Urban raptors inhabit a socio-ecological environment where the resources therein, and their ability to safely access these, may be linked to human processes. For my PhD, I first study the breeding site and prey selection of urban peregrine falcons (falco peregrinus) in the UK, with a focus on London populations, to determine what the raptors’ ecological requirements are.

I then demonstrate how these resources are not free of human influence. On their predation opportunities, I compare their breeding season diets during and outside of COVID-19 lockdowns to understand how human activity may influence prey availability. I also use multispecies ethnography to highlight how the quality and availability of their breeding sites may be shaped by human-raptor interactions. Multispecies interactions can also lead to conflict, usually centred around perceptions of predation impacts on sensitive species. Thus, I also quantify the cultural “cost” of urban peregrine diets.

Finally, through a historical analysis of challenges to wildlife legislation in context of local and global events, I study how fickle relationships between humans and peregrines – mediated by social constructions of their prey – continuously reframes the raptors’ place in society and thus their ability to safely exist in their environment.