The day-to-day lives of Peregrine falcons will be on show close up from next week (April 10) for visitors to Malham Cove in the Yorkshire Dales.

Once again the RSPB and the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) are teaming up to stage a free Falcon Watch throughout the summer so people can follow the magnificent birds through high-powered telescopes.

And this year, the Falcon Watch team is getting ready to hit a very special milestone.

Ian Court, the YDNPA’s species officer, said: “This is the sixth year we and the RSPB have run the attraction and we will be welcoming our 100,000th visitor, which shows just how much interest the birds generate among the public.”

Last year more than 21,000 people – including about 6,000 children – took advantage of the telescopes to watch the birds in action against the fantastic backdrop of the Cove.

Matthew Capper, the RSPB’s People Engagement Officer, said: “We are hoping the Peregrines will be true to form and produce some young again this year.

“We will also be featuring them on our new website at www.rspb.org.uk/datewithnature as well as on the website created by the YDNPA and the RSPB at www.yorkshiredales.org.uk/peregrines. Both are packed with images and facts about what some claim are the fastest animals on earth. There is also a lot of information about all the other birdlife likely to be seen in the Malham area.”

The Falcon Watch site will be manned every day between 10.30am and 4.30pm (weather permitting) from 10 April to 30 August.