The two female peregrines at the Falls of Clyde were ringed a few weeks ago and are ready to leave the nest, six weeks after hatching. Famed as the fastest creature on earth, peregrine falcons can reach speeds of over 150 miles per hour when stooping to catch their prey. 

The peregrine eggs, laid on a cliff face at the Scottish Wildlife Trust reserve near New Lanark, hatched at the end of April and the young (known as eyasses) have grown fast.

The chicks were ringed, which will give us valuable information about where they end up. The ring identifies the chicks to scientists as coming from the Falls of Clyde.

The chicks have fledged, meaning they have left their cliff face nest, known as an eyrie. On Saturday 9th June our chicks left the eyrie by clambering up the cliff face to a nearby tree. On Sunday they both flew and one managed to fly over to the opposite side of the gorge, where members of the public were watching. At the moment the peregrines don’t really have much choice in where they end up! They frantically flap their wings and dive off the cliff.

The fledged chicks at the Falls of Clyde will now become adept flyers, taking test flights across the gorge on the reserve before following their parents further into the countryside to learn how to hunt.

Thanks to funding from the People’s Postcode Lottery, we provide 24 hour nest protection for our peregrines, to ensure that they are safe from egg hunters. This has been going on since before the eggs were laid and will continue until the chicks leave the nest.

Click here to see live footage of the peregrines at Falls of Clyde.