SINGAPORE, March 16 (Xinhua) -- On the afternoon of March 12, a peregrine falcon living in Singapore's city center sprayed a jet of white droppings straight at a livestream camera -- and briefly became a minor internet celebrity.
The camera sits on the 34th floor of the high-rise OCBC Center, pointed toward a narrow recess in the building's facade about 10 meters above a balcony. Inside the recess is a shallow nesting tray filled with gravel. That afternoon, four downy peregrine falcon chicks stood among the stones. One of them turned away from the lens, lifted its tail, and defecated. The screen blurred instantly.
For many viewers, the moment was part of the appeal. Watching wild animals live their lives -- even the less dignified parts -- has become a quiet ritual for a growing audience.
Since March 5, Singapore's National Parks Board (NParks) has streamed the nest around the clock, allowing the public to observe one of the country's rarest birds at close range. On the morning of March 6, one viewer logged feeding times: 7:01, 8:06, and 10:10. Each time, an adult peregrine falcon arrived carrying prey, tore the bird into small pieces, and passed them into the open mouths of the chicks.
The two adults are the only known breeding pair of peregrine falcons in Singapore today, and their success was far from guaranteed.
The story began on the night of Jan. 30, 2024. Marc Kery, a visiting researcher from the Swiss Ornithological Institute, noticed a fast-moving silhouette near a high-rise in the city center. He suspected it might be a peregrine falcon.
The next day, he returned with binoculars and a telescope and confirmed it. He saw something more promising: a pair of peregrine falcons copulating on a nearby building, their black-capped heads and bright yellow eye-rings unmistakable.
That evening, the female bird flew into a recess on the exterior wall of the OCBC Center and did not emerge again.
The following day, Kery and Malcolm Soh, a principal wildlife management researcher with NParks, watched the pair copulate again before the female disappeared into the same recess. Remote cameras placed on the balcony below soon confirmed what they suspected.
The falcons were nesting there.
Peregrine falcons are among the fastest birds on Earth, adapted for hunting dives from high, exposed ledges along cliff faces.
Modern cities, it turns out, provide something similar. Tall buildings mimic cliffs, and urban skies are full of prey. Soh said that the recess in the OCBC Center also offered practical advantages: shelter from rain and sun, and an unobstructed launching point for hunting.
Still, the falcons' early breeding attempt failed.
In April 2024, researchers discovered two eggs on the concrete floor of the recess. In the months that followed, it became clear the clutch had been abandoned.
Examination later suggested shell damage may have contributed to the failure.
Tan Yen Yi, assistant senior curator of aves at the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, noted that the eggs appeared similar in size and shape, though one was noticeably heavier. The lighter egg had a small crack and residue on its shell, and the remaining contents gave off a strong sulfurous smell. Preliminary candling suggested the heavier egg was intact but likely unfertilized.
The surface beneath the eggs may also have played a role. In the wild, peregrine falcons typically nest on cliff ledges with loose sand or gravel. In the OCBC recess, the eggs had been laid directly on bare concrete.
In November 2024, researchers installed a nesting tray filled with gravel to provide a more suitable substrate, along with a CCTV system above it. When the team later observed the falcons also using another recess on the opposite side of the building, a second tray was installed there.
It was not until April 2025 that they successfully hatched two chicks -- the first recorded peregrine falcon chicks in Singapore.
The new parents quickly settled into a routine of feeding. On the day the first chick hatched, it was fed six times. By May 2025, the juveniles were able to fledge.
This year, the story continued.
The same pair laid four eggs in January, and in February all four chicks hatched. Now they stand in the gravel tray outside the 34th floor of the OCBC Center, flapping their wings and testing their balance in front of the camera -- and occasionally, with surprising accuracy, spraying the lens.
Researchers are studying another aspect of their lives as well. By collecting environmental DNA from the nest sites, scientists can identify traces of the prey the falcons have eaten, offering clues to their foraging behavior. Video footage can reveal what the adults bring back, Soh said, but prey is sometimes partly consumed before it can be identified.
On Saturday, the four chicks were fitted with rings on their legs for identification.
For now, viewers are waiting for the same moment: the chicks' first flight. ■