PEREGRINE falcon chicks in the nest at a popular Yorkshire Dales viewpoint have now hatched - but bird watchers are yet to catch a glimpse of the chicks.

Staff and volunteers running the special peregrine falcon viewpoint at Malham Cove in the Yorkshire Dales National Park are eagerly waiting for their first sighting of the new arrivals.

The viewpoint team from the RSPB and the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) know the falcons have some chicks but, so far, the youngsters have not put in an appearance.

National Park Authority Wildlife Conservation Officer Ian Court said: “The peregrines have done a fantastic job of incubating the eggs throughout the recent cold, wintry weather.

“We have been watching them carefully and we’ve seen the adults taking food into the nest. That tells us they have chicks but we don’t know how many as it isn’t possible to see into the nest.

“We are looking forward to seeing an increase in activity from the adult birds over the coming weeks as they provide food for their rapidly growing young.”

Visitors to the Cove can watch the spectacular birds through high-powered telescopes at the free viewpoint at the foot of the rock face.

As in previous years, people are being asked to stay away from the nest site, and the British Mountaineering Council has once again agreed to impose temporary, voluntary rock climbing restrictions around it.

Volunteers at the viewpoint will be providing weekly updates on a special National Park Authority website at www.yorkshiredales.org.uk/peregrines and the birds are featured on Twitter using @malhamperegrine and on the RSPB’s Facebook pages.