With the news that the peregrines had been unsuccessful in hatching any chicks this year we have been a little saddened up at the watch site. However we are still keeping the site open until Sunday the 15th of June so you can still visit us and see the resident pair. We have been seeing some courtship displays and they have been investigating some of their previous eyries, spending a lot of time on the ledge they used last year.

Sadly it is not just the peregrines who have struggled this year. The ospreys at Loch of the Lowes have also had a difficult year with their eggs and it is possible they may not have any chicks this year either. More details are available on the Loch of the Lowes blog (http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey). With both our peregrine pair and the ospreys old age may be one of the reasons that they are no longer having any eggs hatch. For the past two years the female has only laid one egg, whereas a normal clutch may have three or four. It is also unlikely that they will lay any more this year, despite the displays and nest scrapping we have been seeing recently, as their hormone levels will now have dropped since the beginning of the breeding season and the days are much longer. Day length acts as an indicator for the peregrines to start mating and laying eggs, a remnant of their reptilian ancestry.

The watch site is still offering up some fantastic views of the adult peregrines and with only two weeks left before the site closes I recommend taking advantage of the good weather and see them in action!

Bye for now

Alex Kekewich – Falls of Clyde Seasonal Ranger