Brussels saw its first peregrine falcon hatch on Tuesday night, with the fledgling born at the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula at the centre of Brussels, where its family has nested for almost 20 years.
The first pair arrived in the cathedral in April of 2004 and decided to settle at the top of the building's north tower. Three male and three female falcons have succeeded each other since then. Peregrine falcons return to their nesting site year after year unless prevented from doing so.
Both falcons that currently nest at the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula are tagged. The female hatched in Frimmersdorf, Germany in the spring of 2016 and the male was born at the top of the Saint Guidon collegiate church in Anderlecht in 2017.
Since the two settled at the cathedral, they have had several attempts at having young. After laying no eggs in the 2019 season, two chicks died in 2020 before a juvenile falcon was raised in 2021 and 2022. On 9 March, the female laid one egg which hatched yesterday.
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Peregrine falcons were once endangered in Europe due to the contamination of their food sources. Today, eggs are taken from nests by egg collectors who use them to supply the falconry trade. For this reason the species is listed in the EU as 'threatened birds'.
You can follow along with the newborn and its parents via the live stream provided by Falcons for Everyone.
