Town hall peregrine falcon lays first egg of year

Warwickshire Wildlife Trust has webcams operating around the clock during the breeding season

A peregrine falcon nesting at a Grade II-listed town hall has laid its first egg of the year.

Two of the birds live in a box at the site in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, and can be seen by the public around the clock during the breeding season via webcams.

Last year the pair laid four eggs, which hatched in late April - three males and one female.

Warwickshire Wildlife Trust said it believed three survived to adulthood.

Peregrines were among the "fastest animals on the planet", reaching speeds of up to 200mph (321.9km/h) when diving down on their prey from a great height, the charity said.

The egg was laid at 00:24 GMT on Monday.

In May last year the four chicks were given a health check and fitted with small metal leg rings to help identify them in the future.

All four birds fledged from the nest in early June.

'Towering cliff edges'

Two adult peregrines have taken up the nesting site for several years, successfully raising three to four chicks a year.

Until recently the peregrine falcon was only found in the north of the UK, but birds had now spread south, the trust said.

In recent years, they had found "some unusual nest sites", including the town hall, and "these tall, urban structures replicate the towering cliff edges that peregrines would naturally nest on", the trust added.