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Pigeons beware... falcons move in to Westminster
Joe Murphy, Political Editor18 Mar 2009
A PAIR of peregrine falcons have taken residence in the towers and turrets of the Houses of Parliament.
The birds of prey are busily carrying out a massacre of the Westminster pigeon population and have taken ducks from the Thames.
MPs and wildlife enthusiasts are hoping they will nest and bring up chicks in the heart of London. The birds were first spotted last month flying over the historic building and feeding on its many ledges overlooking the river.
Later, security reported finding pigeon and duck remains around the precincts of the Royal Palace. Natural England has put up a nest tray where the birds roost.
If they lay eggs, a webcam will be installed so the public can watch chicks hatching and being fed.
Nigel Ellway from Natural England said: "To the peregrines, the Houses of Parliament are a high cliff with a ready supply of food."
Reader views (1)
This is really bad news for bird watchers the falcons are a pain for anyone that likes birds,its a myth that falcons will kill feral pigeons,falcons only take their prey in flight and the feral pigeons only fly from a roof top to the ground and I have never seen a falcon take a feral pigeon after 10 years of watching,the only true part of this article is that they do take ducks but this is also very rare,but they do take racing pigeons who do nobody any harm and in fact during the last World War they saved 100`s of lives
- Rod Harding, Bideford Devon, 19/03/2009 16:07
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