Battle of the birds
There may be trouble ahead for the Chichester peregrines.
Last week two strangers came knocking at their door. But the husband was away. He was out on a shopping trip, hunting the local countryside for something to eat. Wife was at home minding the kids.
Was it coincidence that another pair of peregrines chose this moment to take over this very desirable property in the centre of the city?
Had they been watching and coveting the splendidly appointed apartment of the south-west turret, with its nice chalet-style wooden nesting box, and the grand and lofty pinnacle of the cathedral spire above with its cross perch at the top giving such a commanding view in every direction?
RSPB man Chris Woolner told me that what happened next was like 'something out of the Battle of Britain'.
The falcon had to leave her two-day-old chicks and go straight into attack. She is a big strong bird with massive experience of every type of aerial manoeuvre.
Quickly rising on those long grey-blue wings of hers she soon had height advantage and stooped at speed on one of her assailants. Her intention was to kill. Recently Chris had seen another attempt on a peregrine's life at Brighton, when the attacker had actually entered the nesting box and had a life-or-death encounter with the rightful incumbent.
On video cameras he watched one female trying to crush the head of the other with her enormous claws, almost blinding her.
One disability and any falcon is finished, so extreme is its armoury for survival.
Perfect eyesight (four times more powerful than our's) perfect feather planes and shields for speeds approaching 200mph, perfect health for long haul flights with cargo – the bird approaches the technical spec of a Spitfire.
For a good ten minutes our falcon held her own, alone in the skies. Once her hind claw – the hook which had ripped three thousand necks in her dozen years of life – ripped through the wing feathers of her attacker.
Several times she tackled each face to face in turn, gripping claws to claws, as they came falling down the sky, almost dashing to pieces among these battlements of religion.
During this emergency the tiercel arrived home. Did he realise that the falcon had the moral (not to speak of the physical) high ground, and was quite capable without him?
Did she tell him what to do? We are unable to know just how advanced is their communication one with another. In any case, he went straight to the four nestlings and kept them warm and guarded them against attack.
At last the battle was over and the enemy routed, fleeing back towards the east. All was quiet on the south western front. For the time being, that is.
But this perfect pair, thought to be the most successful in Britain with almost 100 per cent success rate in raising young, are coming to the end.
She is at least twelve years old. He is ten. He was barely a teenager in our terms when he tried to father his first family with the older wife but was unsuccessful.
Since then they have almost every year reared the maximum of four. In the early days she was fiercely jealous of her babes, not allowing him near them for two weeks.
Then two years ago after years of trying and some patient eye-balling, he persuaded her to let him try.
This year she so trusts him he was allowed to brood them when they were but two days old. They have become a perfect match. And now it is all about to end.
Young couples will continue to attack, as will age. I will give a weekly report now on our website as to what happens.
Richard Williamson
What do you think? Click here to send a letter or leave a comment below.
Click here to go back to Chichester news
Click here to go back to Bognor Regis news
Click here to go back to Midhurst and Petworth news
To tell us where in the world you are reading this story click on the link below to add yourself to our readers' map.
MAP
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Chichester
Monday 13 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 3 C to 7 C
Wind Speed: 22 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 6 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: North west
