THERE are now five new chicks nesting on Winchester Cathedral.

It has been confirmed that all five eggs laid by Winnie have hatched, an unusual occurrence.

Keith Betton of the Hampshire Ornithological Society, who is advising the cathedral on the birds, said: “Winnie and Chester have joined an elite group of Peregrines who have managed to hatch all five of their eggs. Most Peregrine pairs only lay four eggs, and even then sometimes just three hatch.

“For the rest of this week Winnie will continue to give them her warmth by scooping them up against her breast, but it won’t be long before they are too big to sit on, and at that point she will join Chester in the hunt for food. She will spend the nights with them, sitting next to the nest, probably on the gully wall.”

The falcons can be watched online via the webcam: www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk/the-peregrines-return-in-2020/.

Apart from having a worldwide audience, (around 200,000 people last year) they made it onto Meridian TV News last week.