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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.

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