Wild Animal Welfare

Wild Peregrine Falcon Urban Recovery 2026

Peregrine falcons have made remarkable recoveries in urban environments - monitoring supports their welfare and enriches urban ecosystems.

Key Facts

UK peregrine population has recovered from under 400 pairs in the 1960s to over 1,800 today
Urban peregrines nest on tall buildings and bridges where persecution is lower
Prey is abundant in cities - feral pigeons, starlings, and other urban birds
Nest cameras on urban buildings attract hundreds of thousands of viewers
Disturbance at nest sites remains a welfare and legal concern

Welfare Considerations

Individual urban peregrines face welfare threats from disturbance, window strikes, and secondary poisoning from rodenticide-contaminated prey. Monitoring, public education, and nest site protection directly benefit identifiable breeding pairs.

What You Can Do

Watch urban peregrine nest cameras to understand their ecology
Report peregrine persecution or nest disturbance to the RSPB and police
Advocate for rodenticide reduction in urban areas to protect peregrine prey