Peregrine chicks given names fit for Royalty

Four peregrine falcon chicks, which hatched on Salisbury Cathedral Tower, have been given royal names as part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

Noble, Willow, Monty and Vulcan were named after a public poll which saw more than 2,000 votes cast.

The names selected are all names of beloved Royal Canines, predominantly Corgis, and top of the list was Willow with 432 votes.

Willow the Queen’s corgi famously appeared in the 2012 James Bond sketch made for the opening of the London Olympics. Sadly, she died in 2018 aged 14.

Second was Monty with 386 votes. Monty the corgi also starred in the 2012 James Bondsketch. Originally the Queen Mother’s dog, he was reportedly named after the horse whispererVulcan was named after a dorgi (a corgi-dachshund cross) which appeared on the cover of Vogue, when he and the Queen had their picture taken by the celebrated photographer Annie Leibovitz.Last but not least, there’s Noble. Queen Victoria, had five collies all named Noble and distinguished only by a roman numeral after their name – Noble I, Noble II and so on.Noble, Willow, Monty and Vulcan are likely to fledge within the coming days and begin practicing flying and hunting.

Salisbury Cathedral has an historic bond with peregrines, which was broken in the twentieth century because of persecution and pesticides. But in 2014 a pair bred successfully on the South side of the building. The Cathedral has been monitoring the birds progress since and has web cams and regular updates on their progress.

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