Details for Peregrine Falcons at Malham Cove

For exceptional views of the Peregrine Falcon, one of the most impressive birds of prey in the country, along with a variety of other characteristic upland bird species, Malham Cove is the place to visit.

The Peregrine has long been associated with remote upland areas of the country such as the Yorkshire Dales.  During the 1950s the Peregrine population in the UK declined dramatically due to the use of agricultural organochlorine pesticides which caused the thinning of egg shells of many birds of prey such as the Peregrine.  This resulted in high levels of breeding failure due to eggs being inadvertently crushed or broken by the incubating birds.

Despite the large number of people that visit the Malham area each year, Peregrines settled at the Cove and first bred in 1993, they have been present there ever since.  Although these birds are relatively unique in the Dales by being very tolerant of people, each year climbing restrictions are agreed with the British Mountaineering Council to ensure that climbers do not  disturb the nesting birds.  

The Malham Cove site is important in many ways, not least because in 1994, when the Peregrines fledged, they produced a total of five young – the first time ever that this had been documented in Yorkshire and only the third time on record in the UK since 1896. Even more amazing is that what were presumed to be the...