Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)

Status at Longham Lakes

Year-round resident which is known to have bred locally.

Some interesting records are given:
1. 1 juvenile on Longham Reservoir North (still not filled) on a shingle island on 5th May 2002 (the same date as the first Hobby for the site.)
2. 1 on 28th April 2005, occupying itself chasing Rooks.
3. 1 on the nearby pylons on 14th July 2005. (Trevor Thorpe)
4. 2 hunting pigeons on 17th August 2005.
5. 2 on 6th January 2006. (Trevor Thorpe)
6. 2 (a pair) on the Quarry on 11th April 2006, very early in the morning, suggesting that the birds might have been roosting there.
7. 1 came to roost on the pylons on 7th September 2006.
8. 1 carrying food by the Southern Boundary, 13th September 2006.
9. 1 stooping at small bird near the Pumping Station, 7th October 2006
10. 1 by the East Fields, 25th November 2006, also made a dive.
11. 1 hunting Hirundines on 30th April 2008.
12. An obvious pair circling over on 30th March 2009.
13. 1 catching and eating a gull on the pylons, 3rd May 2009 (Chris Parnell).
14. 2 over the site on 11th September 2009 (Trevor Thorpe).
15. 1 with a wagtail, 26th May 2010 (Aidan Brown).
16. Potential report of 2 mating on the pylons, 1st May 2010. 2 on the pylons on 8th July 2010.
17. 1 bathing on Hampreston Fields, 19th January 2011.
18. 1 juvenile on 24th June 2012 (Trevor Thorpe).

All records given for recent years, when seemingly less regular:

2013: 1 on 11th April (DC), 1 on 19th November.
2014: 1 on 11th April (Carl Wilcox), 1 on 7th May (DC), 1 over on 28th May (Terry Elborn), 1 on 10th August (Robin Trundle), 1 on 30th November (Martin Wood), 1 on 2nd December (DC).
2016: 1 on 20th April, 13th May, 17th June, 14th November and 23rd December.