The falcon laid her first egg at approximately noon on Sunday 17th March, a day earlier than last year. It was spotted by Derby Cathedral Peregrine Project web cam watchers Vic Pearson.  

Nick Brown, Enquiries Officer at Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, set up the Derby Cathedral Peregrine Project with Nick Moyes back in 2006. Speaking about the first egg of the year, he said: 

“Females tend to lay a bit earlier as they get older so we were expecting to see an egg about now. With luck the female will lay a further three eggs to make a complete clutch, doing so at two to three days intervals. Once complete, incubation will then last about a month before the eggs start to hatch.”

Peregrines have been nesting on the cathedral tower since 2006 and the famous Derby peregrine webcams enable viewers to watch them live. 

They are the world’s fastest animal, able to reach speeds of up to 200mph when diving down onto prey. They nest in high places such as urban towers and rural cliffs and have excellent binocular vision allowing them to see prey from as far as 3km away.   

The Derby Cathedral Peregrine Project is a partnership between Derby Cathedral, Cathedral Quarter, Derby City Council, and Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, which manages the project. 

Find out more about Peregrines and the project