First peregrine egg of 2022 laid at Salisbury Cathedral

It was laid last night and can be seen on the live webcam set up. 

The female returned to the nest just before 7pm yesterday (Saturday March 19) and laid the egg just before 8pm.

She stayed on the nest until the early hours of this morning (Sunday March 20) when the male flew in to take over. She returned to the nest at 6.30am.

They will continue to watch the egg in shifts from now on.

The female won’t start incubating the eggs until the last one has been laid and she will lay at roughly 48 hour intervals.

Last year, the first of four eggs was laid on March 15.

To date 23 chicks have fledged from the tower, including one chick that was adopted by Sally, the cathedral’s most famous peregrine, in 2017, after both his parents were poisoned.

Sally was the first female adult peregrine in the UK to have a GPS tracker fitted, and a lot was learnt from observing her movements.

Having stayed very local to Salisbury for two years, in her third year Sally was monitored flying out to the west of the county, visiting towns like Bradford-on-Avon.

Her GPS signal was last detected near Coombe Bisset in November, 2019.

An un-ringed pair has since taken over the nest.

The male with the egg

Visit the cathedral's website to view the latest from the tower on the peregrine webcam.

Get more Salisbury news. 

You can also like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter and Instagram to stay up to date, as well as signing up for one of our newsletters.

If you want online news with fewer ads, unlimited access and reader rewards - plus a chance to support our local journalism - find out more about registering or a digital subscription.

Email newsdesk@salisburyjournal.co.uk with your comments, pictures, letters and news stories.