0:00:04 > 0:00:08On Deadly 60, I've had loads of incredible animal encounters.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11Here's just one of my many favourites.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16This is Deadly 60 Bites.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21Over the years, the absolute bane of my life has been people
0:00:21 > 0:00:25complaining about peregrines pooing on the ground while they're talking.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28Thank you! You've just completely upstaged me!
0:00:28 > 0:00:30< At least it didn't get the car!
0:00:30 > 0:00:33Over the years, the absolute bane of my life
0:00:33 > 0:00:37has been people complaining about British wildlife,
0:00:37 > 0:00:39saying it's too tame and too boring
0:00:39 > 0:00:42and where are the lions and great white sharks?
0:00:42 > 0:00:43Well, in answer to that,
0:00:43 > 0:00:46let me present you with the peregrine falcon.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53Peregrines are resident British birds
0:00:53 > 0:00:55found in mountainous, rugged parts of the country.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59And they are the fastest creature that has ever lived.
0:00:59 > 0:01:00Ever.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02Full-stop.
0:01:02 > 0:01:06They've been clocked at an incredible 180 mph
0:01:06 > 0:01:09when they're going into a dive known as a stoop.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15They hunt medium-sized birds such as water fowl,
0:01:15 > 0:01:18but they're particularly partial to a pigeon supper.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21Stooping to hit them with their clenched talons,
0:01:21 > 0:01:23they knock the bird unconscious
0:01:23 > 0:01:25and then weave around to catch the bird in flight.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28It's all over in seconds.
0:01:31 > 0:01:35A peregrine hunting is one of the most dramatic, explosive,
0:01:35 > 0:01:38dynamic sights in the animal kingdom.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40And in order to demonstrate that,
0:01:40 > 0:01:42we've come up with a Deadly 60 experiment.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45Peregrine falcons are absolute specialists,
0:01:45 > 0:01:49totally designed for hunting other birds while they're on the wing.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51So, for the purpose of this experiment,
0:01:51 > 0:01:56you have to imagine that this big, black, shiny car is a big pigeon.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00Basically, the peregrine is going to hunt us.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03The handlers use bits of meat
0:02:03 > 0:02:06and a bright yellow lure to get Lucy's attention.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09So now she can see us. She can see the lure.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13She's instantly really, really excited, really ready to go.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15Full of energy, she's ready to hunt.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18I must say, I'm quite excited, too.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21I can feel the adrenaline surging already.
0:02:22 > 0:02:24Time for the bird's handler, Lloyd,
0:02:24 > 0:02:26to jump in with the lure in his hand.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28The chase is on.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31She can see us. The wings are spread.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34Off she goes!
0:02:37 > 0:02:41She's heading straight for us, I can see her in my rear view mirror.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44OK, here we go, we're speeding up, speeding up.
0:02:44 > 0:02:49We're getting faster, up to 40 mph, she's right in close to us!
0:02:50 > 0:02:52Quicker, quicker, quicker, faster!
0:02:52 > 0:02:54Whoa! Right over our heads.
0:02:56 > 0:03:01This is unbelievable, she's keeping pace with us without even trying.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06You can just see her coming side to side, like a jet plane.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09She's absolutely extraordinary.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11She's right alongside us! I can see her in my mirror.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15She's just hanging, metres off the side of the car.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21Wow, right in close! Across the back of the car, she's right in close.
0:03:21 > 0:03:23She's up alongside Mark!
0:03:23 > 0:03:27It's incredible, she's a foot away from the camera.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31You can see that anchor shape, that distinctive falcon shape.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35'Filming like this allows us to take a close look at how Lucy flies.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38'Effortlessly keeping up with a sports car,
0:03:38 > 0:03:41'but a moving pigeon would be even harder to tail.
0:03:42 > 0:03:47'If I was a pigeon in the wild, the peregrine would attack from above,
0:03:47 > 0:03:50'accelerating into a stoop to take me out.'
0:03:50 > 0:03:53OK, we're coming to the end of the runway now, Lloyd.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56We're out of space. Whooooa!
0:03:58 > 0:04:01And up she goes.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06That was out of this world.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11That was so much fun, I think we might have to try it again.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22OK, so while Lucy carries on exercising,
0:04:22 > 0:04:25here's some more about the peregrine falcon.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31In order to withstand speeds of 180mph,
0:04:31 > 0:04:35peregrine falcons' bodies have some added pieces of kit.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37At these speeds,
0:04:37 > 0:04:42airflow rushes through the nostrils and would press on the brain.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45This would make the peregrine just fall unconscious in flight.
0:04:45 > 0:04:50So peregrines have small cones just inside their nostrils
0:04:50 > 0:04:54to deflect the shockwaves of air. The pigeons they feed on
0:04:54 > 0:04:57are some of the fastest birds around in straight flight -
0:04:57 > 0:05:00but no match for this speed merchant.
0:05:00 > 0:05:01Woah!
0:05:04 > 0:05:06God, she nearly took my head off!
0:05:06 > 0:05:10That's exactly what it would be like to be hit by a peregrine.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13It's that moment where they fold their wings
0:05:13 > 0:05:16and all of a sudden they hit maximum velocity,
0:05:16 > 0:05:19travelling at as much as 180mph.
0:05:19 > 0:05:25We're talking about an acceleration of 0-60 in about 0.6 seconds,
0:05:25 > 0:05:28to make this car look like nothing.
0:05:28 > 0:05:33Just hanging high, he's a good 20 metres above us.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37Oh, my life!
0:05:39 > 0:05:41That was too close.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50Lloyd, you just nearly got me scalped by a peregrine falcon!
0:05:50 > 0:05:52He nearly took my head off!
0:05:58 > 0:06:02I don't know how that looked to you, but I felt his feathers,
0:06:02 > 0:06:04just the wing tips flicked my ears
0:06:04 > 0:06:08and saw this big pair of talons coming at my face.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10He must have been an inch from me.
0:06:13 > 0:06:14My goodness.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17Argh!
0:06:20 > 0:06:22You gave me the fright of my life!
0:06:22 > 0:06:25I thought you were going to take my head off.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28There's no doubt, though, as beautiful as she is,
0:06:28 > 0:06:32as a high-speed hunter, the peregrine falcon has no equal.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35The fastest creature on Earth. For that reason alone,
0:06:35 > 0:06:39peregrine falcon is definitely on the Deadly 60.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43The peregrine is the largest falcon in Britain.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47It's the fastest animal on the planet ever,
0:06:47 > 0:06:49and its beak, talons and raw speed
0:06:49 > 0:06:53make it one of the deadliest predators we've had on my list.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:07:11 > 0:07:14E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk