We held 2 walks early in August, and raised a fantastic £180 for our two favourite charities. Watch this space for more Peregrine walks next year, when we will aim to hold the walks immediately after fledging to get ensure we get the best views. Fingers crossed our Peregrine pair have another successful breeding year in 2019.
Join us for a short walk to look for our fabulous Leeds Peregrines. This year these amazing wild birds have had success breeding on the Parkinson Tower at the University of Leeds for the first time ever. Three youngsters have fledged, and can be seen both in the air and perched up on nearby tall buildings.
The walk will begin in the vicinity of the University and will last for about an hour. We'll explore the neighbourhood and seek out the Falcons. With luck, we should have some good views, although of course they are wild birds and we can't guarantee success. The walk will be led by Paul (@leedsbirder) and Les (@uolperegrine) who have followed the Peregrines for several years and will relay some stories about watching, ringing and even rescuing one of the birds once they had fledged! We know the birds favoured perches and have telescopes that you will be able to view them with. You are welcome to bring your own optics and cameras if you wish, but it's not necessary if you don't have any.
The walk is free to attend but we will be collecting donations to two important bird of prey charities: the fabulous Ryedale Wildlife Rehabilitation run by the tireless Jean Thorpe who rescues and rehabilitates injured birds of prey, and Birders Against Wildlife Crime, who campaign against the illegal persecution of birds of prey in this country. The suggested donation is £5 per person.
Children are welcome on the walk, but note that there may be periods of waiting around for Peregrine action so it may not suit young kids. There are some busy roads in the vicinity so caution is required at all times. Under 18s must be accompanied by an adult. Parking is possible both on the street and paid for at the University - this is your responsibility. Please arrive in good time!
Places are strictly limited and must be booked in advance.
If you would like to come along, please email: *************** with your full name and number of places you would like to book. We will give you directions to the meeting point and confirm your place on the walk.
We're not really sure how popular this might be, but if there is demand we will consider doing further walks on other nights. We'd love to raise a decent amount of money for these fabulous raptor charities, so come along, dig deep, and help us out.