Yorkshire Dales: Falcon viewing point reopens after Covid pause

The viewing point was last open to the public in 2019

A viewing point enabling people to observe peregrine falcons at a North Yorkshire beauty spot has reopened.

The spot at Malham Cove is run by the Malham Peregrine Project, which was paused during the Covid pandemic.

The project is a partnership by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and the RSPB.

Malham Cove is one of the most successful nesting sites in the park, with at least 73 young raised there since a pair first nested in 1993.

Mark Corner, from the park authority, said Malham Cove was one of the best spots to see the birds.

"This is the 30th year that they've been nesting here," he said.

"Following a pause in the Malham Peregrine Project during the Covid years, our staff and volunteers are very much looking forward to helping people once again witness the wonderful spectacle of falcons raising their family on the Cove face."

Volunteers will be on hand to show people the birds through telescopes on selected dates.

The birds usually take their first flight after five to six weeks

Peregrine falcon numbers declined in the 1960s due to the impact of pesticides and persecution by people, however numbers have recovered in recent decades.

There are about 1,750 pairs in the UK, according to the last population estimate undertaken in 2014, and over the past ten years there have been between five and seven traditional nest sites in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

Peregrines typically pair for several years and may live up to 10 years old, though the oldest known wild peregrine was 17.

They take their first flight after five to six weeks and are the fastest animal on earth - when they go into their aerial stoop they have been recorded reaching speeds over 200mph (321km/h).