SALISBURY Cathedral’s peregrines are back in their South Tower eyrie and so far have four eggs, which can be watched via one of the three peregrine-cams.

The eggs have been laid over the last few weeks. The fourth was spotted by sharp -eyed RSPB South Wilts member Nicola Bowes one evening last week. The cathedral authorities are not sure exactly when it was laid but incubating usually starts with the penultimate egg, so now it’s a count down until hatching, roughly of 29 to 32 days per egg.

Cathedral spokesperson Marie Thomas says: “We are often asked if the same pair nest on the Tower every year. We can’t tell because the adult pair are not ringed, but it is very likely to be the same two because peregrine falcons tend to mate for life and are generally faithful to their breeding sites, abandoning them only when one of them dies. There are occasional ‘divorces’, but they are very, very rare.”

The peregrine cams can be viewed via this link: https://www.salisburycathedral.org.uk/discover/peregrine-falcons/peregrine-live-webcam/