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Joined: Sun Jul 26, 2009 3:18 pm
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Bath
From Facebook: 
On Wednesday 18th May 2022, a licensed and experienced British Trust for Ornithology ringer, supported by two experienced Hawk and Owl Trust Volunteers, ringed three Peregrine chicks at St John the Evangelist RC Church in Bath. Each chick was fitted with a unique metal ID ring and a white on a light blue colour ring. The chicks, all of an appropriate age to be ringed, were measured and weighed, and had masses of 620g (AD - male), 645g (AF - male) and 800g (AG – Female). The fourth chick, small and assumed to be the youngest, moved out of reach on the nest platform, and further attempts to ‘capture’ it was immediately aborted. Sadly, a strong gust of wind propelled the exposed chick from the platform and it fell. An immediate search was undertaken, but there was no obvious sign of the chick. An authorised drone pilot conducted a complete search of the church roofs and grounds, but the captured HD imagery revealed no evidence of the chick. The search continued at the church for over five hours with access to higher levels of nearby buildings to obtain the best views possible but to no avail. Throughout, and particularly at the time the chick fell, there was a large number of Herring and Lesser Black-Backed Gulls circling the area of the church; this is wholly normal. The most feasible scenario is that the small chick landed on the flat roof, and was taken by a gull, of which there was a large number patrolling the immediate area. In total between 2007 and 2021, 45 Peregrines have fledged from this nest without incident. Sighting reports of these birds have added extremely valuable data contributing to ongoing research into the post fledge distribution of the species, and while this loss is regrettable, there are such losses across the country annually in both urban and rural contexts, and with all ringing, there is always a risk.
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