News: Peregrines

[The Peregrine Chick]

Where have all the falcons gone? Dramatic decline has set alarm bells ringing among conservationists.
Cahal Milmo / the Independent / 14 Oct 2013



Once described as the “Switzerland of England”, the Forest of Bowland offers an ideal habitat for the peregrine falcon. With its rocky outcrops and vast tracts of upland, it was until recently home to a thriving population of some 15 pairs of Britain’s fastest bird of prey.  But almost as rapidly as Falco peregrinus sweeps from the sky to secure its quarry, the number of the species in the 880-square-kilometre beauty spot stretching across Lancashire has plummeted. In just five years, the population has tumbled from 30 birds to just a single breeding pair.  The dramatic decline has set alarm bells ringing among conservationists, who point out that there are now more of these graceful predators living in England’s cities than across a vast swathe of the North stretching from the Peak District to the Yorkshire Moors and the Pennines.

The reasons for the disappearance of Bowland’s falcons are still not fully understood. But the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds say that elsewhere the illegal killing of raptors – birds of prey – by rogue gamekeepers on moorland used for shooting red grouse is thwarting attempts to conserve species. Hen harriers, once abundant in the UK, are on the verge of extinction in England after the last two pairs this year failed to breed.  The crisis is also causing strains within the conservation movement, sparking an unseemly row between the RSPB and a group of local raptor campaigners.  The Independent can reveal that the charity, Europe’s largest dealing with wildlife, has used one of the world’s biggest law firms, Clifford Chance, to write to the North West Raptor Group demanding the removal of “libellous” material from its website. The NWRG claims the RSPB has failed to protect the local peregrine falcons, and has not been candid about the scale of their decline.  

Terry Pickford, the NWRG’s founder, accused the RSPB of “intimidation”, saying the group, which had its licences to monitor bird-of-prey nests in Bowland restricted in 2010 by the Government’s wildlife adviser Natural England, was raising legitimate concerns about the decline in peregrine numbers and the safeguarding of the species. The group had previously complained to the RSPB after two of its members were approached by a warden earlier this year while watching a peregrine site and later asked to attend a police interview. The two men were told they had no case to answer but the RSPB said its warden had acted appropriately.  Mr Pickford said: “It feels like the RSPB does not like criticism and is going to extraordinary lengths to stop it. We are a small group in Lancashire who believe passionately in what we do and here we are receiving letters from a giant firm of London lawyers threatening legal action. It’s hard not to see it as anything other than intimidation. It makes us even more determined.”

The RSPB denied its actions were heavy-handed, saying it respected the right of others to criticise but the legal letter had been sent to protect volunteers from what it believed were unsubstantiated and defamatory allegations on the NWRG website. It said Clifford Chance had sent the letter without a fee as part of a “pro bono” charitable partnership. A spokesman said: “Normally we take this type of criticism on the chin but we have a duty of care towards our staff and we must protect them from untrue claims. We are not a litigious organisation and the decision to send this letter was not taken lightly.”

... part two continues below ...

Link to story:   The Independent - Where have all the falcons gone?

[The Peregrine Chick]

Injured falcon, found on streets of Detroit, lands new home
By Wayne Peal / Detroit Free Press / 2 Jan 2014

Allegro, a Peregrine falcon found this spring dazed and injured on the streets of Detroit, has a new, permanent home at the Howell Conference and Nature Center.  He had been receiving care at the Marion Township facility since April with the intent of eventually being released back into the wild.  His injuries, however, proved too severe for that to happen and, last month, the center gained U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approval to make him a permanent resident.  

Even though Allegro only has a slight metatarsal injury, center Director Dana DeBenham said that condition threatens his ability to survive in the wild.  “For us, it would be like having an injured finger, but for a falcon, it greatly impacts their ability to target food from the air,” DeBenham said.

