Local business owners have expressed concern over renovation work allegedly affecting rare peregrine falcons nesting in the spire of Newport Minster – something the Minster itself denies is the case.
Newport Minister is currently being renovated as part of the town’s bid to achieve city status, but it’s claimed that falcons are nesting in the spire of the Minster and have been for at least a decade.
The architects – Thomas Ford & Partners of London – have not applied for a licence from Nature England to carry out the construction work. It is a criminal offence to disturb the nests of peregrine falcons during their breeding season.
However, both the Minster and architect John Bailey say there are no peregrine falcons currently nesting at the church and that any falcons seen in the vicinity are simply visiting.
Local business owner Nicola denies this. She says:
“In the past I have heard the chicks. I can hear them squawking. I’ve been watching them nesting there for over 5 years. They are a protected species and if they are disturbed, they will abandon their nests.”
Matt Parker, landlord of the Wheatsheaf in St Thomas’ Square, has been attempting to get the building work on the Minster stopped to allow the peregrine falcons time to raise their chicks. The scaffolding on the church tower has now reached a height of 60 feet.
He says:
“The idea that these birds are protected by the law is a joke. When I went to the police station to complain to the duty officer about the building work on the Minister, the duty officer looked at me as if I was mad, even though disturbing nesting peregrine falcons is a criminal offence.
“Peregrine falcons are present in cathedrals throughout Europe. In Bordeaux, they stopped tourists visiting the cathedral during the nesting season. How can they close down a cathedral but not stop building work at the Minster?”
A spokesperson for Newport Minster has told Island Echo:
“Newport Minster takes any concerns about the protection of wildlife around its building seriously. We have been consulting with a number of local experts in this field and we continue to maintain regular contact with the Island representative of the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). They do not believe peregrine falcons are nesting on Newport Minster.
“If peregrines were nesting on the Minster, the Island BTO carries the local license to ring the chicks as part of their protection. They have ringed peregrines in Newport and elsewhere on the Island for some time. They would never disclose where the birds are nesting as that would break the law. They would, however, want to ring the chicks and therefore need to access the roof, if they believed birds were nesting there. They have not contacted us to do this, nor is there any recollection of it happening for years. Like us, the BTO is aware that the birds do regularly hunt from our roof and have done so for some time. They do not currently nest on our roof.
“We remain committed to protecting peregrines, we will continue to make regular checks on the roof and will immediately contact the relevant representatives for the birds on the Island if the situation changes”.
The peregrine falcon is the world’s fastest bird, reaching speeds of over 200mph during its hunting stoop. It is highly adapted to urban environments, taking advantage of tall buildings and feasting on pigeons. The UK population of peregrine falcons crashed during the 1960s due to the use of pesticides such as DDT. Populations have recovered and the RSPB estimates there are now 1,402 breeding pairs in this country.
Tweet this to Chris Packham
NPT A CITY…..i
I was hoping that all that BS was dead and buried.
Poor birds tho, IW council can not be trusted at the moment.
They have a sense of full grandeur.
Trying to make a little bit of a mark in local history. Very sad set of individuals.
I work in Newport and have been seeing these birds early in the mornings on the tower over a number of years. Over the winter months I have not seen them until recently, when the pair seem to be diving at the top of the tower but never landing. Watching them do this on several occasions I noticed that there was a crow or several crows at the top. This suggested to me that the peregrines had been displaced by them, as they would never be able to gain control from them. Sad but that’s nature for you if this is true.
the church only cares about money, status and its own self preservation – all other things are secondary at best.
Lets hope the bird’s off pray are answered and they a left in peace ever after