'Better season' hoped for peregrine livestream

A cathedral is starting its popular annual peregrine livestream early as a resident pair show signs of nesting.

Worcester Cathedral's adult falcons, dubbed Peter and Peggy or Mr and Mrs P by followers, have been returning to their nest box for weeks to prepare for laying.

The pair have bred at the top of the site for five years, with chicks typically fledgling in early June.

Last year, one of four eggs failed to hatch, and three chicks died within days of one another in May, however, cathedral biodiversity advisor Chris Dobbs said there was "every reason to hope for a better season".

"Unfortunately, these events do happen in the natural world," he said. "Peter and Peggy have been consistently successful parents in previous years.

"Launching the livestream early allows viewers to follow the journey from courtship to the first egg, hatching, and — hopefully — fledging."

The stream, which was watched by nearly half a million people last year, was stopped as the last remaining chick showed signs of illness, and it later emerged the birds had ingested poison.

Previously, between 2022 to 2024, the pair had successfully raised and fledged four chicks each year, the cathedral said.

A project team closely monitors the birds, which can reach speeds of up to 200 miles per hour (321.8 km/h) when diving down on prey.

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