Stevenage Peregrines Hunt 46 Species, Including Waders
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- VDT and VSR, a male peregrine from Hemel Hempstead (2023) and female from Andover (2024), are the first pair to establish a breeding-season territory in Stevenage, roosting on the 50-metre Vista Tower in the town centre.
- Peregrine expert Andy identified remains from 46 bird species under and around Vista Tower, with 14 of those being waders including lapwing, golden plover, jack snipe, whimbrel and a full oystercatcher — an unexpected haul for a landlocked Hertfordshire town.
- Peregrines are hunting waders and ducks on nocturnal migration by striking from below as the birds pass over Stevenage, their pale bellies lit by streetlamps, then carrying prey to plucking posts on the tower blocks.
- Stevenage's location in the Stevenage-Hitchin Gap, a break in the Chiltern Hills, funnels migrating waterbirds directly over the town centre, explaining the unusually diverse prey list for an industrial inland site.
- The male VDT was observed preening on a neighbouring tower block and ignored a low easyJet plane passing overhead, underscoring how fully the falcons have adapted to the urban environment.
Why it matters: The 46-species prey tally — including 14 waders — turns a routine urban peregrine sighting into evidence of a rich, largely unseen nocturnal migration corridor through the Chilterns gap. For Hertfordshire birders, it reveals that Stevenage's skies carry far more species diversity at night than the daytime townscape suggests, and it gives conservationists a rare window into how falcons exploit that flyway.
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