Volunteers discover rare birds of prey breeding in Cumbria - Cumbria Wildlife Trust

First confirmed hobby nest in Cumbria at our South Lakeland nature reserve

The hobby, a small, elegant falcon, is a frequent summer visitor to the south and east of England and South Wales but less common further north. However, two of our volunteers recently reported what is believed to be the first confirmed sighting of a pair of nesting hobbies here in Cumbria.

Matthew Cookson and David Thexton are regular volunteers at Foulshaw Moss Nature Reserve. The site is no stranger to birds of prey, with a pair of breeding ospreys spending every summer here, and peregrine and marsh harrier are regularly spotted.

This summer, for the first time, they confirmed that a pair of hobbies were nesting here. Matthew takes up the story: “On 24 June, I saw that two hobbies (an adult male and a female in her second year) which had been active in the area since April, had taken possession of a carrion crow nest. Ninety per cent of hobbies nest in old crow nests. Over the next few weeks we observed the male bringing food to the female, while she occasionally made forays to catch dragonflies. The male was also busy seeing off other raptors and corvids who were threats to the nest. Oddly, he seemed less fearful of the ospreys! Our first indication of young being fed was on 17 July. The nest is very distant, half a kilometre away, so it was difficult to discern the number of chicks in the nest. There were possible sightings of three, but certainly two. Probably due the poor weather, only one survived to fledging on 23 August, having endured three storms. We’ve seen the fledgling three times and it’s becoming more active, seen recently taking prey from the female, after she was passed it by the male. We’ve also seen it exploring its locality.”