Leicester cathedral peregrines see first egg hatch

The chick was first spotted early on Friday

The first peregrine chick of the season has hatched at Leicester Cathedral, cameras have revealed.

Four eggs were laid in the nest box in late March and early April, and a team has been monitoring them since.

Peregrine chicks take about five weeks to grow enough to fly and become independent about two months later.

The Leicestershire and Rutland Ornithological Society (LROS), which manages the project, has seen failed hatchings for the past three years.

The project has suffered a run of bad luck with failed hatchings and fatal infections

The Leicester Peregrine Project has monitored the habits and activities of the birds of prey in Leicester city centre since 2014.

After failed hatchings in 2020 and 2021, a male resident falcon was fatally hurt in 2022.

On top of this an avian flu outbreak killed three birds last year.

The nest has three cameras in it and a livestream is available.