NTU is live streaming Falcon chicks that are nesting in it’s Newton Building

Nottingham Trent University’s new students are those of the feathered kind as NTU’s Newton Building is currently home to a family of peregrine falcons.

Peregrine falcons are typically found in rocky sea cliffs and marshlands, so this urban home for them is quite unique.  Speaking to BBC News, NTU’s Environmental Projects Officer Sarah Thorp was happy with their home, assuring that the chicks were thriving.

Nottingham Trent University

The falcons began nesting in 2001, almost twenty years ago, and have amassed quite a few fans during this period. Since they first moved in, around 40 chicks have hatched.

The university is working with Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust to ensure their safety and observe their progress. One of the infamous falcons, Mrs P, unfortunately died a few weeks ago, which the Trust have established to be because of a physical altercation which caused her to crash into a building. To protect the other falcons, they have arranged X rays for Mrs P to check for poisoning.

The first chick of this year hatched on May 5th, however Peregrine falcons typically lay between three to four eggs a year, so we can look forward to seeing some more little chicks. After the eggs are laid, they tend to take around 29-32 days to hatch.

The Trust have organised a free online webinar that will give greater insight into the work that goes on behind the scenes, that you can book here.

In 2012, the university installed cameras in the nest so followers could keep up with our feathered friends antics, with some streams amassing hundreds of thousands of views, I am personally now an invested fan. You can keep up with the falcons antics here.

BBC Breakfast compared the streams to a ‘soap opera’ and I have to agree, could this be the new Corrie?

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