A soaring success: peregrine falcons thrive at our New Milton water tower

20th May 2022

We feel incredibly lucky to play host to a pair of peregrine falcons at our New Milton water tower. In September 2016, Keith, the Chairman of the Hampshire Ornithological Society, and Official Bird Recorder for Hampshire, was very excited when he spotted them and immediately got in touch. Since then, we’ve worked hard with Keith, and Joanna from New Milton Council, to protect the birds.

The peregrine falcon is incredible, claiming the top spot for fastest animal on Earth, able to fly at 200mph. The shape of their nostrils allows them to breathe at this speed, bending the air into spirals and this design inspired the development of jet engines. The falcons also have excellent vision – 8 times better than a human – they’re able to see from over 3km away! Although they might spot you, it is very rare to see peregrine falcons in the UK, so you can imagine our excitement and the responsibility we felt when they were found at New Milton water tower.

Despite being a protected species by law since 1954, by the end of the 1970s, they were almost extinct in the UK. During WW2 they were actively shot because they tended to hunt messenger pigeons and so prevented vital information getting home! In fact, pigeons and doves make up 36% of their diet, so you can see why a nice plump messenger pigeon would look very appetising! More recently, egg theft and chemicals in pesticides like DDT had devastating effects on what was left of the population. As such, they are now given the highest degree of legal protection. This makes it an offence to intentionally take, injure or kill a peregrine, or to take, damage or destroy its nest, eggs and young. It is also an offence to intentionally or recklessly disturb the birds close to their nest during the breeding season (unless by a licenced person or in a serious emergency).

So, deciding to make the 30metre-high water tower their home has presented Saska, our Climate Change Manager, with some challenges. The most difficult one was figuring out how to install a nesting tray or box without compromising the operations of the water tower. Not only does this tower provide 10 megalitres of water per day to New Milton, Barton-on-Sea and Milford, but also acts as an undercover telephone mast for mobile phone providers.

By installing a nesting box, it would encourage the falcons to nest in a safe space on the tower, but the team had to work out where to put it so that maintenance on both the tank and the masts wouldn’t disturb the birds. Luckily for us, they managed to find a perfect solution, and the birds have nested very successfully since. Saska explained, “We don’t interact with the wild animals but after the breeding season, we make sure the nesting area is cleaned and disinfected.”

I asked Saska what her best moment had been working on this project, and she immediately said, “Finding out that the female peregrine laid her eggs. Up to date we had 16 chicks and I was able to hold one of them! This is priceless.”. Peregrines usually lay 4 eggs, and successfully rear three chicks, so seeing 16 raised over the past 5 years is a real achievement. Due to their legal protection and the banning of harmful pesticides, the peregrines have made an incredible comeback over the years (although are still rare). The lowest recorded population was 350 pairs in the UK (mostly in the North), and that has now risen to 1500 pairs (20 of them being in Hampshire!).

 

The birds have also adapted their nesting behaviour to include human structures (like our water tower) as well as their traditional cliff top nesting locations. Six years after he first spotted them, Keith said happily, “They are living alongside us and doing well. It is a terrific success story, and it is great to have them in New Milton”.

Saska and her team installed a camera to the nesting area in 2016, and during the lockdowns, people from all over tuned in and watched the falcons. Saska said, “It provided something positive, something to look forward to and talk about daily.”