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The Peregrine Chick:
Peregrine falcons return to a greener London
by Yuki Takayama, The Asahi Shimbun

A peregrine falcon with a wingspan of almost a meter wheels above the Houses of Parliament and alights on the Victoria Tower, gripping a pigeon in its talons.  It is 5 a.m. in early July, and high above Westminster, the falcon begins tearing into its freshly killed breakfast. White feathers ripped from its prey flutter and dance in the breeze around the tower.

This magnificent bird was once endangered in Britain.  Peregrine falcons used to inhabit cliffs and rocky outcrops around the southeast of England, but they were targeted for extermination during World War II in an effort to prevent attacks on carrier pigeons used by the military. After the war, the use of the agricultural chemical DDT and other factors caused a collapse of the population of these birds of prey.

About 10 years ago, however, peregrine falcons began to appear in the center of London. The city's high buildings offer them prime vantage points from which to look for prey. At the Houses of Parliament, to which the birds returned in March 2009, a square plywood tray measuring 50 by 50 centimeters was affixed about halfway up the 100-meter-tall Victoria Tower to help the birds nest. David Morrison, 50, who has been involved in falcon conservation efforts in London for nearly 10 years, says 18 falcon chicks were born this year and that numbers are increasing annually. Currently, 24 peregrine falcon pairs have been identified in the central part of London.

This is just the beginning of a neat story about "greening" cities - well worth the read: The Asahi Shimbun - Peregrine falcons return to a greener London

Eye-spy:
Former special forces soldier jailed in UK for stealing rare falcon eggs for rich Arab buyer

A former special forces soldier was jailed Thursday for attempting to sneak out of Britain with a stash of 14 rare peregrine falcon eggs hidden in socks strapped to his body.  Jeffrey Lendrum, 48, was trying to get to Dubai, where falconry is a national sport and such eggs can fetch 5,000 pounds ($11,000) each on the black market. He was caught when a cleaner spotted him behaving suspiciously in a business class lounge at Birmingham International Airport on May 3.  Lendrum originally told police he was carrying store-bought chicken eggs, which he said he used to treat a bad back, but he pleaded guilty Thursday at Warwick Crown Court in western England, standing with his arms crossed and his head bowed for nearly the entire hearing.

Prized in falconry for their phenomenal speed — they are thought to reach up to 200 miles (320 kilometres) per hour when they dive — the birds are a protected species under British law, which bars their export.  

Judge Christopher Hodson said Lendrum's crime hurt not only the local area "but in some measure to the planet and its future" and sentenced him to 30 months in jail.  Lendrum, an Irish citizen, has previous convictions for stealing rare eggs in Canada and Zimbabwe. A former member of the special forces of Rhodesia, as Zimbabwe was known before its independence, he has apparently put his military training to use — at various points either rappelling down a cliff or lowering himself from a helicopter to reach particularly remote nests.  

Guy Shorrock, with The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, said he believed Lendrum had been stealing eggs for years.  "It's clearly very lucrative," he said. "He has a very good buyer in the Middle East for these birds and he probably receives tens of thousands of pounds (dollars) for his trouble."  Retired police officer Andy McWilliam, who worked on the case for the National Wildlife Crime Unit, said he was hoping to meet Lendrum behind bars to learn more about his tactics.

As for the eggs themselves, quick-thinking police made sure they were kept warm. Eleven out of the 14 have hatched, and most of the falcon chicks have since been returned to wild.

Alison:
Rare falcon chicks stolen from Chorley nest

Newly-hatched chicks from endangered peregrine falcons have been stolen from a protected nest in Chorley.  Bird enthusiast Richard Todd, 36, visits the site in Whittle-le-Woods, on a daily basis to monitor the falcons’ progress. He, along with other spotters and conservationists, had recorded four eggs in a cliff-side nest, which hatched on Friday, May 14.  Mr Todd observed the chicks on Sunday evening at around 9pm, but was told early on Monday that there appeared to be nothing left in the nest. He believes the nest was raided by thieves. He said: “I’m disgusted that someone could do this, presumably with the intention of selling the chicks into captivity for breeding. The adult pair have been here for a couple of years and to have four chicks born was exciting. I often bring my five-year-old son Finlay to see the falcons and just can’t bring myself to tell him they’ve gone. I don’t want him to know that there are people who can be so cruel and take these wonderful creatures.”

