Peregrine falcons are nature’s fastest fliers; they have been clocked diving, or stooping, at speeds of up to 300 miles per hour! Peregrine falcons are about the size and weight of a crow; the females are larger and more powerful than males. Adults have slate dark blue-gray wings and backs barred with black, pale undersides, white faces with a black stripe on each cheek, and large, dark eyes. Their wings are long and pointed. Peregrine falcons feed primarily on birds they take in the air, preying on ducks, pheasants, and pigeons. Although they have a high mortality rate, Peregrines have been known to live as long as 15 years. They usually begin breeding at about two years old.

Baby falcons are called eyasses. Newly hatched chicks are wet and covered with white down. But by three weeks of age, brownish juvenile feathers can be seen poking through the white fuzz. By five or six weeks of age, the white fuzz has been completely replaced by brown feathers. Eyases are helpless. One parent (often the female but sometimes the male) stays with the chicks while the other finds food for the brood. Eyases eat an incredible amount of food – but then, they double their weight in only six days and at three weeks will be ten times birth size. The eyases can be observed jumping around and testing their wings, getting ready to fly. Every year the eyases are banded and blood sampled to track their development at about 6-8 weeks old. The falcons leave each year in November for South America, and return in February/March.