Peregrine falcons, with dive speeds approaching 200 mph, are considered the fastest birds in the sky. Allegro’s speed nearly proved his undoing.  It is believed his injuries came from crashing into a window near his previous nesting place.  At the time of his injury, Allegro was nesting at Whittier Park, a high-rise senior center on the Detroit riverfront.

Allegro at first received received fluids and specialized medication and now exists on a diet of diced mouse parts. He’s bonded with the center’s other Peregrine falcon, Rocky, and staff members believe he’s happy at his new home.  “He’s 14, so he is pretty far along in his lifespan,” DeBenham said. “But we’re hoping to have him for a while.”  Allegro is expected to be part of the center’s education programs.

Peregrine falcons are listed as an endangered species in Michigan, and Allegro was identified from bands on both legs.  The falcons are large birds, with wingspans of up to 4 feet. They are noted for their bluish-gray backs and dark tips on their yellowish bills.

As Allegro survived, the fates weren’t as kind to another rare bird that was found injured this week in Livingston County.  After hearing a loud thump at their door, Coy and Char Wilder were surprised to see an injured Merlin falcon outside their Howell Township home.  They promptly saw to it that the falcon was transported to the nature center, but efforts to save it were unsuccessful.  It it believed that the falcon was on a migratory flight, most likely south from Canada.  “It’s rare that you see them in this part of Michigan unless they are migrating,” DeBenham said.

Smaller than Peregrines, Merlins are best identified by their dark coloring and “mustache”-style striping on their faces. Kept by falconers since the Middle Ages, they were once known as “lady hawks,” according to information on the website All About Birds.

The Howell Conference and Nature Center is the state’s largest care center for birds of prey.

source: http://www.freep.com/article/20140102/NEWS05/301020054/Injured-falcon-found-in-Detroit-lands-new-home-at-Howell-Conference-and-Nature-Center

[The Peregrine Chick]

Hmmm, sounds like Ivy and Jules and Smiley and Joli and Ivy and Joli ....  

Ever heard of a peregrine falcon ‘love’ triangle? There’s one in North York
Quest and Kendal were a devoted falcon couple, but fate intervened. Enter Skye, a male teenager falcon.
by Valerie Hauch / Toronto Star / 24 Oct 2013

Older, comely female. Young male, eager to get to know her better.  Two North York peregrine falcons – a mature female named Quest, 5, and a “teenager’’ of about 2, named Skye, have been getting very chummy since last August, according to volunteers from the Canadian Peregrine Foundation who have been monitoring their movements. (Peregrines have an identifying band put on when they’re chicks, as part of a Ministry of Natural Resources program.)

“There’s quite a little love story going on,’’ says Mark Nash, president of the Canadian Peregrine Foundation.

Quest, like all female Peregrines is a lot bigger than Skye and could easily drive him out of her territory. But she seems comfortable with him and they’ve been seen “rubbing beaks together,’’ and occasionally sharing an office tower ledge, directly across the Harlequin Enterprises building on Duncan Mill Rd., where her nest box is, says Nash.

But no sex yet. While there are cases of peregrine copulation in late October (hormone stimulation depends on periods of sunlight), female fertilization doesn’t happen until March, says Nash.  It may be Skye’s first foray into falcon ‘romance.’ But his partner is more experienced. Quest has been nesting at the same place for the last few years, successfully raising broods of off-white fluffy feathered chicks with her previous mate, Kendal, 4.

They were a devoted couple, until the storms of fate intervened. Literally.  Following a terrible deluge last summer, Kendal was found on the ground with fractures on his wrist and wings. He was immediately taken to Toronto Wildlife Centre and treated and then went to the Canadian Peregrine Foundation Raptor Centre in Woodbridge to continue healing and start rehabilitation. He’s now at the Owl Foundation in Vineland where a larger confinement space will allow him to fly more and exercise his muscles.

