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Peregrines at Export House

Sea cliffs and upland crags are the traditional home of the peregrine falcon, but these remarkable birds have been quietly colonising Britain’s towns and cities for decades. Tall buildings make a surprisingly good substitute for a cliff face, and urban areas offer a reliable supply of prey, particularly feral pigeons.

Just fifty years ago, the peregrine came close to extinction in the British Isles. A catastrophic decline caused by toxic pesticides accumulating through the food chain nearly wiped them out entirely. Once those chemicals were banned and withdrawn, the recovery was slow but steady, and peregrines have since spread far beyond their traditional strongholds into lowland counties, quarries, and the hearts of our cities. Pairs are now resident on buildings as varied as Durham Cathedral, the Arndale Centre in Manchester, the Tate Modern in London – and Export House in Victoria Place!

Peregrines have been a familiar, if often unnoticed, presence above Woking since 2001, frequently spotted on Export House, the tallest building in the town centre.  Following renewed sightings of a fresh pair over recent years, a nest box with an internal webcam was installed, and as of April 2026, our nesting birds have a clutch of 5 eggs!

You can watch the live stream of the nest here on wokingperegrines.com

Five Facts About Peregrine Falcons

1. The fastest animal on Earth. The peregrine falcon has been recorded diving at 242 miles per hour, making it the fastest animal on the planet, faster than any land animal or other bird.

2. They mate for life and are fiercely loyal to their territory. Peregrines return to the same nest site year after year. The earliest record of a peregrine using a building dates to 1864/65 at Salisbury Cathedral.

3. Urban peregrines actually do better than rural ones. A study published in 2019 found that urban peregrines have better breeding success than those in the countryside, apparently because of the greater availability of prey.

4. They hunt at night. Researchers have found that urban peregrines hunt nocturnally, taking advantage of street lamps to target migrating birds such as woodcock, moorhens, and teal during the hours of darkness.

5. The name means “wanderer”. Both the English and scientific names of the species derive from the Latin for “wandering falcon”, originally referring to the migratory habits of northern populations, though British peregrines tend to stay put year-round.