Excitement as Peregrine nest box and livestream cameras put at the top of 250 foot high Lister Mills chimney in Bradford

The Bradford Peregrine Trail was launched this week, connecting locations across the district where local people can see the fastest animal in the world.

This week, steeplejacks completed installation of a Peregrine nest box and livestream cameras on the 250ft high chimney of the iconic Lister Mills in Manningham, Bradford.

A key stop on the trail, the building was converted to apartments by owner Urban Splash and it is hoped it will soon host a family of Falcons in its newest and highest penthouse apartment.

This work marks a key milestone of the project which aims to boost the breeding success of resident urban Peregrine Falcons whilst bringing the benefits of engaging with wildlife to local people from across the Bradford area.

The project is led by Bradford Urban Wildlife Group, and is funded by Natural England.

Paul Wheatley, volunteer conservationist and Peregrine Project Lead at Bradford Urban Wildlife Group said “It’s really exciting to reach this key milestone in the project with the siting of our nest box on this famous Bradford landmark.

"Peregrine Falcons have been resident at the chimney for at least two decades, but rarely have breeding success. So we hope our new nest box will give them a helping hand. Our volunteers, our project partners and our contractors, particularly our amazing steeplejacks from Highlife Access who installed the nestbox, have done an amazing job in bringing together this exciting project”.

Work on the Lister Mills chimney would not have been possible without a partnership with Bradford 2025, which the project hopes will continue into next year’s celebrations.

Jenny Harris, Head of Producing at Bradford 2025, said "Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture is working with Lister Mills’ chimney as part of preparations for Bradford 2025, a year that will celebrate culture across the district.

"We are delighted that our work with the mill is supporting the campaign to preserve the presence of the Peregrine Falcons in such a historic and special location of the city."

Last year the project’s application to install the nestbox led to one of the most commented on planning applications of recent years.

A groundswell of support from local people and a science led approach by the planning department led to the granting of permission to proceed.

David Campbell, Biodiversity Officer at City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council said “Apex predators play a critical role in the ecosystem and present no threat to populations of our native songbirds. We understand that pigeon racers were also concerned about the impact of the Peregrines, but it’s worth noting that the project is merely working to improve nesting conditions for birds already resident in Bradford and will certainly not attract more Peregrines, as has been suggested.”

Peregrine Falcons are charismatic and exciting birds of prey, famed for being the fastest animal in the world.

Around 60 years ago, Peregrines were nearing extinction but after conservation action they have been gradually recovering in numbers across the lowlands of the UK.

This project builds on the success of similar works in other urban locations in the country and connects with other local Peregrine nesting sites, such as the University of Leeds.

The resident male Peregrine at Lister Mills was born at the University in 2019 and ringed as a chick with the code “TBD”.

Last year, Bradford Urban Wildlife Group volunteers successfully identified TBD from the ground, providing a fascinating link with neighbouring Falcons in Leeds.

The Bradford Peregrine Trail currently links five locations across the region.

Beginning with Dalton Mills in Keighley and travelling towards the city centre via the Damart Factory in Bingley, Salts Mill in Saltaire, Lister Mills in Manningham and finally City Hall. All of these sites are great places to watch wild Peregrine Falcons who, over the last few decades, have made a home on these iconic heritage buildings.

Peregrines often struggle to have breeding success when laying their eggs on the bare stone of these structures. But the gravel-lined nest boxes should significantly improve their chances of incubating and hatching their eggs.

The Bradford Peregrine Trail project will be continuing its activities over the next year with further nest box and webcam work and a programme of engagement with the people of Bradford.

Bradford Peregrine Trail is funded by Natural England, supported by City of Bradford MDC and led by volunteers from Bradford Peregrines and Bradford Urban Wildlife Group.

The brand new Bradford Peregrine Trail website can be found here: https://www.bradfordperegrines.com/

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