Peregrines have adapted remarkably to urban environments, with tall buildings providing substitute cliff-face nesting sites, raising novel welfare considerations for urban-breeding raptors.
Urban peregrine welfare represents an adaptation success story with novel welfare dimensions. Peregrines that have colonised city environments exploit the thermal updrafts around tall buildings for soaring, use building ledges as substitute cliff nesting sites, and hunt the abundant urban pigeon populations that provide reliable prey throughout the year. Urban nest camera projects have revealed that urban peregrines successfully raise broods in close proximity to millions of humans, suggesting that the species can habituate to urban noise and disturbance more effectively than many other raptors. Welfare challenges in urban environments include the risk of chick grounding - young birds that fledge from very tall buildings may land on unsuitable surfaces including busy roads or enclosed courtyards from which they cannot take flight. Urban peregrine watchers at nest sites during fledging season provide welfare interventions, returning grounded chicks to accessible high structures. Illegal persecution - egg theft by collectors, and deliberate killing particularly in areas where peregrines conflict with racing pigeon interests - remains a significant welfare concern that wildlife crime enforcement must address.