A CATHEDRAL is looking forward to the pitter-patter of tiny feet as a rare peregrine falcon pair have nested on the roof.

At present the female is sitting on four eggs at Salisbury Cathedral, which were laid over Holy Week and across Easter.

At first it was reported there were two eggs but they have been joined by a further two.

Visitors can watch the birds swooping in and out of their nesting box and catch a good glimpse of the eggs via two web cams discreetly positioned on the roof.

Cathedral staff will be monitoring the family daily.

Peregrine Falcons are part of the raptor family and are about the size of a crow.

Their diet consists mainly of smaller birds but also small mammals, reptiles and occasionally even insects.

They are renowned for their speed when they are hunting.

Peregrines can reach speeds of around 200mph when they go into their high speed dive to swoop upon their prey.

The peregrines have been using a nesting box built especially for them by the Cathedral Works Department.

Clerk of the Works, Gary Price, said: “We learnt a lot from the last year and this year we’re mounting the camera again so that we can share pictures with not only people visiting the tower on a tour but via the website.”

Phil Sheldrake of the Salisbury Branch of the RSPB, said: “It’s a fantastic result, I was not expecting to see the first egg on Tuesday as the pair didn’t lay until mid-April last year.

“It really is very exciting that we now have an established pair at the Cathedral, arguably one of the most charismatic birds at the probably the country’s most magnificent Cathedral – quite a prestigious nest-address

Visitors to the Cathedral will be able to watch the peregrines via two big screens, one placed in the tower and one placed in the cloisters.