The Hertford Peregrine Falcons Update

30th March 2026

A pair of Peregrine Falcons first set up home at All Saints Church in Hertford in 2021 and I took my first photo there on the 19th March. Unfortunately the female was a juvenile being bred in 2020 and was therefore considered too young to breed successfully, which proved to be the case.

In 2022 and 2023 a pair was still present but with changes to the male and female, but still no breeding. One of the females that appeared was colour-ringed and had been born on Salisbury Cathedral and was named Flo. She didn't hang around very long but for the last few years has been successfully breeding on the old Shredded Wheat factory in Welwyn Garden City.

In 2024 the pair at the time seemed very settled and likely to bred, but for whatever reason left the site in April and moved to a narrow ledge on the Ware flyover. They tried to breed there in 2024 and 2025 but failed in both years, with on at least one occasion the partially feathered young falling off the narrow ledge.

A single bird has been seen on All Saints on just a handful of occasions during the winter, but from the prey item feathers found below the Peregrine's vantage points it is known they use the tower at night to hunt under the lights of the town. And on the 29th March fellow blogger Stuart Fox photographed a female Peregrine on the tower so, as it is getting close to the breeding season, time for a visit to see what was going on.

When I arrived there were a couple of people in the churchyard who beckoned me over and pointed out a pair, yes a pair, of Peregrines on the south side of the tower. The male has an almost pure white upper breast and throat and is considerably smaller than the female.

On the much larger female the feint streaking on the upper breast goes right up to the throat.

The female stayed on the ledge all the time I was there but the male went off on a few short sorties but returned very quickly without food. No wonder the female kept on squawking!!! This did, however, provide some opportunities for flight shots.

It had been assumed that this was the pair from the flyover returning to All Saints, although this proved to be not the case. It was only when I was checking my photos on the back of the camera that I noticed the male had a large orange colour ring on its left leg. Neither of the flyover birds were ringed.

I have sent the details to the BTO coordinator for the Peregrine Falcons colour ring scheme and am awaiting a response.

Fingers crossed they are successful for the first time in  Hertford.

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