THE first peregrine chick of the year has hatched at Salisbury Cathedral today.

At about 7.45am, a small hole appeared in one of the five peregrine eggs and a chick was born later in the day.

The eggs were laid between March 31 and April 14.

BBC Springwatch has been filming on the Tower for a while and, as part of that filming, captured the tagging of an adult female peregrine on May 12.

History was made, as the tagging (by the British Trust for Ornithology) was the first of its kind in the UK.

It was carried out by specialist Dave Anderson under the supervision of Ed Drewitt, who holds a licence to ring and tag birds in the South West. Phil Sheldrake, RSPB conservation officer, who has spent nine years working with the Cathedral to return peregerines to the Tower, assisted Dave Anderson.

The small ‘backpack’ worn by the female peregrine will allow experts to follow her movements 24/7 sending messages back to a control centre via mobile phone masts.

Experts hope to learn more about where urban peregrines travel to hunt, particularly when finding food for their young.

The tagging was filmed and the results will be shared in the new series of Springwatch starting on May 29.

Peter, the peregrine that hatched on the Tower in 2014 and who was found shot recently, has recovered well at the Hawk Conservancy Trust and will be released on Tuesday.