Kendal’s ultimate fate is undecided. He still has to go through a spring moult. And he has to show that he has recovered to the point where he could survive in the wild, says Nash.  Peregrine falcons are the fastest animals on the planet – they can reach speeds of up to 320 km/hour on a dive. Kendal has to be able “to perform like an F16 (jet fighter),” says Nash. But because of his injuries, he has “lost some symmetry...we don’t know yet if he can hunt like a peregrine and keep himself alive as well as hunt for his family.’’

It will eventually be up to the provincial Ministry of Natural Resources to “make the call’’ as to whether Kendal will be released to the wild. If not, he could be sent to a sanctuary or possibly euthanized, if deemed unsuitable to living in captivity. Some wild peregrines just can’t adapt and it creates huge stress for them, he said.

However, if Kendal is released next spring, there’s likely some drama ahead.  “The first thing he’s going to do is come back to the nest,’’ says Nash. That will mean some sort of clash with Skye — in those situations the female generally hangs back and the “males work it out.’’

Sometimes, these altercations do result in the death of one bird. The Canadian Peregrine Foundation will know if Kendal is released to the wild and will monitor the nest. Quest did show signs of distress after Kendal disappeared, says Nash. And generally, peregrines will mate for life. But when one bird in a couple dies, the one left behind will often accept a new mate.  That seems to be the case here.  

Although Skye is ahead in the courtship game with Quest, it’s still not a done deal, says Nash. Skye will have to clearly demonstrate “that he can protect his territory...chase away all competitors’’ as well as prove his hunting prowess. Nesting pairs stay in Toronto all year, but young unattached peregrines migrate south before winter and then come back towards spring.

[The Peregrine Chick]

Falcon study hits the mark: Rare to find change in hunting habits and have Inuk coauthor
Darrell Greer / Northern News Services / 3 Oct 2013



A study on peregrine falcons near Rankin Inlet has produced impressive results on two fronts. The study was done during the summers of 2007-09, as part of Vincent L'Herault's master for the University of Quebec with the help of Inuit guide Poisy Alogut and project leader Alastair Franke of the Canadian Circumpolar Institute. L'Herault said the goal of the study was to monitor the falcons to better understand what they eat and their reproductive outputs during those years.

He said Alogut did an amazing job and became much more than just a guide. "He really became a leader and influenced the way we viewed the tundra and the birds," said L'Herault. "We had a paper published in the internationally known journal, Ecology and Evolution. I had Poisy listed as one of the authors, and it's very rare for scientific research to acknowledge a local person. But I had a strong argument that his contribution was unique, particularly his willingness to share his knowledge of the land."

L'Herault said the study discovered peregrine falcons eating a great deal of ground animals, such as lemmings and ground squirrels.  He said it was always thought, from studies in other systems, falcons only fed on small birds such as snow buntings, passerines and shorebirds. "We were very, very amazed to discover the falcons were preying on lemmings. We had inland nests up to nine km in length, and others covering up to 4 km of shore on small islands, and all of these nesting birds were feeding their young a huge proportion of lemmings and ground squirrels. That was a spectacular result, based on the fact previous literature has always documented falcons hunting bird prey only."

L'Herault said about 30 pairs of adult falcons come to Rankin every spring. He said each pair tries to lay eggs and hatch young.  Depending on local meteorological conditions and food availability, about 20 pairs will successfully fledge their young to the pint where they can fly and hunt themselves. One year, we only had three successful pairs produce young, while other years saw as many as 30 pairs produce chicks. So it can be extremely variable, depending on local conditions."  

Franke tracked the Rankin falcons back to their wintering grounds in South America at Peru, Chile and Argentina. The falcons fly across the North, South America and Central America to breed in the Arctic every summer before returning south. The falcons spend about three months in the Rankin area, which is enough time for the chicks to be ready to head south with the adults.  

L'Herault said fluctuating meteorological conditions due to climate change have become a problem to the migrating birds recently. He said some conditions may influence the young falcons' ability to learn to hunt before fall arrives. "If the fall comes sooner and their adults are already gone, the young chicks could have a problem getting their food until the end of their growing season. We're just starting to see evidence the variable meteorological conditions may influence the capacity of the birds to survive and leave on time."

