Where to see peregrine in the UK

How to find peregrine

Most people picture a sea cliff, but the reliable modern peregrine sites are urban. Cathedrals, power stations, tower blocks and bridges all mimic the ledge nesting the bird evolved for, the pigeon supply is limitless, and nobody shoots at them. Several cities have nest cameras and viewing points staffed in the breeding season.

That makes this the least effortful raptor on the list. Stand under a known cathedral nest in May and you will very likely see an adult within twenty minutes.

The identification at rest is a heavy, broad-shouldered falcon with a black moustachial stripe against a white cheek. In flight it is anchor-shaped, stiff-winged and much faster than it looks, because there is nothing nearby to give scale.

The stoop is what everyone wants and few people plan well for. A hunting peregrine climbs, then drops with wings closed, and the speeds involved are genuinely the fastest of any animal. It is over in a couple of seconds and almost impossible to follow through binoculars — watching with the naked eye and raising the glasses afterwards works better.

Recovery from the organochlorine pesticide crash of the 1960s is one of the more complete conservation successes in Britain, which is why a bird that was nearly lost is now a plausible lunchtime sighting in a city centre.