Peregrine Falcons at Spitalkirche

A Falcon's-Eye View of Weißenburg

Mounted high on the Spitalkirche, a Gothic hospital church at the heart of the old town, this outward-facing lens captures one of the best vantage points in Weißenburg in Bayern. From this height, the camera surveys a sea of terracotta rooftops, church towers, and the town's historic fortifications, with the green countryside of Franconia unfolding toward the horizon.

Bella and Alfredo, the Resident Peregrines

Since the winter of 2020/2021, a breeding pair of peregrine falcons — affectionately named Bella and Alfredo — has claimed the tower's ledges as a hunting perch and nesting ground. Peregrines are renowned as the fastest creatures on the planet, capable of explosive stoops that let them snatch pigeons and other birds mid-flight over the rooftops below.

Part of a Wider Conservation Project

This exterior camera is one of several installed by the town of Weißenburg together with regional conservation partners to document the falcons' nesting and fledging cycle without disturbing them. A companion camera looks inside the nest box, giving a rare, uninterrupted window into raptor family life in the middle of a historic Bavarian town.