THEIR DAILY lives have already attracted more than 200,000 viewers to YouTube and now Worcester Cathedral wants to hear suggestions of names for its Peregrine chicks and their proud parents.
A plea to help name the landmark’s famous clutch of chicks has been launched in the week they were ringed by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO)
It means both they and their parents can be identified in the future in the event of the probable return to one of Worcester’s historic sites.
More than 200,000 people have watched as the chicks, which started hatching last month, have grown in the nest perched on the Cathedral, on a YouTube livestream.
On Monday, 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 or 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 at www.youtube.com/live/FE-ZajTeMX4?feature=share
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.”
E-mail [email protected] with suggestions and the team will then select their four favourite names and announce them in June.
