Top of the tower: the two juvenile peregrines, successfully reared on one of the ledges of No1 Croydon, alongside East Croydon Station. Pic: Alasdair Sayell
For the first time, peregrine falcons have successfully bred in Croydon, on a ledge of No1 Croydon, the landmark building overlooking the tram lines and bus station at East Croydon, one of the country’s busiest railway stations.
The London Peregrine Partnership has confirmed the fledging of a pair of juveniles last month, which local-based birders say represents “a significant local conservation success story” and “a major milestone for wildlife conservation in the borough”.
Peregrines are the fastest birds in the sky, and can reach speeds of more than 200mph when diving while hunting their prey. In the 1950s and into the ’70s, the peregrine became an endangered species because of the widespread use of various pesticides, especially DDT, which the birds would ingest through their prey.
The peregrine population has recovered over the last 50 years, supported by large-scale protection of nesting places. Peregrines have also ventured into urban areas, where tall buildings replace the cliff face nesting sites of their natural habitat, and where they are often surrounded by a plentiful source of one of their favourite prey: feral pigeons.
There are “peregrine watch” online cameras of several breeding pairs of peregrines around the capital, with a nest famously tucked in to one of the towers at the Houses of Parliament, and a breeding site in central Sutton in the past.
But this is the first confirmed and recorded instance of peregrines choosing to set up home in Croydon.
The No1 Croydon peregrines’ two juvenile birds successfully fledged on June 15.
“Subsequent sightings of both the adults and the juveniles hunting and flying around East Croydon Station have confirmed the town centre as an important breeding location for one of Britain’s most important birds of prey,” amateur birder Alasdair Sayell told Inside Croydon.
No1 Croydon is the architecturally significant 24-storey (269ft tall) office block designed by Richard Seifert and Partners, completed in 1971 and originally known as the NLA Tower. It has twice been recommended for heritage building listing by the 20th Century Society, and twice rejected.
This year, the building has been undergoing extensive refurbishment work, to convert it into 250 flats.
Ready to fledge: No1 Croydon has provided suitable accommodation for these two peregrines to grow up
“The successful fledging of two young birds from a nest in the heart of Croydon demonstrates the growing importance of urban areas for wildlife conservation and highlights the role that the borough can play in supporting protected species,” Sayell said.
“The presence of peregrines in central Croydon also provides local residents, commuters and visitors with a rare opportunity to observe one of the country’s top predators thriving alongside a busy urban landscape.”
The Croydon peregrines’ nesting is over for the year. Peregrines are known to partner for life, and to return year after year to the same nesting sites. And this is where concerns arise over No1 Croydon.
“The redevelopment of the building didn’t seem to deter the pair from breeding,” Sayell said.
“It’s hard to know for certain how the birds will adapt to the redevelopment once complete and people start moving in. What is for certain, however, is peregrines are sensitive to disturbance. Unless redevelopments make space – for example with planning applications that include appropriately sited nest boxes – it is hard to imagine where in an increasingly densely populated town centre the peregrines will be able to breed.”
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