Torness peregines peak with bumper brood

The Torness peregrines have produced a bumper brood this year with four chicks successfully being raised on the power station roof.

This is the largest number of chicks the returning pair have hatched since 2021. Over the past few weeks, the chicks have been losing their downy feathers and started exercising their wings. Should all four fledge that will take the number of chicks to have been successfully raised at the site to 59.

In total, almost 60 species of birds have been spotted at the Torness site, including ground nesters like oyster catchers and ringed plovers.  

These birds often use the gravel in one of the station’s car parks for nesting which can make them vulnerable to predators and easily disturbed. 

Nesting areas at the site are roped off year-round and seasonal signage is used to highlight these areas to visitors. Now new permanent signage has been installed to remind people not to disturb the birds while nesting.

Environmental Safety Engineer, Clare Galloway, said: “Torness power station is in a beautiful location next to Thortonloch Beach and the John Muir Way so it is no surprise people enjoy using the land around the station for recreation. 

“Part of the attraction is the rich variety of wildlife the land supports, and we work hard to encourage biodiversity on the site.

“We know some of the birds can be easily disturbed when nesting so we would encourage visitors to be respectful and to keep their dogs on leads when they see the new signs, which have been added near the known nesting areas.”

Earlier in the season, local children had the chance to take part in a bird box building activity to mark the start of Spring.

The children also learned about some of the different birds that can be seen at Torness. More than 30 of the species spotted at Torness also breed at the site.

Visitor Centre Coordinator, Faith Scott, said: “The children really seemed to enjoy the workshop and had a great time making nest boxes. I am hoping we will hear about some success stories from our attendees about the boxes they took home.”

Torness power station has held the Biodiversity Benchmark for almost 11 years. In addition to birds, 16 species of butterfly have been identified at the site along with a wide selection of invertebrate including Scotland’s only known population of ivy mining bees.