STUNNING images of Charlie the Charing Cross falcon have been captured for the first time by high definition cameras.
The peregrine falcon, given its nickname by hospital staff, was first spotted flying near the hospital in 2007. A nest box was installed on the roof and the bird moved in and was joined by a companion. The pair soon began breeding and they have produced three chicks, with a fourth expected next month after an egg was laid last Thursday.
Award-winning naturalist and broadcaster Simon King OBE set up two cameras overlooking the box earlier this year and he will use images as part of London Wild Bird Watch, while a live feed has been set up to allow people to watch the birds' progress online.
Mr King said: "Everyone at Charing Cross Hospital has been extraordinarily helpful. The falcons first nested successfully on an inaccessible ledge of the building and everyone from Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust has bent over backwards to ensure they do well."
The birds, which can reach speeds of up to 120mph when swooping for prey, share their time between their hospital home and the London Wetland Centre in Barnes, where they can often be seen hunting and preening on the islands in the Main Lake.
London Wild Bird Watch, a bird watching and wildlife exhibition, is being hosted at London Wetland Centre between April 20-22.
The success of the falcon programme is just one aspect of the hospital's sustainability campaign to increase biodiversity and the quality of green space in the grounds.
Thirty bird boxes and feeders have been installed to encourage birds like sparrows to come to the site, while a native wildflower garden will be buily by the hospital chapel this summer.
Rebecca Hall, the Imperial NHS Trust’s sustainability coordinator, said: "This is a great opportunity to show the community that even a hospital can be a home to wildlife that you don’t see every day. We have found patients and staff really respond to seeing the pair, and they are looking forward to viewing the live feed."
Mr King added: "I’ve been told many patients at Charing Cross recovering from illness and serious injury have specifically asked if they can have a bed which has a view of the nest ledge and their recovery has been aided by the compelling distraction of the falcons’ family life.
"Most people are astonished when they discover just how much wildlife we have in our cities, and the peregrines of Charing Cross Hospital are a fabulous example of just how a charismatic hunter of the skies can live alongside us."
* Film footage of the birds is available at www.wildlifewhispter.tv