Mark Thomas, of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds’ investigations unit, said: “If it is a theft of chicks, then they could fetch anything from £300 to £500 for falconry.”  Some chicks are even sold abroad as British falcons are believed to be from pure, wild stock. Experts say there is a slim chance that the chicks were targeted by ravens but said theft was more likely. Bird recorder Judith Smith said anyone found guilty of stealing the eggs could be facing a jail sentence because peregrine falcons are a schedule one protected species, along with golden eagles, kingfishers and barn owls.

Ivan Lynas, who runs the Imperial pub on Union Street, Chorley, is a peregrine expert whose passion has taken him and his wife Natasia across the country observing them. He had lent a powerful telescope to Mr Todd to help him monitor the nest at close quarters. Mr Lynas said: “It’s quite rare to have four chicks from one breeding pair and to have them taken is very distressing. These birds need to be out in their natural habitat. I’m appalled that someone could do this.”

Lancashire police confirmed that they had been made aware of the theft and said a specialist wildlife officer had begun an investigation.

Link to story: The Chorley Citizen - Rare Falcon Chicks Stolen from Chorley Nest

Alison:
The three chicks from the Olympia nest have now been banded:

3 baby peregrine falcons taken from Olympia nest for banding

Three baby peregrine falcons hatched on a marine terminal crane at the Port of Olympia were brought down to earth Friday afternoon so identification bands could be attached to their legs.

The hourlong effort involved volunteers and port staff members who climbed the crane, retrieved the falcons – one female and two males – and carried them to the marine terminal so two aluminum bands could be connected to the raptors’ legs. After the bands were affixed, the falcons were returned to their nest.

One band was a federal Fish & Wildlife band and the other was a visual identification band, said Glenn Phillips, a volunteer with the Department of Fish and Wildlife. The bands are used to track the falcons; one falcon that was hatched at the port in 2008 has been tracked to the Ballard Bridge in the Seattle area, he said.

The falcons showed up at the port in about 2003 and nest in a plywood box, said Mike Crawford, marine terminal maintenance foreman for the port. The marine terminal has two cranes, and the falcons have settled in on the crane to the south, near the port’s public plaza.

The baby falcons at the port are 15 to 25 days old and should take flight after about 45 days. In 18 months, they will be considered adults, Phillips said.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/05/22/1196524/3-baby-peregrine-falcons-taken.html


Another article on the Olympia banding has some great photos:

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/05/22/1196502/stay-away-from-my-baby.html

Photos by Tony Overman.



One irate, and fearless, peregrine:



One equally irate chick:

Alison:
3 falcon chicks spotted in nest at city's port
 
State will put ID tags on birds in 10 days

OLYMPIA — A pair of peregrine falcons is raising three chicks this spring in a nesting box perched high on the railing of a Port of Olympia crane.

It marks the eighth straight year that the pair used the southernmost of the two cranes during nesting season, rearing their young amidst the occasional bustle of marine terminal operations.

The number of chicks successfully hatched each year has ranged from zero in 2003, when they didn’t have a nesting box, to four in 2009.

State Fish and Wildlife biologist Steve Desimone confirmed last week the presence of at least two chicks approximately one week old. Black Hills Audubon member Whittier Johnson spotted three chicks on Wednesday, including one that was somewhat smaller than the other two, suggesting it had hatched later.

Desimone and Johnson used spotting scopes set up in the Olympia Farmers Market to view into the box in the morning when the adults bring food to the chicks.

The chicks are old enough now to hold their heads up and peer over the edge of the nesting box.

If history is any indicator, the chicks will leave the nest in late June. Roughly 30 percent of all peregrine falcons hatch each year survive to age 1, according to state Fish and Wildlife studies.

The department plans to place identification tags on the chicks in about 10 days. The 2009 offspring were banded, but there’s been no sign of their whereabouts, Desimone said. The state is home to about 150 nest sites in rural and urban areas from Bellingham to Olympia. Not all nest sites are occupied each nesting season.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/05/14/1186142/3-falcon-chicks-spotted-in-nest.html

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