Peregrine falcon mkes nest five blocks from White House

At a time when Washington’s mayor is trying to lure more residents to downtown, it appears that one new arrival on the nation’s main street is well recognized as a predator.

A peregrine falcon, a winged hunter known for speed, appears to be making a home on a federal building at 12th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, a few blocks east of the White House and within easy eyeshot of the Capitol.

The views at the Old Post Office Tower are always great, but if you visit now and look down on the west side at the ledge of the federal building across the street, you can see a peregrine falcon nest with 3 eggs in it. So cool!#birds #nature #WashingtonDC pic.twitter.com/W9CPvOr1PY

With a downward and westward glance from the Old Post Office tower, “you can see a peregrine falcon nest with 3 eggs in it,” the National Mall division of the National Park Service said Tuesday in a tweet.

Peregrine falcons appear to be widely distributed over the globe and find urban areas congenial, but few in recent memory seem to have taken advantage of the housing opportunities so close to the White House.

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These alluring spots appear to include the ledges that run around many structures, both private and governmental, and offer the peregrines the sort of nesting site they are said to seek out in natural environments.

On a ledge that appears to be about two feet wide, near the top of an eight-story Classical Revival building, it appears from photos that the falcon has made itself a home that might provide many of the amenities found on wilderness cliffsides.

“So cool,” the National Park Service tweet added.

It was not clear when the eggs are expected to hatch. Or whether denizens of downtown might get to see the speedy swoop of the adult peregrine.

The raptor is said to be one of the fastest of the world’s creatures, able to reach more than 240 mph in a dive.

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