News

Peregrines drop in for 10th anniversary celebrations

The peregrines at the Scottish Wildlife Trust?s (SWT) Falls of Clyde Wildlife Reserve in New Lanark have returned once again marking their 10th anniversary of breeding on the site. The female has laid two eggs just in time for Easter on her eyrie nestled among the steep cliffs between Bonnington Linn and Corra Linn directly opposite the public viewing area making this site one of the best for seeing these magnificent birds and their offspring in the wild.

Since 1997 these majestic wild birds, the fastest living creatures on the planet have been enthralling visitors to the Falls of Clyde. Thanks to ?Operation Peregrine? which was launched this year on 25 March, a round-the-clock watch in now in full swing to help protect the birds from the attentions of wildlife criminals. If eggs successfully hatch this year the total fledglings reared on the reserve will be 23 in total.

As Lyndsay Cook, Visitor Centre Manager said: ?We are delighted that for another successive season these birds are back where they belong. They are very much part of the fabric and attraction of this reserve to visitors. We now have the challenge of making sure that they remain safe from harm. Our volunteers and rangers run a 24-hour vigil to protect these threatened birds and are on hand with telescopes to give visitors an even closer look at our peregrine family.?

Not only the largest resident British falcon, the peregrine is also the fastest living creature on earth, diving to catch their prey of small birds at speeds up to 200 mph. In Britain there are approximately 1,200 pairs of peregrine falcons, of which nearly two-thirds nest in Scotland. This is a huge improvement on the situation in the 1960s when infertility caused by pesticides brought the peregrines close to extinction. Today the peregrine is afforded special legal protection, yet sadly deliberate persecution by egg thieves and gamekeepers still continues.