Overview

The Peregrine, the fastest bird in the world, has made a remarkable recovery over the past 30 years. As the species re-establishes itself around the world it is becoming a familiar sight in towns and cities. This beautifully illustrated book is the first in-depth focus on the lives of Peregrines in towns and cities. In words and stunning photographs, Ed Drewitt reveals the latest information on Peregrine behavior including how they are adapting to, and taking advantage of, the urban environment. The book is also a how-to-guide, with information on finding peregrines, studying their diet, ringing individuals for research, putting up nest boxes and enabling people to learn more about them through public viewing points or web cameras. Ed also discusses what makes a Peregrine urban, their contemporary relationship with people, and helps dispel some myths and reveal some truths about this agile predator.

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9781907807817

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Reviews

A fascinating insight into the life of our top urban predator. -- Stephen Moss Peregrines! The biggest urban conservation story to hit our cities is gloriously revealed in this wonderful book. -- Mike Dilger

A fascinating insight into the life of our top urban predator. -- Stephen Moss Peregrines! The biggest urban conservation story to hit our cities is gloriously revealed in this wonderful book. -- Mike Dilger Urban Peregrines is published with near-perfect timing, arriving during the final stages of the 2014 UK Peregrine Survey. The recent fortunes of Peregrines in the UK have been varied, but the towns and cities focused on within this book provide the scene for a remarkable and ongoing success story. Ed Drewitt gives us a book written in interesting and conversational prose, with a wealth of observations on a wide range of Peregrine-related topics. There is particularly satisfying detail on the startlingly varied diet of Peregrines living in our cities and also, appropriately, on the ways in which wild Peregrines interact with and are affected by people. The book is copiously illustrated with photographs, not only of Peregrines, but of the birds they eat and the urban environments they live in. I recommend it for anyone wanting to better acquaint themselves with one of our most iconic and charismatic birds. -- Mark Wilson BTO About Birds Ed Drewitt's name may be familiar to many people from his writing for BBC Wildlife Magazine, or his pieces on Springwatch. He is also very popular in the Bristol area for the many walks and talks he carries out to help introduce the public to the wonders of natural history in the Bristol area and beyond. Anyone who has been on one of his guided walks or nature holidays will vouch for his knack of engaging his audience and the pleasure he gets in sharing his wealth of knowledge. He now brings these talents to bear in this book on a subject very close to his heart and on a subject he has been studying for over 15 years; the appearance in our urban centres of the Peregrine, a bird that until relatively recently was in serious trouble due to its position at the top of the food chain. The use of the pesticide DDT in the 1960s and 1970s by farmers caused it to enter the food chain as birds ate sprayed crops, leading to the concentration over time of DDT in the bodies of those predators that ate these birds. The most famous side effect of this was the production of eggs with shells that were too thin to survive incubation, but many of the birds died directly from the high levels of the chemicals in their bodies. Happily, following the phasing out of DDT in the late 1970s and early 1980s, this is no longer a threat in the UK as well as the rest of Europe and also the United States, and Peregrines in these regions have bounced back dramatically, giving rise to the phenomenon of the urban Peregrine and the topic of Drewitt's book. His studies of these urban birds has led to some startling discoveries. One of these is the way Peregrines in towns and cities have adapted to use our artificial lighting to hunt at night, as shown by the discovery of feathers from birds that migrate predominantly at night in studies of their kills. These have included Corncrakes, Teal, Woodcocks and Dunnocks. Here is proof that this is a species that is truly living cheek by jowl with us in our urban spaces. As well as discussing new feeding strategies, Drewitt also charts a year in the life of an urban Peregrine, looks at their relationship with humans in more detail and tells us how we can go about getting sightings of these incredible raptors. Despite the the disappearance of the threat of DDT poisoning here, Drewitt also warns against complacency in the ongoing survival of the Peregrine. DDT still used in countries in north Africa is believed to enter the environment and could still be dangerous. A growing worry is the appearance of so-called Persistent Organic Pollutants in the environment; these are flame retardants used in the plastics and textile industries and have already been seen accumulating in the fatty tissues of apex predators like Killer Whales. This newer worry, along with other negative aspects of life in cities for Peregrines is looked at in detail. This is a timely and fascinating book, full of Drewitt's charm and learning. Along side the text are some beautiful photographs from a range of talented wildlife photographers and these complement what is a brilliant and readable addition to the study of raptors in this country. -- Andrew Whitelee Verdant Wildlife

Author Information

Ed Drewitt is a professional naturalist, wildlife detective, and broadcaster for the BBC. He has been studying urban Peregrines for over 15 years, and specialises in colour ringing their chicks, and identifying what they have been eating.

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