A falcon egg and/or chick has its share of enemies around Rankin, including the Arctic fox, ermine (short-tailed weasel), wolverine and a very rare polar bear attack. L'Herault said the adult falcons dive bomb the predators to scare them away. But, he said, just about any predator would be interested in an egg or a chick if the chance presented itself. "It's rare for any young falcon to be attacked in the air here, because the only predator with that capacity is the snowy owl. It's really the only winged predator that will bother the falcons. We don't know too much about when they're migrating, but the great horned owl would be a great threat to them in the temperate forest. So as far as winged predators, the owl is the falcon's main enemy."

Alogut said he totally enjoyed working on the study with L'Herault and his group. He said he became deeply interested in the falcons as the study went on and found himself wanting to do more. "I developed a real interest in the birds," said Alogut. "The falcons are all over the place here, and I enjoyed showing the group where the birds nest and hunt.  Most of them are on the cliffs or high grounds, but some prefer a little lower, just out of reach of the foxes." Originally from Coral Harbour, Alogut is highly skilled on the land.  He said it was fun to be part of a project where his knowledge was valued and he also learned a lot.  "I never thought of getting my name on the paper that was published, but I was excited to find out it is. I was told the door is open for me to do more work like this. But while I do enjoy it, I have other priorities now."

[The Peregrine Chick]

FWS investigating falcon death near unfinished California solar plant
by Scott Streater / Greenwire / 19 Sept 2013

The Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is once again investigating a bird death at a Southern California solar power project, this time involving a peregrine falcon discovered at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in San Bernardino County. USFWS has become increasingly concerned about bird deaths at utility-scale solar plants, including the discovery in May of a dead endangered Yuma clapper rail at another solar project under construction in the nearby Chuckwalla Valley (E&ENews PM, July 11). The service earlier this year began asking project developers to increase avian monitoring activity during project construction, said Jane Hendron, an FWS spokeswoman in Carlsbad, California.

USFWS is currently conducting a broader analysis of solar installations in the West in an effort to determine if they are contributing to bird mortalities and injuries. If so, it could create a new layer of regulatory concerns at a time of unprecedented growth in the industry that is expected to continue after President Obama in June challenged the Interior Department to add 10,000 megawatts of renewable energy by 2020.

"It's all about trying to figure out what are the aspects of these projects that are posing risks to birds, and then, hopefully, we can all put our heads together and try to devise measures that would be successful in reducing those risks," Hendron said. "But that is still something that has to be worked on."

The latest incident involves the discovery of a severely injured peregrine falcon at the nearly completed Ivanpah solar project, which is being developed by Oakland, Calif.-based BrightSource Energy, along with investment partners NRG Solar and Google. The $2.2 billion project, which has been under construction since October 2010, will use hundreds of thousands of heliostat mirrors to reflect sunlight on solar receivers atop three 459-foot-tall power towers in the Mojave Desert near the California-Nevada border.  The peregrine falcon was discovered Sept. 6 by one of the project's on-site biologists, who "promptly delivered it to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator for further evaluation and care," said Jeff Holland, an NRG spokesman, in an email.

Holland said that in accordance with the project's avian monitoring plan, the biologist contacted USFWS, the Bureau of Land Management and the California Energy Commission.  "Late yesterday we were informed by the USFWS that the bird had unfortunately expired and that a cause of death has yet to be determined," Holland said in the email.

A necropsy will be performed at USFWS's forensics laboratory in Ashland, Oregon, in an effort to determine the cause of death, Hendron said. Among other things, the service wants to know if the bird collided with the power towers, or whether the bird was burned or blinded while flying between the mirrors and the power towers, referred to as "solar flux."


Read the rest of the story here: http://www.eenews.net/stories/1059987532
(sorry, whole story is too long to post here ...)

