Worcester Cathedral is asking the public to help name their four peregrine chicks.
The week they been ringed by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) – meaning they are now recorded on the national database and can be identified in the future.
Worcester Cathedral asks the Public to Help them name their Peregrines
More than 200,000 people have watched as the chicks, who started hatching last month, have grown in the nest perched on the Cathedral, on the Cathedral’s YouTube livestream.
Click here to see all the live peregrine webcams
On Monday 22nd May, ringers from the BTO rung the chicks, measured their wing spans, weighed, and recorded them on the national database. Each colour ring has a unique letter code so the individual birds can be identified when seen in future as adult birds. Peregrines can live 15 and more years.
The chicks are always comfortable during ringing, but usually make themselves heard, so passers-by and YouTube viewers may have heard the commotion around the Cathedral!
The chicks are expected to fledge in June, and their progress can be monitored on the livestream below.
https://www.youtube.com/live/FE-ZajTeMX4
Chris Dobbs, Biodiversity Advisor for the Cathedral, said:
“This is fantastic news for the Cathedral and the city as a whole. Worcester is an incredibly biodiverse place, and the peregrines are part of that. Although peregrines are still quite rare, they are recovering well in the UK, largely due to the new habitats they take up in cities, of which Worcester is a great example.
“The birds love Cathedral towers because they are similar to their natural habitat nesting sites, which include quarry faces, sea cliffs, and mountainsides, as they like to have a high prospect looking over the area of their territory, which Cathedral towers and other tall buildings in cities provide.
“Now we are able to monitor the nest with a live camera, much like many other UK Cathedrals, and this will enable the Cathedral to report back on the progress of the birds over the years for everybody to enjoy.”
Naming the Chicks and Parents
The Cathedral is asking the public to send their name suggestions for the adults and the chicks before they fly the nest.
Send to info@worcestercathedral.org.uk
The favourite names will be announced in June.
Don’t forget, take a look at the peregrine nests across the country, there are 10 to watch on our Live Peregrine Webcam page here.
