Leicester Cathedral peregrine rescued after getting stuck on ground

The young peregrine falcon attracted a lot of attention while perched on a bench in Jubilee Square

A young peregrine falcon needed a helping hand after flying the nest and getting stuck in a city centre square.

The fledgling was one of three that hatched on a nesting platform at Leicester Cathedral seven weeks ago.

She flew to the ground but was not strong enough to fly back up, so members of Leicestershire and Rutland Ornithological Society took her home.

They said she could have died if left on the ground, as many fledglings were run over.

"The urge to fly is very, very strong, but sometimes they leave too early, before the wings are strong enough to give them enough lift to get off the ground," said Jim Graham, who runs the peregrine project for Leicester Cathedral.

"Unfortunately they get hit by cars and buses and things like that. It's quite a dangerous place."

The bird had flown the nest too soon

He said the bird had been attracting a lot of attention while perched on a bench in nearby Jubilee Square, where she was for about three hours on Tuesday morning.

"They are absolutely beautiful animals and it's nice that people were giving her due respect," said Mr Graham.

He put her in a bag in order to stop her panicking while she was carried home.

"We managed to get her caught, which was a little bit easier than anticipated, and we put her back into the box and she has been fed by one of the adults," he said.

Members of Leicestershire and Rutland Ornithological Society took the bird back to her nest

The peregrine's brother had fledged on Friday but became grounded in Cheapside, so he also had to be returned to the nesting platform.

"He fledged again on Sunday and hopefully that's been a good fledging, because we haven't had any communication to say he has been found somewhere on the ground," said Mr Graham.

"They don't always return to their nest. If they are capable of good flight they find a nice flat roof, the adults continue to feed them, and they teach them to hunt themselves."

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

Mr Graham previously said the last three years had been "heart-breaking" after hatching failed in 2020 and 2021, followed by the resident birds dying during an avian flu outbreak in 2022.

Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].