A PEREGRINE chick that hatched on Salisbury Cathedral last year has been spotted 81 miles away from home.

The female peregrine, named Aveline by cathedral staff, was caught on camera in the Floodplain Forest Nature Reserve, near Milton Keynes.

Aveline was snapped by wildlife photographer and blogger Ashley Beolens, who identified her by her distinctive blue ring, which bears the initials SC.

Ashley said it was amazing to see the falcon, and had tweeted a picture asking if anyone had any information on the bird and its coloured rings.

"I was watching the female peregrine hunting and noticed the ring, I tweeted the picture and heard back from Ed Drewitt, who ringed all the cathedral's peregrines."

The sighting is a first for the cathedral, and Aveline is one of only nine falcons that have fledged from the tower to have been sighted after leaving the Close.

RSPB conservation officer Philip Sheldrake said that peregrines travel great distances, and are rarely sighted again after nesting.

"It is great news, as when she left in the summer of 2016 we never thought we would see or hear about her again."

All birds ringed in the Bristol and West region (including Salisbury) carry the distinctive blue ring, and each ring bears unique initials that identify each bird.

Ed Drewitt, who ringed the birds, thought that the Floodplain Forest would be a temporary home for Aveline.

He said: "My hunch is that she is just passing through, spending the winter in a place where there is a ready supply of ducks and wading birds to feed on.

"She will probably move on in the spring, and given that she is only six-months-old it will be at least a year before she finally settles down and breeds."

Aveline's brother, Raphael, has yet to be sighted.