About
The fastest birds in the world, peregrine falcons have been in and around London for many years. Until recently sightings were rare. By the mid 1990s individual birds began to spend the summers in the city, and by the late 1990s peregrines became a more common sight. They prey on a wide range of birds including pigeons.
Pressures
The strongholds of the breeding birds in the UK are the uplands of the north and west and rocky seacoasts. Peregrines have suffered illegal killing from gamekeepers and landowners, and been a target for egg collectors, but better legal protection and control of pesticides (which indirectly poisoned birds) have helped the population to recover considerably from a low in the 1960s.
How to spot
The peregrine is a large, crow-sized falcon. They have broad, pointed wings and relatively short tails – giving them an anchor shape when in flight. They have a varied grey plumage with white chin and cheeks, and a distinctive moustache. It is blue-grey above, with a blackish top of the head and an obvious black 'moustache' that contrasts with its white face. Its breast is finely spotted. It is swift and agile in flight, chasing prey.
Prey
Its diet consists almost entirely of medium sized birds. Typical of bird-eating raptors, peregrines are sexually dimorphic, with females being considerably larger than males. The Peregrine Falcon hunts at dawn and dusk, when prey is most active, but in cities also nocturnally, particularly during migration periods when hunting at night may become prevalent. It searches for prey either from a high perch or from the air. Once prey is spotted, it begins its stoop, folding back the tail and wings, with feet tucked. They dive at speeds of around 200mph (320kph). Prey is struck and captured in mid-air; the Peregrine Falcon strikes its prey with a clenched foot, stunning or killing it, and then turns to catch it in mid-air. It will then drop to the ground and eat it there if it is too heavy to carry. Prey is plucked before consumption.
Where and when to see them
London’s peregrines use the city’s tall buildings and structures as substitutes for their traditional crag and cliff-ledge nesting sites. They can be seen at The Millennium Dome, Battersea Power Station, and The Tate Modern.
Where
In the rest of the UK, along rocky sea cliffs and the uplands are both good places to see them in the breeding season. East coast marshes where there are large gatherings of birds can be a good place in the winter. There are nature events across the UK where you can watch the birds during the breeding season.
When
Peregrines often hunt during the night when their prey is most active however they can also be seen perched on tall buildings during the day.
Fascinating fact
During the Second World War the British Air Ministry ordered the destruction of peregrines due to the threat they posed to carrier pigeons.