

We first had to abseil down to the old platform to remove the collapsing base that was originally filled with heavy pea gravel. This essential task was needed to prevent the falcon attempting to lay eggs there, and to encourage them to find and relocate to our new nest site. Quite simply, any eggs would have rolled off had they tried to lay there. We also took away the main webcam (NEST CAM1) and repositioned it inside the new tower box.

Ecologist and experienced caver, Jess Eades,
helping to remove the old platform base (see video below).

Having spent the last three months planning, gaining approval and then building this new nest box, all we can do now is hope our pair of peregrines will find and start to use it. We can do no more.

Whatever happens next, we do expect to have to dismantle this new box come summer 2026 so that the Cathedral tower can have new boardwalking installed. We will then consider our options for subsequent nesting seasons, as it would be wonderful never to have to abseil down to ring the chicks again.

Looking out from the rear
of the new tower top box.

Design considerations: Of key concern to us was not to unduly impact the visual appearance of the Cathedral tower. For that reason we set back the box by a metre so as not to affect the iconic tower outline when seen from below. We also painted the exterior timbers so it would merge in better with the tower stonework. 

Timberwork near the nest that could potentially be nibbled by the nesting birds are made from untreated wood, whilst those more exposed to the elements, and less likely to be nibbled, are pre-treated against rot.

A hinged door has been built into the back of the nest box for maintenance and chick-ringing, whilst part of the 'landing platform' can also be lifted up for access should it be required. A small wide-angle door viewer was installed into the rear door so we can quickly check if any birds are present. 

Acknowledgments: We are obviously grateful to the Chapter of Derby Cathedral for their enthusiastic support for our Peregrine Project, and especially to Jessica Kilmurray, their Head of Operations, and all the vergers for handing over tower keys at a moment's notice.

Nick Evans has been a stalwart helper ever since he built our first (experimental) nest platform, way back in 2006. He built a replacement in 2010; removed all the gravel from the collapsing platform last November, and then helped us to construct our new design this year.

Thanks also to Anthony Pooles and Roger Lawson for their help as 'gofers', taking innumerable trips to carry timber and tools up to the tower roof, and to Jess Eades and Ian Ferguson for their help with the abseil this week.

Diane Gould at Derbyshire Wildlife Trust has been incredibly encouraging in her oversight of the Project.

Finally, thanks to all of you - our scattered band of webcam watchers and blog post perusers  - who give us so much feedback on what's happening, almost on an hour by hour basis. We know we can rely on you to keep us informed or to pose pertinent questions.

The Peregrine Project Team
(Nick Moyes & Nick Brown)

The Derby Cathedral Peregrine Project is managed by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust with its partners, the Cathedral and the City Council's IT team.

National Nestbox Week

Today, Saturday 21st, is the last day of this year's National Nestbox Week.  So we thought we'd pop up to announce that we've now completed our new, experimental peregrine falcon nestbox. 

Nick Moyes pokes his head up through 
the 'landing platform' on the new tower-top box.

It's been quite an effort, hauling tools and timber up the Cathedral tower and working up there in the cold wind. I'm extremely grateful to Nick Evans for his help and especially his carpentry skills without which the construction would have been so much harder. Thanks also to Anthony and Roger for their help in multiple ascents of all 189 steps, taking materials to the top of  the tower.

Rear view of the finished peregrine nest box.
A hinged back gives access for ringing and maintenance.

There are still a number of things to resolve, including lots of tidying up, and trying to set up a new camera in the box. (Note: We have still been without an internet connection for the last week, and are hoping to hear back soon from Derby City Council about fixing the issue). Most importantly, we need to schedule at least one maintenance abseil to remove the sagging base of our old nest platform on the side of the Cathedral tower. We don't want this to remain in place and encourage our birds to try to egg-lay there. We won't be able to do this until the first week of March, but in the meantime we look forward to hearing from anyone who sees peregrine activity from the street below that might indicate they have found this new, temporary home.

 

A landing platform with side 'blinkers' should prevent 
peregrines seeing anyone on the tower, or vice versa 
(unless perched above it, of course!).

See what the new box looks like from the ground - it's hardly visible is it - which was exactly what we wanted on a Grade 1 listed building:

View of the new nest box seen from below.

The box being set back from the stonework means that even the landing platform is barely visible. Spot the protruding pole on which we hope the adults will land before too long.

                                 

To read more about the issues that led to this temporary nest box on the tower roof, see our two previous posts HERE and HERE. 

This project is managed by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust with support from The Cathedral staff and from Derby City Council's IT team.

New nest box taking shape

 In between days of incessant February rain, we have been working hard on the design and construction of our brand new, experimental peregrine falcon nest box on the tower roof at Derby Cathedral.

Built in 1530, Derby’s stone tower will never have seen anything like this in all its long history. Nor indeed have we!  The previous post explains the rationale and design for this tower ‘top box’. 

Today, Nick Evans and Nick Moyes cut and fixed cladding all round the box that they built a few days ago, and with just the rear hinged door still to clad tomorrow. The framework was cross-braced for strength and rigidity, and a perch-cum-grip bar was fitted towards the front for young birds to hold on to for strengthening their wing muscles. And some 30kg of carefully washed pea gravel was placed in the nest box area, and more is due to be added later for additional stability

Nick Evans beside the partly completely 'top box'.

View looking outwards from beyond
the open rear door of the new nest box.

The box has been set back intentionally from the parapet out of respect for the Grade I listed status of Derby Cathedral. We didn't want this temporary construction to interfere unduly with the outline silhouette of the tower when seen from the street below - hence the long landing platform, open sides and perhaps its larger than necessary size. Time will tell if this approach is successful.

Our plan is then to cut a large hole into one of the side 'blinkers' to permit the installation of a new Axis IP camera that will look back into the nest from a position relatively low down. We think this would give a more natural view of any nesting birds, and any installed camera could then also then be removed and adjusted if necessary (assuming birds are not actually nesting at the time). We have also purchased an analogue nest box camera which should let us feed images directly back to the TV we have installed in the tower's Clock Chamber for use by our project team and the cathedral staff. 

It took over two days simply to haul all
the tools and materials up the 189 tower steps!

Once construction is completed, our plan is then (weather permitting!) to abseil down and remove the sagging base from the old nest platform, whilst leaving the main framework still in place. This will prevent our pair of well-bonded peregrines (with its new female) from attempting to egg-lay there, and we hope that they will discover the alternative location we are providing for them.

If you look closely at the dark timbers of the roof boardwalk, you may spot that they are seriously decayed and dangerous for general visitors to walk upon. For safety reasons, Derby Cathedral cannot allow Tower Tours for the public. But later in 2026 they hope to have raised sufficient funds to replace the rotting wooden boardwalk over the lead-covered tower roof. For that reason, our new 'top box' can only be a temporary construction for 2026. If successful in encouraging our peregrines to nest this year, we will need to re-apply for permission for a more permanent replacement from 2027 onwards once the boardwalk has been replaced. If successful, we will then completely remove the old tower platform, and never have to abseil down there again. Now, wouldn't that be wonderful?

We welcome any contribution to help keep our Peregrine Project running.
Please donate via THIS LINK.
Thank you.

The Project Team
This project is managed by Derbyshire Wildlfie Trust with great support from The Cathedral and from the City Council's IT team who help with connectivity.