EIGHTEEN years ago, bird lovers at EDF Energy’s Hinkley Point B power station installed a nesting platform on the south east corner of the reactor building in the hope that the local peregrine falcons would nest there.

This year for the first time the pigeon-hunting birds of prey decided to move in and so far they’ve produced one egg although we here at the power station hope this number increases.

Peregrines usually lay two to three eggs over a period of days which take between 29 and 32 days to incubate so mid-June is the target date for seeing young chicks on the platform.

Amy Barwood, Hinkley Point B’s environmental compliance coordinator said: "We’ve learned from the experts that nesting sites are rare in this area as the cliffs tend not to be suitable as they can be unstable, so it’s particularly exciting to see that our initiative to build a purpose built platform has finally paid off.

"The nest site, known as an eyrie, is usually on a grassy or earthen cliff-ledge where they won’t be disturbed, but increasingly, the birds are nesting on tall buildings.

"They’re also territorial creatures so we don’t expect to see another family arriving any time soon."

Twenty per cent of Europe’s peregrine population is in the UK and the RSPB and other organisations have been working hard to protect the species. One of their actions is to build nesting ledges like the one at Hinkley Point B to help peregrines re-colonise their former ranges.

The peregrine is included on the Green List of UK birds of conservation concern.

To find out more about peregrine falcons and the threats these beautiful creatures face visit the RSPB website, rspb.org.uk, and search for them under the ‘wildlife guides’ section.