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Latest resident falcon chicks ringed

The latest peregrine falcon chicks to nest atop Nottingham Trent University's Newton building have been successfully ringed.

    Falcon Chicks
    Falcon chicks

    The university building is home to a family of two adult peregrines and three chicks, which use a nest box provided in partnership with Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust. Over the last ten years, 38 chicks have successfully nested at the university.

    The trust provides the university with specialist advice and support in monitoring the birds, and viewers are able to follow the peregrine family’s activities live via a webcam.

    After the recent hatching of all three eggs over the Easter weekend, the chicks and their parents have continued to captivate thousands with their activities.

    Representatives of the Wildlife Trust visited the nest to attach identification rings on the legs of the chicks.

    Bird ringing is a method of wildlife monitoring whereby a small numbered ‘ring’ is placed around the leg of a bird by a trained and licenced ringer. The purpose of ringing the chicks is to enable future research; the ring records help to build up a picture of bird populations, provide details of where the birds travel and how long they live.

    Speaking about the ringing, Nottingham Trent University’s Sustainable Development Manager, Charmaine Morrell, said: “Peregrines are fierce predators, yet elegant and graceful. The access that the University is able to provide for ringing the chicks is really useful in terms of future monitoring.”

    Speaking on behalf of Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, which is a registered charity, Head of Communications Erin McDaid said: “We very much enjoy working with Nottingham Trent University to protect these birds and we’re delighted that the family is doing so well this year after the failure of the nest last year.”

    The livestream is available all year round and accessed from the NTU Sustainability website. People can also learn more about peregrine falcons through the university’s FAQ page.

    The Sustainable Development Team also post regular updates on social media pages TwitterFacebook and Instagram.

    • Notes for editors

      Press enquiries please contact Kirsty Green, Press and Public Affairs Manager, on telephone +44 (0)115 848 8799, or via email.

      Nottingham Trent University (NTU) was named University of the Year 2019 in the Guardian University Awards. The award was based on performance and improvement in the Guardian University Guide, retention of students from low-participation areas and attainment of BME students. NTU was also the Times Higher Education University of the Year 2017, and The Times and Sunday Times Modern University of the Year 2018. These awards recognise NTU for its high levels of student satisfaction, its quality of teaching, its engagement with employers, and its overall student experience.

      The university has been rated Gold in the Government’s Teaching Excellence Framework – the highest ranking available.

      It is one of the largest UK universities. With nearly 32,000 students and more than 4,000 staff located across four campuses, the University contributes £900m to the UK economy every year. With an international student population of more than 3,000 from around 100 countries, the University prides itself on its global outlook

      The university is passionate about creating opportunities and its extensive outreach programme is designed to enable NTU to be a vehicle for social mobility. NTU is among the UK’s top five recruiters of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. A total of 82% of its graduates go on to graduate entry employment or graduate entry education or training within six months of leaving. Student satisfaction is high: NTU achieved an 88% satisfaction score in the 2018 National Student Survey.

      NTU is also one of the UK’s most environmentally friendly universities, containing some of the sector’s most inspiring and efficient award-winning buildings.

      NTU is home to world-class research, and won The Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2015 – the highest national honour for a UK university. It recognised the University’s pioneering projects to improve weapons and explosives detection in luggage; enable safer production of powdered infant formula; and combat food fraud

    Published on 17 May 2019
    • Category: School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences