19/08/2026
Have you spotted the world’s fastest animal on the Newcastle-Gateshead Quayside?
An emblem of power and nobility through the ages, the Peregrine Falcon might seem like a difficult bird to discover, but it’s become part of daily life in many cities.
A birds-eye-view of our Quayside transforms bridges and towers into cliffs, the River Tyne into a safe refuge, and the landscape a rich hunting ground to catch prey in incredible 200mph hunting dives 💨
Earlier this year we saw two this Peregrine pair perching together occasionally on bridges; their brown plumage distinctly showing their youth.
Last week, we spent time watching the subadult pair on King Edward’s Bridge from the Quayside footpath, admiring the lush details of their feathers as they preened, moulting into their fresh slate grey, adult plumage 🪶 From this, we estimate they’re around 16 months old.
In the video, the first bird is the female and the second is the male. Note the larger size of the female, and the presence of more brown feathers - these are mainly on her primary and secondary wing feathers.
The male, who carefully follows the flight of a bird in the video 👀 is further along in his moult, with some of his primary feathers notably brown as his back’s turned.
The arrival of this pair is really exciting 🤎 Back in 2023, a different pair nested in the same location and one chick successfully fledged. Since then we’ve only had occasional sightings of Peregrines on the urban Quayside. Birds of prey bring an essence of wildness and intrigue to our cities, and demonstrate a level of health in the ecosystem - we’re very fortunate to share our architecture and skies with them.
We’ll share more about the Peregrines over the coming weeks!
🎥 Phonescoped using Leica Camera optics.
