Things to do in London: Peregrine falcon watching at the Tate Modern

You might not think it, but apparently London is a great habitat for peregrine falcons, with 18 known breeding pairs in the city. They like to nest on tall buildings, and provide a natural form of pigeon control. And one of their favourite locations is the top of the towering chimney of the Tate Modern. They don’t actually nest there, most likely because the ledges are too small, but they frequently roost there, and bring the juveniles along to learn hunting skills.

I learned all this from the friendly people at the RSPB stand by Millennium Bridge, who have their telescopes trained on the chimney top so that members of the public can see the birds. One helper explained that he’d even seen an adult bring back a dead pigeon and drop it from the tower for a youngster to dive off after. Nothing as spectacular as that happened while we were there, but we were lucky enough to get to see a juvenile, fully grown but still slightly fluffy looking, perched on a ledge far above the Thames. It is far too high to see anything with the naked eye, but the RSPB people watch carefully for the birds to land and position the telescopes accordingly.

It’s strangely exciting to think that these prehistoric-looking hunters could be perched above our heads at any time as we wander through the busy streets of London.

The RSPB will be on hand to point them out 12 noon-7pm every day until 12^th September.

More London activities from this weekend coming soon...