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.