Peregrine falcon nest documented for first time in downtown S'pore

Located on the 34th floor of its Chulia Street headquarters, OCBC's premier private client centre caters to high-net-worth clients—those who have at least $1 million in deposits or investments with the bank.

- Zhaki Abdullah

It also hosts high-fliers of another kind: A pair of peregrine falcons, who have set up their home in a recess 10m above the centre's balcony.

The peregrine falcon is the fastest animal on earth, able to fly at speeds of more than 320kmh when diving for prey.

The subspecies which resides in Singapore, Falco peregrinus ernesti, can be identified by its solid black head. It is smaller than the migrant Falco peregrinus calidus, which has a thin black facial stripe and flies to the tropics during the winter months in the northern hemisphere.

The bird, with a wingspan of up to about 1m, typically mates for life.

A biodiversity record compiled by researchers from the National Parks Board (NParks) was published in scientific journal Nature in Singapore in August. It reported that a pair of eggs had been spotted in the recess above OCBC's premier private client centre, believed to be the first locally documented sign of breeding for the peregrine falcon.

The eggs, however, appeared to have been abandoned by the bird that laid them.

To retrieve the eggs, NParks enlisted the help of robotics researchers from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD).

Though initially intending to use a drone for the task, the five-member team opted instead to use a device consisting of a telescopic pole and a claw controlled by cables on the ground.