Norwich Cathedral's first peregrine chick fledges

The first of four peregrine falcon chicks nesting on Norwich Cathedral took its first flight earlier.

The chicks, two males and two females, hatched at the end of April and experts from the Hawk and Owl Trust have monitored their progress on a webcam.

David Gittens said the first bird fledged at 04:42 BST.

"It headed for the safety of a perch on the bell tower of the cathedral and will await the arrival of the parent birds with breakfast," he said.

The chicks' progress is being monitored via a live webcam feed

The first egg of the brood was laid on the spire platform, 75m (246ft) above the ground, on 18 March, with the fourth arriving six days later. The first chick hatched on 26 April.

Mr Gittens said the first of this year's fledglings left the nest on exactly the same day as last year's first chick.

Experts said the fledging chick was one of the two females in the brood

"After a period of exuberance and running round the box flapping its wings like crazy, our chick jumps up on to the ledge and tips off, turns in the air and flies off strongly.

"We anticipate the other birds will not be far behind."

Four chicks also hatched in the cathedral nest last year, the second brood in the city since 2011 and among the first in 200 years.

This year's brood hatched at the end of April