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Baby falcons at Brussels Cathedral!

Just this afternoon, the first of four eggs of a peregrine falcon mother hatched inside the tower of the St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral in Brussels. Two hours later, a second baby falcon was born, reports ornithologist Walter Roggeman. "Falcons are not pets, so we don't give them any names", Mr Roggeman says.

In the meantime, the mother had fed the firstborn for the first time. Mr Roggeman: "It isn't unusual for the eggs to hatch in quick succession, but two hours is quite fast indeed." Thanks to the predator instincts of the falcon, the baby birds will probably get plenty of nourishment from their mother.

We had to wait quite a while for the birth of the first nestling, which was initially scheduled for Saturday 4 April. The female falcon, which was born in Germany in 2002, nestled in the cathedral tower in 2006, and laid a couple of eggs every spring. In 2012, she chose one of her male young to be the father of her new nest.

"The other eggs will be hatching shortly. We've already noticed that they've been pecked, which means there are definitely falcon chicks in there", says Walter Roggeman. "And we'll be able to know their gender in two to three weeks, by their size. Male falcons are significantly smaller than females. Around the same time, the birds will also be ringed, and then in six weeks they'll be able to fly out for the first time. Although they'll stay close to the nest for another while."

The website of the Brussels falcons has a webcam, and is getting many visitors. "On Wednesday, the site hit a record of 50,000 clicks, whereas last year we only made it to 30,000", Mr Roggeman adds.

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