A female peregrine at takeoff. Image courtesy of Sally Randall, via the 367 Collins Falcon Watchers Facebook page.
For over 30 years, a pair of peregrine falcons have returned to a building at 367 Collins Street in Melbourne, Australia, to breed. A webcam captures the nesting process and gives viewers 24–7 footage of the falcons nesting and laying eggs, and shows the chicks hatching, growing, and eventually taking flight. The annual visitors have attracted a wide fan base and are a much-awaited attraction each year. The owners of 367 Collins Street are proud hosts:
Peregrine Falcons are birds of prey known for their capability to fly at extremely high speeds (in excess of 320 kilometers per hour) earning them the title of the fastest animal on earth. Since 1991, a pair of Peregrine Falcons has been observed in a nest on the rooftop of 367 Collins Street. As home to the only known peregrine falcon nesting site within Melbourne’s CBD, the building plays a surprisingly important role to the ongoing breeding success of these rare and fiercely territorial birds.
Conservation charity Birdlife Australia welcomed their return on Instagram:
Despite the Dolly Parton 9 to 5 soundtrack, it’s obviously a round-the-clock job looking after the eggs and chicks.
Social media users have coined their own shorthand for the pair: M24 for the male and F24 for the female. Peregrine watching can be a stressful pastime. Kirsty Greenwood was one of the anxious observers on Facebook:
M24 caused a bit of watcher anxiety yesterday (Sep 8) by not showing up until 11:26am, then, as if to make up for it, he woke up F24 at 5:05am today! She left the eggs at 5:07am for the first changeover of the day. M24’s first slot was really short however, with F24 returning to the eggs just three minutes later at 5:10.
Another user was struck by the birds’ apparent instinctive knowledge of the parenting process:
It amazes me to sometimes think how much knowledge must be hard-wired into these animals’ DNA. I mean … no-one teaches them they need to roll their eggs to ensure the embryo gets enough albumen and doesn’t stick to the shell. But … they just know. F24 stands to preen and thinks ‘I may as well do a roll and a shuffle while I'm up.’ Pretty awesome I reckon.
It is not always the same pair, as the Guardian showed in 2024, when a new female took up residence for the breeding season:
Social media users have been fascinated by the number of eggs being laid on the ledge. On BlueSky, SK Hideaways thought 3 eggs were a paternal challenge:
#367CollinsSt. Congrats to mum & dad on egg #3. The delivery seemed almost effortless for mum. But dad puzzled to get himself on top of all 3 eggs. He got there in the end ~ plenty of time to practice.Courtesy Victorian Peregrine Project | Melbourne, Australia#raptors #birds #peregrinefalcons
Little did they know that a fourth egg was coming soon. Mazz@1984 was thrilled on Mastodon’s @aus.social:
Post by @CaringKinderSociety@aus.social
View on Mastodon
You can watch the 367 Collins Street falcons livestream on YouTube here. The channel has over 30,000 subscribers, with hundreds watching live at the same time.
The recently renovated lobby at 367 Collins Street was clearly inspired by the falcons:
Peregrine-inspired lobby at 367 Collins Street, Melbourne. Screenshot from FDC Building Facebook reel. Fair use.
As a bonus, in 2025, Australian Broadcasting Corporation Science’s Dr. Ann Jones released an hour-long documentary about many of Melbourne’s birds — including the peregrines.
It’s such a rare view into the private lives of peregrines that thousands of people have tuned into the live feed year on year.
Over the course of six weeks, they’ve watched as the chicks increased their weight by 30 times, surveyed their city, and finally, taken to the air for the first time.
Well, since the webcam was installed in 2016, it’s been really interesting, the human response to this.
The online community has really responded positively, so we’ve got a really well-behaved part of the internet that are just interested in what these birds are doing. It's extraordinary, and I think it shows people want to be close to nature, and even if they can't live in it, they at least want to be able to experience it and know it's still there.
Falcon spectators will no doubt be looking forward to live coverage of the chicks hatching and their journey to fledgling flight.
