PEREGRINES IN SYDNEY

["John Clifton-Everest" <>]

                           Subject:                         Time:   10:37 AM
                           PEREGRINES IN SYDNEY             Date:   22/3/97

Just in case there is somebody with thoughts on this:

Are peregrines becoming an urban species in Australia just as they have in
Europe in recent years?  (There have been successful nestings in the towers of
Cologne Cathedral and in the Old Town Square of Prague.)  Over recent weeks I
have experienced a real spate of peregrine sightings in various parts of
Sydney -- in Balmain and the White Bay area in particular, though also
elsewhere.  This morning (Sat. 22 March) there were two adult birds playing
together and monstering the pigeons round White Bay and over the railway yards
at the end of The Crescent there, within a kilometre or so of the CBD.  I
observed them for 20 minutes through glasses and had some superb views.  Are
these birds trying to nest in the city area somewhere.  Does anybody know
about them?

John M.Clifton-Everest
Germanic Studies
University of Sydney