The National Peregrine Survey 2002

The 5th in a line of 10-yearly national Peregrine surveys was carried out in 2002.

The previous survey in 1991 had shown dramatic increases in most of the UK and Isle of Man but worrying declines in NW Scotland.

What has happened since then? The 2002 survey results are fascinating …

In 2002, after a very frustrating year of waiting in 2001 due to Foot-and-Mouth, the 5th decennial Peregrine Survey finally got underway. Hardy Peregrine enthusiasts all over the UK got their all-weather gear ready, some even checked their climbing ropes, and they planned their trips to often remote and apparently inaccessible eyries.

The aims of the survey were to visit known and potential sites early on in the season to check for site occupancy by Peregrine pairs or singletons. These birds can disappear if they fail to obtain a mate or suffer an early failure and can therefore be missed, so an early visit is key. Having established occupancy, observers were asked to revisit the sites to record how breeding progressed, if this was practical. If a site was unoccupied, then observers were also asked to revisit the site about a month later to check for any new signs of occupancy.

In the past, the national Peregrine surveys have attempted to cover all known breeding Peregrine territories within the UK and Isle of Man. This is a huge task for volunteer surveyors, especially in the remoter parts of North and West Scotland. So in 2002, for the first time, we provided fieldworkers with a randomised selection of eyries to check and, very helpfully, RSPB organised professional fieldworkers to assist in filling some of the gaps in these areas. This randomised approach aimed to ensure a representative and unbiased coverage of those difficult-to-get-to sites.

The key results for the UK:

Peregrine Falcon portrait: "12 o'clock high" by Andrew Forkner.

• Since 1991, the number of known potential Peregrine territories in the UK and Isle of Man had risen by 26% to 2,032 sites.
• Some 1,899 of these were visited in 2002, giving a coverage of 93%.
• The grand total of occupied territories is now estimated to be 1,492, an increase of 13% above the 1,316 occupied in 1991. (This figure is based on observed occupancy at 1,397 sites, with an additional 97 unvisited sites predicted to be occupied (estimated by multiplying regional occupancy rates by numbers of unsurveyed eyries); please note that some are occupied by non-breeding pairs and singletons).
• There were 1,402 breeding pairs in 2002, compared with 1,283 in 1991 and 874 in the 1930s (before the population crash).
• Thus the population has increased by 10% since 1991 and is 61% higher than in the 1930s.
• Populations have risen in most parts of England, southern Wales and Southern Scotland.
• Populations have declined in North and West Scotland, North Wales and Northern Ireland.

The following pages provide more information:

• Why all this interest in Peregrines?
• Regional map and results
• Peregrines do some amazing things!

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all the volunteer birdwatchers, many of whom are in Raptor Study Groups, for the great efforts that they put into checking and re-checking known and potential Peregrine nesting sites. We are particularly grateful to all the volunteer local area coordinators who liased with the surveyors to ensure such a complete coverage for the survey. Many thanks are also due to Derek Ratcliffe, who has advised on many aspects of the survey and its analysis.

We are pleased to acknowledge the support and funding for the survey by the Esmée Fairburn Foundation, by the businesses, individuals and trusts supporting the BTO Peregrine Appeal and by the Environment and Heritage Service, Department of the Environment (Northern Ireland) (on behalf of the Statutory Conservation Agencies/RSPB Annual Breeding Bird Scheme (SCARABBS)) and the Scottish Ornithologists’ Club. Professional fieldwork in Scotland was organised and managed by RSPB with funding from RSPB and Scottish Natural Heritage.

For further information contact Humphrey Crick (email: ).