A PEREGRINE falcon chick – the only one born at Lincoln Cathedral this year – has finally fledged and left the nest.
But the four-and-a-half-month-old bird of prey almost didn't make it after tumbling hundreds of feet from one of the building's towers on her maiden flight.
RSPB officer Kathryn Leigh, who was keeping an eye on the family of peregrines, said young Hertica (named after the Latin for nettle) was lucky to have escaped injury when she fell into the enclosed Nettle Yard.
"She was trying to be an overachiever and fly at only 42 days old," she said.
"She fell down and couldn't get out again – but her parents were dropping food down to her.
"After four days we went in and helped her back up the tower.
"Since then, it has been a joy to see her finding both her feet and her flying wings."
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