New home for Rochdale's peregrine falcons

A peregrine falcon providing a spectactular sight at Rochdale Town Hall

Rochdale’s famed peregrine falcons have been given a new home whilst the town hall undergoes restoration.

A brand new nest has been created at Tetrosyl’s offices on Newgate in the town centre, ahead of their nesting season from March.

Peregrine falcons have been nesting at the clock tower since 2008 when the council built a nesting area, providing them with a safe place to sleep, breed and raise their chicks.

To encourage the birds to nest in the new location, nesting material has been taken from their previous nest and added to the new one.

Often spotted soaring above the town centre, the falcons are most active at the start of the breeding season during February and March. Egg-laying typically happens around late March or early April, whilst the chicks usually hatch during the first week of May.

A spokesperson for Rochdale Borough Council said: “With the help of Tetrosyl Ltd we’ve created a new home for the peregrine falcons who normally nest in the clock tower at Rochdale Town Hall.

“The birds have been regularly seen on this roof, as well as St Chad’s Church, and we hope they will remain in the area when nesting season starts in March.

“We’ve worked with an ecologist and the Manchester Raptor Society to ensure these changes will not have a detrimental effect on the birds’ welfare and we hope to be able to share some photos of our feathered friends in the future.

“We hope that the falcons will return to their previous home in the clock tower when the town hall reopens in 2023.

“We'd also like say a huge thankyou to Tetrosyl Ltd for providing this new home.”

The council is still investigating the return of the webcam, which usually provides an eagle-eyed view of the birds between March and August each year.

Due to the restoration work at at Rochdale Town Hall, there was no live webcam stream in 2021.