Cathedral's chicks are weighed, ringed and swabbed

A trio of much-loved peregrine falcon chicks have been ringed in preparation for them to fledge and take flight.

Peregrine falcons returned to the west tower of Ely Cathedral in Cambridgeshire and laid four eggs on the man-made nesting ledge between 29 March and 5 April.

After three of these hatched, Hawk and Owl Trust licensed ringers weighed, DNA-swabbed and fitted rings to two female and one male chick on Friday.

Lesley Ann Thompson, director of communications at Ely Cathedral, said: "Everybody is really thrilled that we've got three chicks and, fingers crossed, so far they are doing really well."

Last year a pair of peregrines laid eggs at the cathedral for the first time since 2021.

Three chicks hatched in late May but only survived for a few days.

The cathedral's first pair of peregrines nested at the site in 2019.

A 24-hour live streaming webcam was installed, allowing people across the globe to watch the nesting box and follow the chicks' development from hatchlings to fledglings.

This year, three of the four eggs hatched on 7 and 8 May.

The birds have each been fitted with two rings that will help conservationists monitor peregrine populations.

The trust said young peregrines could be difficult to sex and that DNA records allowed them to build a clearer picture of the birds' breeding success, movements, survival and family connections over time.

During the ringing process, they were able to see the weight of each chick with the male weighing 665g (1lb 7oz) and the two females weighing more than 800g (1lb 12oz) each.

Thompson said: "We are really lucky. Where they are on the west tower you can see them gliding, swooping and hunting.

"It's fascinating to watch and they are quite vocal as well, peregrines – even if you haven't bothered to look up, it's such a distinct sound.

"It attracts lots of people to come and have a look and set their cameras up to try and capture the peregrines."

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