Early arrival for cathedral peregrine pair

A peregrine falcon project has marked two decades by welcoming an early egg into its nest.

At about 15:00 GMT on Monday, the first egg of 2025 for Derby Cathedral Peregrine Project was laid by a falcon living on the spire.

It is a week earlier than the first egg was spotted last year, and the earliest laying since the project began in 2006.

Project co-founder Nick Brown said everyone was "thrilled", although the early arrival was not unexpected, as female falcons "tend to lay a bit earlier as they get older".

The city's peregrine falcons can be seen on a webcam feed, and the first egg of the year was spotted by someone tuning in from Devon.

Anyone watching in the coming weeks and days can expect to see more activity in the nest, said the project.

Mr Brown said: "The hope is that the female will lay up to three more eggs at two to three days intervals to make a complete clutch.

"Incubation will then last about a month before the eggs start to hatch."

Peregrine falcons are the world's fastest animals, able to reach speeds of up to 200mph (322km/h) when diving down on to prey.

They nest in high places such as urban towers and rural cliffs and have excellent binocular vision, allowing them to see prey from as far as 1.8 miles (3km) away.

The creatures have been nesting at the city's cathedral since the project was set up in 2006 by Derby Cathedral, Cathedral Quarter, Derby City Council, and Derbyshire Wildlife Trust.

Marc Whitlock, wilder engagement officer at Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, said the project connects "thousands of people in the city" to the birds of prey, and people from "over 70 countries" have watched the webcam.

He said: "As we embark on our 20th year of this wonderful project, we look forward to engaging even more people with this incredible species and to many more successful breeding years to come."

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