Scotland / Glasgow - University of Glasgow - 2025 / Clyde & Bonnie

[The Peregrine Chick]

Glasgow Uni’s battle with ‘murder of crows’ causes chaos on campus
At least they’ve finally giving students a valid excuse for skipping 9ams
Hannah Gross / 30 Oct 2025  / The Tab

The University of Glasgow is currently battling with a “murder of crows”, and they’re causing chaos on campus.

The rowdy flock of crows has descended on the University of Glasgow’s Hillhead campus, wreaking havoc and leaving staff battling to protect the grounds and facilities.

The birds — collectively known as a murder of crows —  have been spotted pecking at floodlights, tearing up new turf and targeting anything shiny.

Posting on X on Tuesday 21st of October, one of the university’s duty managers compared the situation to Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 horror classic The Birds.

He wrote: “Our south facade floodlights were damaged over the weekend by a murder of crows, who are going around campus pulling everything apart!

“The other week it was the new turf, this week it’s anything shiny…They literally are massive, they stand their ground and stare you out!”

Another staff member joked: “Am sure they get to campus on the #15 bus, down the Crow Road.”

A University of Glasgow spokesperson confirmed that inspections were underway to assess the extent of the damage.

They said: “We’re aware of an increase in the number of crows on our main campus. Unfortunately, they’ve caused some minor damage to external lighting.

“Our maintenance teams are inspecting the affected units and will carry out repairs once assessments are complete.”

Typically solitary, crows sometimes gather in large, noisy flocks — especially in urban areas where food is plentiful. The highly intelligent birds are known to recognise and remember human faces for years after encounters.

The Hillhead campus has also long been home to other feathered residents. In recent years, peregrine falcons have nested in the university’s iconic Gilbert Scott Tower.

Earlier this year, one of the chicks, named Jack, died from bird flu in June after hatching alongside his brother Victor in late April.

At the time, the Glasgow Peregrine Project said: “The SSPCA assessed Jack and deemed that he had likely contracted bird flu and sadly, had to put him down to ease his suffering.”

Jack and Victor’s parents, known as Bonnie and Clyde, have nested at the tower since 2022 — and remain the university’s most welcome winged inhabitants.

source: The Tab - Glasgow Uni’s battle with ‘murder of crows’ causes chaos on campus

[The Peregrine Chick]

Four falcon chicks hatch in Glasgow university tower
BBC / 4 May 2024

Video - Four falcon chicks hatch in Glasgow university tower

Four peregrine falcon chicks have hatched in a tower at the University of Glasgow.  Conservation group the Glasgow Peregrine Project noted the new arrivals last week at the Gilbert Scott Tower.  The group's bird recorder John Simpson told BBC Scotland News that the hatching was "fantastic".

The birds of prey have nested at the university for around two decades and in 2023, a CCTV camera was installed in a bird nesting box there to enable greater observation of the birds.

Mr Simpson said: "The male is bringing them plenty of food since they hatched. He seems a very modern man, as he is splitting incubation duties with the female as well as killing pigeons.

"This particular pair dominate the city, and we might see more peregrines doing this as things change, and peregrines urbanise more and more.

"The first egg had a large spot on it, so it was easy to know which one it was, although it was the last one to hatch."

The Glasgow Peregrine Project is led by the Scottish Ornithologists’ Club, the University of Glasgow and the RSPB, with support from a number of other groups.

Mr Simpson feels the collaboration has proved helpful in helping to learn more about the falcons and their behaviour.

Members of the project hope to abseil down the tower later this year to lift the chicks out and fit them with electronic tags that will enable monitoring of their movements.

Mr Simpson added: "With the identification tags we can see where they have gone, how high they fly and other information that would be really useful."

In recent years the group have held peregrine watches at the university, allowing people to see the birds in their nest.

Source: https://news.google.com/articles/CBMiLmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jb20vbmV3cy9hcnRpY2xlcy9jcmd5MDR5Mmc0bm_SATJodHRwczovL3d3dy5iYmMuY29tL25ld3MvYXJ0aWNsZXMvY3JneTA0eTJnNG5vLmFtcA?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen

[The Peregrine Chick]

University of Glasgow
Glasgow, Scotland

website:  https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/sustainability/biodiversity/peregrine%20falcons/

Resident female: Bonnie
Resident male:  Clyde