Three peregrine falcon chicks are growing up on the roof of the 12 de Octubre University Hospital in Madrid, where a pair of falcons has returned to breed.
The new arrivals
This season the pair raised three chicks: a female weighing 680 grams and two males of 458 and 500 grams. Specialists from the conservation groups working on urban falcons in Madrid, including Brinzal, have ringed the young birds and are monitoring their health.
The parents have nested at the hospital before, and both were themselves born in the city.
Why a hospital roof?
To a peregrine falcon, a tall building looks very much like the cliff ledges where the species traditionally nests. The hospital’s roof offers:
- height, keeping the nest safe from ground predators;
- open views for hunting;
- plenty of prey, such as pigeons, starlings and parakeets.
A conservation success
Peregrine falcons suffered a dramatic decline in the 1950s and 1960s, when the pesticide DDT thinned their eggshells and populations crashed across Europe and North America. After DDT was banned and the species was protected, numbers recovered, and the peregrine is now classed as “least concern” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, although it remains legally protected.
Falcons in the city
Peregrines have colonised cities around the world, from London and Paris to New York, as well as Madrid and Barcelona, nesting on church towers, office blocks and other tall buildings. They hunt other birds in flight, reaching extraordinary speeds in their dives — the fastest of any animal — and help to keep populations of pigeons and other urban birds in check naturally.
And in the Balearics
Peregrine falcons also breed in the Balearic Islands, mainly on sea cliffs in Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera, as well as on islets such as Dragonera and Cabrera. The islands’ rugged coastline provides ideal nesting sites for a species that, after coming close to disappearing in many parts of Europe, is once again a regular sight.
