Salisbury Cathedral: Breeding peregrines beat the livestream cameras

The female laid her first egg at around 18:45 on Friday, March 17 and the second egg followed at 1:19 am this morning. There may be more eggs to follow in the coming days. 

Salisbury Cathedral has three cameras in place. Two of the cameras are set to catch the action on the nest box and the camera at the other end of the balcony has been cited as the ‘larder’ as this is where the adults store their freshly caught food.

Image: Salisbury Cathedral (Image: Salisbury Cathedral)

Wiltshire Ornithological Society’s, Granville Pictor is the cathedral’s peregrine expert. 

He said: “The Cathedral’s cameras offer us a fascinating insight into the lives of these amazing raptors, and a chance to study their behaviour.

“For example, this female probably won’t start incubating until she lays her next-to-last egg – they generally lay between three and four – so we’ll see the eggs left uncovered for longish periods. She’ll know instinctively when to settle down and then we’ll get to see everything unfold.”

To date, 27 peregrine chicks have fledged from the tower and due to their colour rings, it has been possible to keep track of some of them.

• Osmund (blue colour ring YK) was spotted in Guernsey in April last year.
• Flo (orange colour ring TND) was spotted in Hertford in September last year.
• Peter (blue colour ring GX) was spotted with a mate in Hampshire and has raised his own chicks.
• Aveline (blue colour ring SC) was seen in Milton Keynes in January 2017.Image: Salisbury Cathedral (Image: Salisbury Cathedral)

Senior advisor at Natural England and Nature Advisor to the cathedral, Phil Sheldrake who instigated the peregrine project when he was working as a conservation officer at the RSPB said: “It is good to see the peregrines back and laying.

“Being able to watch the breeding process like this is a great way of involving people in wildlife conservation and the natural world – and it’s great to see that the cathedral is extending its environmental programme to include wildflower planting, a giant bug Cathedral, bat and bird boxes and the Queens Green Canopy trees planted on Marsh Close. Every little bit helps and encourages others to do the same.”

The cathedral is asking people to contact them if they believe they have spotted one of the falcons by clarifying the letters on the colour ring visible on the left leg.

Salisbury peregrines from 2104-2020 will have a blue ring, and those born after 2021 will have an orange ring.

The cathedral is reopening the Peregrine Facebook Group and admitting new members to share stories and footage.

Live cams can be viewed here.