Jack and ...

The peregrine falcon, the fastest recorded animal in the world and one of the most adaptable birds to its habitat. Now often seen in towns, they have colonised many areas of high buildings, roosting on a ledge high above the ground and feeding off of the many pigeons that are around.

Over recent years you may have seen our tiercel, Jack, flying above the Centre on open days. He has proved to be a huge star, and very popular with visitors. Recently we have had to fly Jack in the mornings, but he is still doing well, and has a big job lined up for next year.

Meet our new peregrine below...

This is, well... she doesn't have a name yet. If you have any suggestions let me know, otherwise it looks like it may end up being Jack and "Jill".

She is a 13 year old female peregrine falcon, who has been trained as a hunting bird. Unfortunately during her last season she picked up an injury to one of her wings meaning she will never reach the same heights of her career again. Therefore she needed a good home to retire too, and I was more than happy to have her here.

Although she will probably never be able to fly again, she looks perfectly fine, and is very steady on the glove. She will make a great demo bird for meet and greets, and more excitingly will be perfect for breeding.

Come the Winter, the plan is to rest Jack and introduce him to the female in the hope that they may mate and produce some chicks next year.

Keep your eyes open over the Easter weekend for her first few walks out and about, and an eye on the sky as you may just see jack flying over the nature reserve.