Country diary: Urban peregrines are not fussy eaters | Nic Wilson

It’s an encouraging development as they are the first pair to establish a territory here during the breeding season, though Stevenage does have resident peregrines in winter.We start poking about in pavement cracks and drain grates under the 50-metre-high tower block where the peregrines often feed. I spot scurvy grass, buck’s-horn plantain and some matted clumps of fluff; thankfully, Andy’s an expert at reading the remains. He pulls out cinnamon and white scapular and secondary wing feathers of an ash-red feral pigeon; then a cluster of ivory feathers with dark brown barring, plucked from the vermiculated flank of a male teal – evidence of the peregrines hunting waterbirds by night. Continue reading...