structural:scholar_edition, information:classification
Current status

Populations of the peregrine falcon have bounced back in most parts of the world. In the United Kingdom, there has been a recovery of populations since the crash of the 1960s. This has been greatly assisted by conservation and protection work led by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. The RSPB estimated that there were 1,402 breeding pairs in the UK in 2011. In Canada, where peregrines were identified as endangered in 1978 (in the Yukon territory of northern Canada that year, only a single breeding pair was identified), the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada declared the species no longer at risk in December 2017.

Peregrines now breed in many mountainous and coastal areas, especially in the west and north, and nest in some urban areas, capitalising on the urban feral pigeon populations for food. Additionally, falcons benefit from artificial illumination, which allows the raptors to extend their hunting periods into the dusk when natural illumination would otherwise be too low for them to pursue prey. In England, this has allowed them to prey on nocturnal migrants such as redwings, fieldfares, starlings, and woodcocks.

In many parts of the world peregrine falcons have adapted to urban habitats, nesting on cathedrals, skyscraper window ledges, tower blocks, and the towers of suspension bridges. Many of these nesting birds are encouraged, sometimes gathering media attention and often monitored by cameras.

In England, peregrine falcons have become increasingly urban in distribution, particularly in southern areas where inland cliffs suitable as nesting sites are scarce. The first recorded urban breeding pair was observed nesting on the Swansea Guildhall in the 1980s. In Southampton, a nest prevented restoration of mobile telephony services for several months in 2013, after Vodafone engineers despatched to repair a faulty transmitter mast discovered a nest in the mast, and were prevented by the Wildlife and Countryside Act – on pain of a possible prison sentence – from proceeding with repairs until the chicks fledged.

In Oregon, Portland houses ten percent of the state's peregrine nests, despite only covering around 0.1 percent of the state's land area.