Guess who's back! Peregrines return to Salisbury Cathedral
The live stream cameras to watch them have gone live today (Friday 12th March)
Peregrine falcons have made their annual return to Salisbury Cathedral.
While staff there were testing equipment on the South balcony of the tower, they spotted a mated pair making themselves at home in the nestbox.
They've been returning quite regularly over the past few days, as they gear up for breeding season.
Last year, the resident birds laid four eggs, with the first coming on Mothering Sunday.
There was a public vote to name the chicks, with Honor, Ela, Katherine and Osmund being the eventual choices.
2021's pair have also been seen mating, but they doesn't tell us when the eggs are likely to be laid.
Female's can wait and will only let it happen once the nest and territory are secure.
Gary Price, Salisbury Cathedral Clerk of Works, who has been involved with the peregrine nestbox from the start, said:
"It's good to see the falcons back again. It's impossible to tell whether it is the same pair as last year, but they do tend to be faithful to their territory. We got everything ready in good time, the balcony and gravel were cleaned, the cameras are up and running, so it is a matter of time before we see some action up there."
WATCH THE BIRDS IN ACTION
Salisbury Cathedral have also confirmed that their live stream cameras of the nestbox are back online today (Friday 12th March).
Last year they clocked clocking up over 600,000 views across the March-to-August season.
On 30th April 2020 the nestcam page peaked at 15,500 views in the one day and sometimes as many as 1,000 people were watching simultaneously.
Phil Sheldrake, Salisbury Cathedral's Nature Conservation Adviser, who initiated the Cathedral's peregrine project said:
"This is great news. I took a perfectly timed turn around the Cathedral Close about ten days ago and arrived to find a peregrine perched prominently on the Cathedral. Within five minutes I heard a call and the bird dropped down and then up to meet its incoming mate carrying food...an aerobatic gift. Truly exhilarating."
You can follow the progress of the birds by going to Salisbury Cathedral's website.