Peregrine webcam tracks chicks on derelict mill

Peregrine falcons living on a Grade II-listed Victorian mill are being tracked by volunteers as part of a project to boost numbers of the bird of prey in Bradford.

A webcam has been installed on the roof of Keighley Bus Museum, which is opposite the nesting site on Dalton Mills, to monitor the birds that have been breeding there for several years.

The camera shows a live stream of a pair of peregrines that have nested on the chimney and are raising four chicks.

Paul Wheatley, a volunteer at Bradford Urban Wildlife Group, said the peregrines had chosen the spot on the mill used as a filming location for Peaky Blinders, because old mill buildings make the perfect environment for the birds.

"They see a tall building and they think, that's a great cliff, I'll nest on that," he said.

"Without thinking about it, humans have created potential nesting locations for peregrines."

Unlike at Lister Mills and Bradford City Hall, where there are also peregrine live cams, a camera could not be installed on the mill because it is derelict and under the ownership of the Crown Estate.

"So we've gone for a sort of a Plan B and we've put a remote camera next door, across the river on the roof of the Keighley Bus Museum," said Wheatley.

"There's a little ledge so you can't quite see into the nest, but as the chicks grow up you can start to see them appearing on the camera.

"It will be great to monitor them over the next two weeks as they get to full size and approach that point where they're going to be fledging. And that allows us to keep an eye on them as well."

There are three nesting pairs of peregrines in Bradford, according to the group, and one pair in Leeds on the University's Parkinson Building.

"An interesting connection we have with the peregrines that nest on the Parkinson Tower at the University of Leeds is that a peregrine that was born in 2019 - he's the resident male at Lister Mill and he's raising chicks there.

"He went about 10 miles over to Bradford to set up home. If you're a peregrine, Bradford's really attractive," he said.

"Some fantastic heritage, tall buildings, great places for them to nest. More attractive than Leeds."

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