More Peregrines Hatch at Ealing Hospital
Web cam shows that two chicks have survived through spring
The two fledglings are already nearly as large as their parents
June 1, 2023
Dusty and Freddy, Ealing Hospital’s resident peregrines, are proud parents again.
Four eggs were hatched earlier this year and web cam footage shows that two of the chicks have survived through the spring.
They are now being fed on a diet of pigeons and parakeets until they are big enough to fly themselves.
Ealing Wildlife Group (EWG) are monitoring their progress and recently were given access to the roof to put ID rings on their legs so the raptors can be recognised when they are old enough to fly the nest and start their own families.
The first chicks were born on the roof of the hospital were born last year with three spotted on a top floor window ledge on the north-eastern corner of the building after (EWG) installed a breeding box to encourage the pair to mate.
Peregrines, whose traditional habitat are cliff faces, began migrating to urban areas after facing near extinction from now banned pesticides in the 1950s.
They find tall buildings with largely inaccessible roof space an ideal home along with a ready supply of food in the shape of London’s pigeon and parakeet population.
Sean McCormark, Chair of EWG, said,“It is fantastic to see Dusty and Freddy have succeeded in raising chicks again since I originally installed the nest box in 2021. You can watch them on our live webcam now so a huge thanks to the hospital who welcomed the project, the council for funding the webcam and our licensed bird ringer so we can keep track of the peregrines’ journey as they get older and fly the nest.”
EWG’s 3,700 strong Facebook group regularly report sightings of wildlife in the borough including barn owls, hobby falcons, several types of bat and the rare great crested newt championed by former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone.
You can see watch how the birds of prey are getting on live at www.ealingwildlifegroup.com.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |