Each has a bulky, muscular body with strong, pointed wings and a relatively short tail.' 'Rock doves and peregrines have evolved alongside each other,' explains Hein van Grouw, Senior Curator of the Museum's Bird group. They're the same birds, just with different names depending on where they live. Peregrine falcons share their traditional craggy homes with rock doves ( Columba livia), familiar to most of us as the feral pigeons so common in our towns and cities. Where there's plenty of a particular type of prey, predators will become specialists in hunting it. Oblivious of their intended human purposes, the birds simply sought out structures that balanced shelter and access to a good supply of food. You might not see much similarity between cliff ledges and bridges, pylons or power stations - all locations where the birds of prey choose to nest - but as the peregrine falcon population increased, so did competition for traditional nest sites. 'The earliest record of a peregrine using a building goes back to 1864/65 at Salisbury Cathedral, while in London peregrines used St Paul's Cathedral as early as 1921.' 'Peregrines nest on over 200 urban or manmade locations across the country today,' says Ed. Food supply is one factor that attracts the predators to the lowlands, while in the uplands there is continued persecution by humans, particularly around grouse moors.
The survey found that peregrine falcons were faring much better in urban and coastal situations than in the hills. 'Peregrines began moving into our cities during the 1990s after their populations recovered from decades of decline from persecution and the effects of pesticides in the countryside,' explains naturalist and author Ed Drewitt, who is currently researching peregrine falcons for a PhD at the University of Bristol.Ī total of 1,769 breeding pairs were estimated across the UK by the British Trust for Ornithology's (BTO) peregrine survey in 2014 (see the PDF). Traditionally, the birds kept away from humans, but they've been getting closer in the last few decades. Peregrine falcons ( Falco peregrinus) are famously capable of reaching speeds of around 320 kilometres per hour as they dive or 'stoop' to catch their prey.
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