Peregrine falcons lay four eggs at Melbourne high-rise nest

Four eggs. That is the count this breeding season for the peregrine falcons nesting on a high-rise ledge at 367 Collins Street in Melbourne, and the number has drawn a wide online community each year.

A webcam on the building streams the pair around the clock, showing the birds settle on the eggs, swap watch, and wait for chicks to hatch. The feed has more than 30,000 subscribers on YouTube, with hundreds watching live at once. The webcam was installed in 2016.

The falcons have returned to the building since 1991, making the site the only known peregrine nesting place in Melbourne's CBD. The birds are rare, territorial, and capable of flight above 320 kilometres per hour.

Viewers have given the current pair names: M24 for the male and F24 for the female. Posts track each changeover, each egg, and each minute away from the nest. One watcher noted M24's late arrival on Sept. 8, then his 5:05 a.m. call that woke F24 and led to a three-minute shift before she returned.

The owners say:

“The building plays a surprisingly important role to the ongoing breeding success of these rare and fiercely territorial birds.”

The fourth egg now followed three earlier eggs. The live stream shows eggs rolled, chicks hatching, and young birds eventually leaving the ledge.

For now, the audience waits on the next hatch. The four eggs measure a season that touches building owners, falcon watchers, and online viewers who return each year to watch wild life unfold above the city.