Most peregrines return to their breeding teritories and begin courtship between mid-February and late March. In mid-April to early May, the females lay a clutch of four eggs. Both adults help to incubate the eggs for 33 to 35 days. The eggs usually hatch in late May or early June.
Young peregrines are completely dependent on their on their parents.
They begin to fly within 38 to 4 days, by this time they are the size and weight of an adult peregrine but still rely on their parents. Young peregrines are brown to dark brown in colour and have vertical streaks of brown on their cream-coloured breast. They molt into adult plumage when they are about 18 months old and then molt annually. Their face markings are unique to each individual and can be used to identify each bird. The falcons hunt in the early morning and late in the day, even in dim light their eyesight is very acute.