Live webcam launched for falcons nesting on Chichester Cathedral

A webcam went live this Wednesday recording a pair of

peregrine falcons after they have nested on the Chichester Cathedral for the

last 11 years.

Over the course of 11 years, one very successful pair of

peregrines has already raised 34 chicks at the cathedral and late March this

year saw the laying of four more eggs. As a result of this remarkable success,

the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has launched this webcam

project which will run until July.

Pete Harrison from RSPB South East, said, “The pair has been

incredibly successful so far and I’ve got my fingers crossed for another four

healthy chicks this year, but we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Harrison went on to say that the pair is currently

alternating whose turn it is to sit on the eggs. The female is still doing most

of the incubating but the male is trying to do his bit for the cause. Harrison

added: “He seems a bit awkward as he tries to wiggle himself into the right

position.”

The incubation period lasts between 28 and 33 days which

means the visitors could see chicks hatching in the first two weeks of the

project.

The project is currently based in the cathedral’s Cloisters Café

but by the end of May the RSPB will move out on to the Cathedral Green in time

to see the chicks learning to fly.