De Slechtvalk Falco peregrinus als broedvogel in Zoetermeer

In 2000, a nestbox for Peregrine Falcons was provided at the town hall of Zoetermeer in the central Netherlands. The first Peregrines were recorded in 2014, an adult male and a second-year female. Egg-laying commenced in 2016, not in the nestbox but on the floor of a bay window; the clutch failed to hatch. Meanwhile, the town hall changed ownership and was converted into a ten-floor residential tower. The transition was used to also install two nestboxes for Peregrines. Since then, a pair of Peregrine Falcons annually produced a clutch, resulting in 1x 0, 1x 1, 2x 3 and 2x 4 nestlings ringed in 2017-22. Some nestlings fatally crashed after fledging. Conflicts with people living in the building were manifold, resulting from restrictions imposed on residents by the mere presence of breeding falcons, to nuisances caused by discarded prey remains (and associated decaying carcasses and flies), crash-landings of fledglings on balconies and unwelcome attention of birders/photographers. Such conflicts, as well as rescue attempts to save crashed fledglings, took a lot of effort and talking to straighten out. On the other hand, the wonder of living in close association with falcons was appreciated.