Cathedral peregrine lays first egg
Dedicated viewers of Chichester Cathedral’s live peregrine falcon camera were excited to spot that the birds have laid the first egg of the year.
Footage from the top of the spire showed a peregrine sitting proudly on the nest on March 25.
The egg arrived at 5.56am, a week earlier than normal. David and Janet Shaw, who have been integral to the monitoring and filming of the peregrines, said in their blog: “What great news in this 25th Anniversary year.”
Indeed, although the birds of prey were first spotted patrolling the cathedral in the 1980s by a maths teacher at The Prebendal School, they have been raising chicks since 2001.
Last year, two little females hatched and took their first wobbly flights before they fledged at midsummer.
So far this year, the male has taken to perching on the golden cockerel weathervane at the very top of the spire.
Visitors can check on their progress on the screens at the Cloisters Café over a cup of coffee.
The peregrine project is run collaboratively by Chichester Cathedral, the Sussex Ornithological Society (SOS) and local wildlife enthusiasts David and Janet Shaw.