Sky-high falcon drama ‘Nestflix’ keeps Australians glued to screens

Move over, Netflix. The hottest reality show in Australia right now stars a family of feathered daredevils living rent-free at the top of a Melbourne skyscraper.

Welcome to Nestflix – a 24-hour livestream that has thousands of Australians glued to their screens, watching the high drama of peregrine falcons as they fight, flirt, hatch chicks, and learn to fly.

Since the end of August, the show’s latest season has been unfolding 34 storeys up at 367 Collins Street, where three chicks began hatching in late September. Now, as they flap furiously along the ledge – wings twitching, courage building – viewers are waiting breathlessly for their first flight.

“The mother’s flying past with pigeons in her talons, teasing them,” laughs Dr Victor Hurley, founder of the Victorian Peregrine Project. “She’s basically saying, ‘You wanna eat? Then you gotta fly!’”

It’s all part of nature’s training regime, says Hurley – a tough-love method to encourage the young falcons to shed weight and strengthen their wings for take-off.

From office block to bird box

The story of Nestflix began long before YouTube existed. Back in 1991, Hurley discovered that peregrines had been trying – and failing – to nest on the building’s metal gutter.

“Rain gutters in a Melbourne winter… that was always going to end badly,” he recalls dryly.

He persuaded the building’s managers to install a proper nest box, and the following year, three chicks were born. A CCTV camera went up in 1993, and every breeding season, Hurley would haul a giant TV into the lobby so office workers could watch the chicks hatch.

Then in 2017, technology gave the falcons the fame they deserved: a live webcam went online, and Nestflix was born.

Today, the 367 Collins Falcon Watchers Facebook group has more than 50,000 devoted followers.

“It’s such a wholesome corner of the internet,” says moderator Kylie Humrick. “During COVID, it exploded. People felt connected to something real – and wild – right outside their city windows.”

Falcon fights, fatal feuds, and feathers flying

It turns out life in the sky isn’t all romance and baby birds. Over the years, the 367 Collins nest has been home to at least seven falcon couples – and more than a few battles worthy of a Game of Thrones episode.

The building’s location is prime falcon real estate: “Hot and cold running pigeons all year round,” jokes Hurley. But with luxury comes bloodshed. Peregrines are fiercely territorial, and “floaters” – unpaired birds looking for a home – sometimes try to take it by force.

In 2022, one particularly dramatic coup saw a “wimpy” male ousted mid-incubation by a younger rival. The victor not only won the nest but killed his predecessor in the process.

“He wasn’t great at sitting on the eggs,” admits Hurley. “But at least he didn’t eat the chicks, which has been known to happen. People started calling him ‘the dad who stepped up.’”

In 2023, the violence returned – this time between two females. The reigning matriarch suffered what appeared to be brain damage after a brutal fight and eventually lost her clutch. Years earlier, another battle between two females raged for seven hours, so loud it prompted the building managers to call Hurley in alarm.

He’s quick to remind fans that this is all part of the wild.

“These birds kill for a living,” he says. “When they take over nests, they don’t negotiate. There’s no prisoner exchange. They just kill.”

From endangered to urban royalty

Once nearly wiped out by pesticide use in the 20th century, peregrine falcons have made a remarkable comeback in Australia since the ban on DDT in the 1980s. These days, they’re thriving in cities where skyscrapers mimic the cliffs they prefer in nature.

Still, life remains perilous for the fledglings. Around 60% don’t survive their first year – many die learning to hunt or navigate city hazards.

Even so, Hurley says the high survival drama is what keeps Nestflix fans coming back.

“It’s tough being a young falcon,” he says. “But if every predator survived, we’d run out of pigeons pretty quickly.”

Season finale: First flight

Now, as this season nears its climax, anticipation is at fever pitch. The male chick is expected to take off first – perhaps this weekend – followed a week later by his two heavier sisters.

For fans, the moment is bittersweet.

“Everyone’s hearts are in their throats,” says Humrick. “We don’t know what happens to them after they fledge, but it’s amazing to see them reach that milestone.”

On Facebook, the comments section hums with emotion: “Binoculars packed – heading to Melbourne soon!” “Be still my freaked-out heart,” writes another as a chick tiptoes to the edge.

It’s reality TV, but raw, unscripted, and gloriously feathered.

So if you’re tired of reruns and streaming wars, you might find better drama above the skyline – where Melbourne’s peregrines keep the cameras rolling, and nature writes the script.