For more than ten years peregrine falcons have nested on a ledge, part of the roof of Charing Cross Hospital. The best place to see them is from the west end of Margravine Cemetery or from our attic window.
They have not always bred successfully but this year the male (Tom) has a new partner (Flame) and they hatched four chicks called P7, P9, RA and RB; three males and a female. The nomenclature refers to their ring numbers. You may remember that one of the peregrines visited our back garden in November 2017, where I photographed it.
Thanks to Nathalie, who monitors the bird life in and above the cemetery, publishing monthly surveys, Tom and Flame are celebrities in the bird watching world with pages on Twitter and Facebook. They are FaB Peregrines, FaB standing for Fulham and Barnes. Their nesting box has a camera so like other celebs they have no private life. Their courtship, mating and choice of food is all filmed. Pleasingly they have a taste for parakeets, of which there are far too many.
Their chicks have been hopping around on the roof. One fell off but was rescued and returned. Now they are ready to fledge and for the next month or so will be taught how to fly and hunt for food.
While most eyes are focused upwards Robert saw signs of another predator living beneath a tombstone in the cemetery. The abundance of wildlife on the doorstep is a source of interest and pleasure.
Icarus has crash-landed in the sea in the bottom right corner. The humans aren’t interested but a hawk takes a keen interest. Just as Daedalus failed to teach Icarus to fly there is a danger that Tom and Flame’s fledglings may meet with an accident and Nathalie has taken precautions.
The parakeet diet must be something to see. Foxes, though? With no hunting allowed, how will you restrain Bertie? Rus in urbe, indeed.
Under the pagan light of a Sorrentine sunset on the terrace of the Victoria the other day nursing a sundowner we noticed a tall chap festooned in leather gauntlets and on closer inspect a mature falcon on his arm. Was he harvesting tomorrow’s squab? Of course not but he was the official anti avian team for the terrazza and very good at showing off his chum to the more obdurate of the seagulls. Happily the swallows continued their aerobatics and the sun took on its orange in a fish and chip shop star turn with true Gulley Jimson aplomb.
“Rufus the Hawk is a Harris’s Hawk used by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club to keep pigeons away from their venue. Described as an “important member of the Wimbledon family”, Rufus has been scaring away the birds for fifteen years, taking over from the previous hawk, Hamish.” Wikipedia I think Rufus should be allowed a holiday in Italy.