An Edmonton firefighter lowers a wooden nesting box while standing on one of the concrete pillars under the High Level Bridge on Thursday. (CBC)Edmonton firefighters used their specialized skills on Thursday to help a unique conservation initiative.

Members of the fire department's technical rescue team rappelled from the pedestrian walkway on Edmonton's High Level Bridge to place two nests for peregrine falcons on a concrete pillar under the bridge's deck.

The birds nest on top of one of the concrete pillars that support the 97-year-old bridge, which rises 47 metres above the North Saskatchewan River. They have nested there for three years, yet have only raised two nestlings.

The new nests should help the birds successfully hatch more offspring by protecting their eggs during rain and snowstorms, said Gordon Court, a biologist with the government of Alberta.

"If we can provide a little tray of gravel and a little roof in these simple nesting boxes, it'll go well," he said.

There are only 68 nesting pairs of the falcons in Alberta, which puts them on the province's list of threatened species.