We are thrilled to announce that the first peregrine chick of the season can be seen live from the nest on the Derby peregrine webcams. 

After what seemed like a long wait, a chick was spotted just before midnight last night.

The first of four eggs was laid on Monday 10th March, with the first egg hatching just before midnight on 19th of April, and more eggs still to hatch in the coming days. 

The screengrab below was captured this morning by Helen, one of the dedicated  Peregrine Project watch point volunteers. 

The Derby Cathedral Peregrine Project is a partnership between Derby Cathedral, Cathedral Quarter, Derby City Council, and Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, which manages the project. It was first set up by Nick Brown and Nick Moyes back in 2006. 

Since then, the peregrines have been nesting on the cathedral tower with their activity documented and shared live with the world via the now famous Derby peregrine webcams, which have now received over five million hits from viewers in over 70 countries. 

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.     

Speaking about the first chick of the year, Nick Brown, co-founder of the project, said: 

"The whole team behind the Derby Cathedral Peregrine Project is thrilled to have our first chick of 2025 hatch and will be watching closely to see if the remaining eggs will hatch too. We are all so excited to watch as these tiny chicks grow to full adult size over the next 6-7 weeks and eventually fly off.”  

Marc Whitlock, Wilder Engagement Officer at Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, adds:  

“As we celebrate our first chick of 2025 and the 20th year of this wonderful project, special thanks go to the partners and our dedicated volunteers, who have made it possible for the peregrines to raise over 55 chicks since it began.    

“Each year the project brings thousands of people in the city and beyond, closer to these incredible birds of prey. Whilst hundreds of thousands of people watch the chicks as they grow via our webcams, we also prepare to welcome visitors to the peregrine watchpoints in a few weeks to catch a glimpse of these remarkable creatures in person.  

“We look forward to engaging even more people with this incredible species and to many more successful breeding years to come.”  

Find out more about the Peregrine Falcon Watchpoint events.  

Learn more about Peregrines and the project.