I was on my way home from the library, and as I was getting on the highway, a peregrine falcon flew low past me. I got a really good look at it, and I’m positive that’s what it was. I could see the head very clearly, with the dark moustache on it. It even looked at me.
Wow. 
I absolutely love peregrines, and this made my week! I’m used to seeing redtail hawks along the highway, but this is the first time I’ve been sure I’ve seen a falcon.
Here in Topeka we have a pair that nest on top of the Westar Energy building. Each year after the nest is established(in a box place there for that purpose) the company turns on a 24/7 live camera, so you can see what the birds are doing.
That’s great, seeing the peregrine up close and personal like that! I’ve seen 'em through binoculars, or on camera.
http://rfalconcam.com/rfc-main/mainView.php
The above link is to a cam site in Rochester New York, where Kodak keeps a camera on their own falcons each year. It’s not active now, but there’s still a lot of stuff there, information on peregrines, and lots of archival photos of the most recent brood. It’s been the same female for ten years, and she and the two mates she has had have raised over thirty young.
Here in Rochester, MN we have nesting Peregrines atop a building downtown. Occasionally, we can see them swooping in to nab one of the other local birds for a tasty snack.
We have them in Chicago too. Every so often in the spring, we’ll get a news report of a baby peregrine that tried to fly and didn’t make it. So they are just walking around on the street below. I guess when they are that little they can’t take off from the ground. So the animal rescue people have to put him back on a building high up so he can launch off and try again, till the gets the hang of it and can fly back to his folks.
With all the pigeons I’m surprised there aren’t more of them. They must be territorial, cause there is certainly enough food in the city to support more of them
I believe there’s a peregrine living on my condo building…I see him swooping around all the time outside my window, and it sure looks like a peregrine, not a hawk.
we have 3 mated pairs in philly. i haven’t seen them, but i have seen evidence of them. usually bloody feathers and pigeon bits.
for years kodak had a nest box on their tower in rochester they had 5 cameras on the box.
they are renovating the building and had to move the nest box. we are all hoping that mariah and kaver find the box and are able to do their usual fantastic parenting this year.
Thanks for the link, Baker. I’ll have to check that out this season. The two I watched last year were in Columbus, Ohio:
http://ohiodnr.com/wildlife/dow/falcons/live_nestbox_video.aspx
and Elk River, Minnesota:
http://www.greatriverenergy.com/ebc/birdcam.html
It’s so much fun to be able to see what happens in the nest. Gaudere, how cool that they’re on your building!
I’ve had several close encounters with these awesome birds, once one perched on the railing on my mom’s condo, and I got a very good look at it. Another time I saw one (as I was driving) swooping between two palm trees while chasing some pigeons.
Come out here to CO. We’re ugly with 'em. Got a HUGE one that sits on top of the light pole at the end of my street who sees me off to work every morning.
Here on Panama one sometimes hangs out on the high-rise across the street for me during the winter, going after pigeons. Once it flew up and perched on the air conditioner just outside the window where I was working on the computer, about three feet from me. I tried to stealthily sidle off to get my camera, but I spooked him and he flew off.
A couple of weeks ago I was in the Bronx visiting family for the holidays, and I saw one swooping around a block from the subway station. It perched on a TV antenna for a few minutes before flying away.
There used to be a nesting pair at Torrey Pines, north of San Diego. They would go after ravens once in awhile, without success as far as I could tell. No biggie, they had a steady supply of pigeons that hung out in the parking lots and picnic areas.
Back in the late 90s, when I was in undergrad, I worked for a law firm in the Gulf Tower, in Pittsburgh. As I recall, the building had a nesting box; there was a monitor down at street level that showed video and such.
We didn’t need that, though. You see, they liked to hang out on the ledge outside our receptionist’s window. They were completely indifferent to the monkeys standing on the other side of the glass watching them, so we could cluster around at arms length and gawk. As I recall, we had several of the young ones on the ledge at one point. They waited around for a while, then got their courage up and decided to take off. I clearly remember watching one soar across the Pittsburgh skyline before he tried to land on a building several blocks over. Unfortunately, it had a metal roof of some sort, so he fell rather gracelessly down to the ledge. Hopefully he was all right!
It was a pretty special sight, and likely the best thing that happened to me when I was working there.
I wish I were someplace where I could see them close and regularly like some of you have. I’d love to photograph them.
I did see them every once in a while when I worked in a building downtown that was near a nest box. It was always a fleeting glimpse as they dove past, though. I have good peripheral vision that catches movement easily, so sometimes I’d be in the middle of a conversation with a co-worker when I’d see one swooping by. I’d exlaim “Peregrine!” and go diving for the windows. Yes, the co-worker thought I was nuts, but I didn’t mind.
I work on the top floor of a 30-floor building. A pair nests on the building behind me, and it is a rare daythat I don’t see them several times.
One time I was lucky enough to see one hit a pigeon. The darned thing looked like it exploded.
Awesome!
Drove down I-57 to take a kid to school today. Lotsa big redtails perching. Love them raptors!
Not a peregrine falcon, but my family and I went to the Bronx Zoo two weeks ago Sunday, and we were crossing a bridge over a pond which has dicks and turtles during the summer. My wife spotted a red-tailed hawk sitting on a branch just above the frozen pond, looking very majestic.
It took us a few minutes to realize that the hawk was a native rather than a zoo exhibit.
Ooooookay. 
In Maryland I once saw a bald eagle flying really low right next to the road. I only wish it hadn’t flown off so fast. Beautiful bird.
And there’s a really neat wild bird center in Boise that has some amazing birds around. Especially the condor that kept showing off his reallllllly impressive wingspan for us.
That would probably be the World Center for Birds of Prey.
one of the many things i loved about alaska is that they have many murders of ravens. not a pigeon in sight, but ravens everywhere.
and bald eagles, they really like to hang out at the piers, and on docked boats/ships.
Yeah, bald eagles are cool too. I see them a couple of times a year circling over the city. Once over my street. Another time over the warehouse district in downtown Minneapolis.
Yep, I was at work and didn’t think of Googling it. But it’s a really neat place. I encourage anybody and everybody to go.