Woking peregrine falcon chicks begin to hatch

The nest box is in place in Woking town centre

Peregrine falcon chicks on top of a Woking town centre building have begun to hatch.

The Woking Peregrine Project has a nest box on top of Export House in the town, and a camera which tracks the birds' progress.

Four eggs were laid between 19 and 25 March, and a post on X, formerly Twitter, confirmed a second chick hatched on Monday.

The nest box was installed in January 2016, with success stories and tragedy striking in the time since.

A second of the four eggs in the nest has hatched

Penny Williams is a member of Surrey Bird Club, a birdwatching organisation which sets up a stall in the town each year to view the birds.

They usually time the viewing for when the young birds begin to emerge onto the ledge of the building from the nest box, with telescopes set up to see them.

Ms Williams said: "When we're in the town centre showing, particularly children, the peregrines, it is great fun and really rewarding."

The birds are fitted with rings on their legs to track them.

In 2023, one of the young females was found dead on the road in Woking.

While in September 2022, a female bird ringed in May of that year was found alive at Dungeness RSPB Reserve in Kent.