Salisbury Cathedral peregrines lay three eggs

It's expected we might see another in the coming days

Author: Faye TryhornPublished 27th Mar 2024

Just days after the peregrine falcons returned to the nesting box at Salisbury Cathedral, there's now three eggs that have been laid there.

The first arrived in the early hours of Thursday morning (21st March), with second laid on Saturday lunchtime (23rd March) and a third turning up on Monday evening (25th March).

A video's been released from the webcam showing when the latest egg arrived:

RSPB experts, who've been monitoring the nesting box at the base of the spire, have been looking back at data from the peregrine egg laying between 2020 and 2023.

They've worked out that the eggs have been arriving at an average of every 56 hours, which means we should see a fourth arriving today (Wednesday 27th March) at some point.

In recent years, there's been four eggs laid each Spring.

Incubation of the eggs doesn't generally start until the last one has arrived, with the parents then taking it in turns to keep their little ones warm and safe.

Hatching is usually around a month later, so we should expect some chicks at the end of April.

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