[The Peregrine Chick]

Peregrine falcons put on a show at Tate Modern
by John Dunne / London Evening Standard / 13 Sept 2013


City dwellers: Houdini on the Tate Modern

A pair of peregrine falcons have  ruffled a few feathers in the art world with regular appearances at the Tate Modern.  Misty and Houdini nest in the City of London but often spend their days on the roof of the Tate where they have a bird’s eye view of the capital.  

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds volunteers Evie Prysor-Jones and Celia Leam were offering passers-by a chance to spy the pair using a telescope yesterday. The RSPB regularly sets up the telescopes to monitor the progress of the birds who came to London eight  years ago and were the first to return after the capital’s peregrine falcon population disappeared during the Forties.  Tim Web, the charity’s London spokesman said: “We regularly offer people the chance to use the telescopes down by the Tate Modern and it has proved very popular.

“The birds eat pigeons and like to spend time on high buildings because they are like cliffs which makes London ideal.”  There are now 24 pairs of peregrine falcons across London according to the RSPB.

[The Peregrine Chick]

Banner Year For Banding Peregrine Falcon Chicks
15 July 2013 / WBIW News

(UNDATED) - DNR wildlife biologists recently completed banding efforts with a record number of peregrine falcon chicks that were hatched this spring at 15 successful nesting sites across Indiana.

"As a species that is dependent on man-made structures in the lower Midwest, peregrine falcon numbers are at unprecedented levels due to the efforts of many agencies, organizations, companies, and individuals," said John Castrale, nongame bird biologist with the Indiana DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife. "In return, these spectacular birds give wildlife watchers unique viewing opportunities as they hunt and raise their young in urban and industrial areas."

DNR biologists monitor peregrine falcon nesting every year, and most young falcons are banded with leg identification tags to help monitor their movements and survival.  The 44 falcon chicks that were banded this year topped the previous high mark of 38 set in 2012. Two additional chicks left their nests this year before biologists could get to them to attach bands.

"Once again, building and plant managers throughout the state were cooperative in allowing access for banding at nest boxes," Castrale said. "Volunteers were invaluable in monitoring nesting, identifying adults, and keeping young falcons out of harm's way."  Nesting sites in East Chicago, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Madison, Michigan City and Whiting had the most banded chicks with four each. Three chicks were banded at two sites in Gary and at single nests in Indianapolis, New Albany and Porter County.

Once threatened with extinction in North America, peregrine falcons represent one of the most successful restoration stories in the 40 years of the Endangered Species Act. Their recovery resulted in removal from the federal endangered species list in 1999. A recommendation is pending to remove them from the Indiana list of endangered species.  A half century ago, habitat loss and decreased reproduction resulting from use of pesticides, such as DDT, put peregrine falcons in peril of surviving as a species. By 1965, no peregrine falcons nested east of the Mississippi River, and western populations had declined by 90 percent.  Efforts to study, breed and restore peregrine populations began in the 1970s. Through these efforts, it was discovered that urban settings are successful nesting areas because the skyscrapers mimic the peregrine's natural cliff-side habitat.

Indiana started its peregrine falcon reintroduction project in 1991, and by 1994 the DNR had released 60 young falcons in Evansville, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis and South Bend.  The number of nesting pairs in the state has slowly increased. Nests are located on buildings, under bridges, and on smokestacks along the Lake Michigan shoreline, at power plants, and in major urban areas.

[The Peregrine Chick]

Births on high
31 Dec 2013 - Fort Wayne News Sentinel

For the first time in three years, peregrine falcons successfully hatched chicks in the nest box on the roof of One Summit Square. Moxie and her mate, Jamie, jumped right into family life, too, hatching four chicks around May 1.

