Just noticed the following sad piece of news on the Raptor Politics website:


Death of a Peregrine, (Warton Quarry), Silverdale Lancashire Resident Male Killed by Car.

Because of the local interest there has been over the last decade in the nesting pair of Peregrines at Warton Crag Quarry we are sad to report the loss of the resident adult male which was found dead today by the side of the Silverdale Road between Warton and Leighton Moss.

The male falcon had been chasing a teal across the road moments before the falcon and teal both collided with a car; the peregrine was killed instantly falling into the road still grasping the teal in one talon.

The Warton Crag Quarry peregrines came to the notice of local conservationists in the Carnforth/Silverdale area in 2002, when prior to this date all breeding attempts by the pair had failed when either their eggs and or young had been illegally removed from the eyrie.

In 2003 the first 24 hour peregrine watch was initiated at the site by a dedicated team of peregrine enthusiasts, who have kept a full time watch below the site throughout each of the last 8 seasons. In this period the same pair have now successfully reared no less than 15 fledged chicks.

Although the loss of the resident male peregrine at Warton Quarry is a tragic and disappointing loss for everyone involved in the protection initiative, we are quite confident that a replacement male partner for the resident female will arrive well before the beginning of the 2011 breeding season.