Life on the Ledge: Peregrine Falcons Above Seattle

This article was originally published in an abreviated version in the Summer 2026 issue of EarthCare Northwest, our quarterly member newsletter. Become a member today and receive our next issue. 

by Carol Roll, Development Director

One of our newest downtown neighbors is a pair of Peregrine Falcons nesting high above Seattle at the 1201 Third Avenue building. Their nesting platform is under 24-hour surveillance by a wildlife camera. Checking in on falcons through the video feed with my morning coffee became part of my routine.  

I followed the adult pair through courtship, egg incubation, and then the arrival of fluffy white chicks. I continued to watch them grow, speckled with dark feathers replacing their downy baby feathers, starting to flap their wings and move about their platform. I knew the day would come when they would fledge. A day that brought me both excitement and concern.

Peregrine Falcon chick | Jim Verhagen | Audubon Photography Awards

I remain fascinated by how these birds cling to life high above the city streets, braving rain, wind, and the constant hustle and bustle of the city below.  

As natural cliff dwellers, Peregrine Falcons are surprisingly well suited to city life. In the wild, they nest on narrow ledges and depressions on steep cliffs, often hundreds of feet above the ground. Tall buildings provide similar habitat. Even their pear-shaped eggs are adapted for life on a ledge—instead of rolling away, they tend to spin in place if disturbed. And their favorite food, Rock Pigeon, is also in ample supply downtown. 

Seattle has become an important home for these urban raptors. In recent years, pairs have nested or been active at the AGC Building in South Lake Union, beneath the West Seattle Bridge, and at King Street Station. Our partners at the Urban Raptor Conservancy estimate Seattle supports about five to seven nesting pairs each year. 

But Peregrines have not always been this common. The pesticide DDT caused widespread population declines, landing Peregrines on the Endangered Species List. By 1976, scientists knew of only one nesting pair left in all of Washington State. After DDT was banned in 1972, the species slowly rebounded. It wasn’t until more than two decades after DDT was banned that the first nesting pair returned to downtown (at the very same 1201 Third Ave building), where they earned the names Stewart and Virginia after nearby streets. 

Despite this recovery, urban life remains dangerous for Peregrines, especially juveniles. Window strikes, secondary poisoning from pesticides, vehicle collisions, and disease result in high mortality rates.

Shortly after I first wrote this article, I was devastated to learn that at least on of this year’s fledglings did not survive. Soon after it took its first flight it collided with a window and succumbed to her injuries.  

At Birds Connect Seattle, we continue advocating for bird-safe building standards throughout Seattle—not only for Peregrine Falcons, but for the more than 80,000 preventable bird-window collision deaths estimated to occur across our city each year. 

Birds Connect Seattle and Urban Raptor Conservancy educating the public about window collisions.