Moxie, a 2-year-old bird from Canton, Ohio, and Jamie, a 3-year-old male from Port Sheldon, Mich., took up residence in Fort Wayne in 2012, but Moxie was too young to lay eggs. Their flock soon had names — male Maverick and females Electra, Skyler and Soara — thanks to a naming contest sponsored by Indiana Michigan Power and won by students at Deer Ridge, Harris, Whispering Meadows and St. Vincent de Paul elementary schools in Fort Wayne.

Both the federal government and state of Indiana listed peregrine falcons as an endangered species decades ago because exposure to pesticides caused a steep drop in their population. Indiana started a peregrine falcon reintroduction program in 1991, and it has been successful. Statewide, a record 44 chicks were checked and banded for identification this year.

Peregrines recovered enough to be taken off the federal endangered species list in 1999. They remained an endangered species in Indiana until the Indiana Department of Natural Resources took them off the list in October.

[The Peregrine Chick]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/arctic-rain-threatens-baby-peregrine-falcons-1.2450721

An article about Arctic peregrines, and their struggles.

Glad you posted this Dupre, meant to find it myself 

The researchers told me a story a few years ago about one year at Rankin Inlet when they had 24 nests and they banded about 60 chicks.  Next year they had 24 nests again and one storm (not unlike the 2008 storm or the storm we had this year when our first Radisson chick died) and only one nest with 3 chicks survived.  North or south, cliff ledge or nestbox, it's not easy being a peregrine chick ...

[dupre501]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/arctic-rain-threatens-baby-peregrine-falcons-1.2450721

An article about Arctic peregrines, and their struggles.

[The Peregrine Chick]

Wouldn't a better idea be to somehow block off the know sites under the bridge(s) to discourage nesting at all, rather than let the chicks drown if they fall.    Maybe chicken wire or something similar? 

I daresay with the "changes" someone will propose that and/or propose changes to nestsites - modified nestboxes or nestbox locations or some such ... don't know much about how the birds use the underside of bridges as nesting areas other than they do look like cliff ledges ... someone will experiment, no one really wants chicks to die if they can find a way to modify the sites to give them a better chance ...

[Jazzerkins]

Wouldn't a better idea be to somehow block off the know sites under the bridge(s) to discourage nesting at all, rather than let the chicks drown if they fall.    Maybe chicken wire or something similar?

[RCF]

Feds: Falcons recovered; no more chick rescues

After decades of scrambling on the underside of California bridges to pluck endangered peregrine falcon chicks from ill-placed nests, inseminating female birds and releasing captive-raised fledglings, wildlife biologists have been so successful in bringing back the powerful raptors that they now threaten Southern California's endangered shorebird breeding sites.

As a result, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says it will no longer permit peregrine chick rescues from Bay Area bridges, a move that they concede will likely lead to fluffy chicks tumbling into the water below and drowning next spring.

http://www.dailydemocrat.com/news/ci_24348854/feds-falcons-recovered-no-more-chick-rescues

[The Peregrine Chick]

Lowestoft, Suffolk

According to a twitter post from a photographer, apparently the first peregrines in 200 years just fledged from the Lowestoft area in Suffolk



And a note from a local birding group:

• PEREGRINE Falco peregrinus
  Having both fledged at the end of June the youngsters remain in the vicinity of Lowestoft Grain Silo. Success on the second attempt for this young pair.
  The last time Peregrines bred in the Lowestoft area was 200 years ago in the early 1800's, and as the young on that occasion were taken by a local falconer it may be these two birds are the first to fledge for even longer than that.
  One, presumably one of the adults from the silo, was seen at Carlton Marshes on the 1st and 7th

Here's some background - the Return of the Peregrine

[allikat]

93 UAE falcons released into the Kazakhstan wild

The release which was carried out through May 16 to 18 of this year included a total number of 46 Peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) and 47 Saker falcons (Falco cherrug) which were released in Kurchum, eastern Kazakhstan, for the fifth consecutive year.

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/environment/93-uae-falcons-released-into-the-kazakhstan-wild-1.1200757

This is absolutely wonderful news!  Go falcons go!!!