Last week I was in Victoria helping Victor Hurley band peregrine falcon chicks, as part of a study he has been running for the past twenty years. I am familiar with these birds from doing the same thing in Scotland, but the variety of nests sites in Australia was interesting. There were the conventional and most common inland cliff sites, where the birds lay their eggs on bare ledges in the cliffs.
Then there were nests in tree holes. These were in very old trees. One was about 25m up in a temperate rain forest, just below the canopy, others were in river red gums on the banks of the Murray River. Some, like the one below, were in red gums standing in flooded river beds - swamps with lots of cormorants, ibis and herons nesting in the adjacent trees.
Other nests were in quarries, old and currently in use. Some were in nest boxes deliberately erected for the birds high on the sides of factory buildings.
Then there were sites which I am familiar with in north-east Scotland, sea cliffs. 
These birds stooped aggressively at Victor as he abseiled down to the nest for the chicks. 
Then again when he went down a second time to return the chicks.
