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Alison:
Hampton, Virginia

HAMPTON — The sun was out and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The conditions were ideal for take-off on a Florida-bound flight path.  By the time Edward Clark, president of the Wildlife Center of Virginia, arrived at Grandview Nature Preserve in Hampton with a rare peregrine falcon Tuesday, a crowd of more than 30 people had gathered to see the release.

The falcon was nursed back to health by staff at the Wildlife Center of Virginia in Waynesboro after being picked up injured in Accomack County last month. He wasted no time in flying back into the wild, going north before getting his bearings and heading south for warmer climes.  Clark, who drove from the snowy Shenandoah Valley to release the bird, said conditions were ideal for flight. "It's nice and balmy down here," he said.

He addressed onlookers and then drove deeper into the preserve for the release.  "We might get a bit out of these backyards in case it lands in these backyards and a cat jumps on it. We don't want to have to replace someone's cat," Clark said.

Clark said the peregrine falcon, the fastest animal on Earth, could get back to Accomack County faster than he could drive there.  "But I suspect this bird has Florida on the brain, which is not an altogether bad idea."

When the falcon was picked up, he was underweight, missing some feathers on its left wing and had an eye injury.  The bird was treated at the wildlife center and given flight exercises in one of the center's outdoor flight pens.

"It was generally given supportive care and it healed. In the wild it does not have the luxury of getting better on its own," Clark said.

There are only about 20 known breeding pairs of peregrines in Virginia — in the Hampton Roads and Richmond areas and on the Eastern Shore.

   

Alison:
Popular power plant peregrines are no snow birds
Holland Sentinel / 26 Dec 2009

Peregrine falcons lingering along the lakeshore have birders and biologists wondering if the part-time residents will again remain in Michigan for the winter.

“Peregrine falcons are migratory birds,” said Nik Kalejs, senior wildlife biologist for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. “Typically, they follow other bird species southward when the weather turns colder. These West Michigan birds stuck around last season and seem to want to remain in the area this year, too.”

Last winter, a pair of peregrines remained all season at the J.H. Campbell Complex in Port Sheldon Township, where an artificial nest placed by employees 200-feet up on an emissions stack has been attracting the birds seasonally for eight years. The nest yielded two peregrine chicks this year, with one of the juveniles sharing the territory with its parents well into the fall, another unusual behavior for the highly territorial species.

Tom Kalkman assisted with placing identification leg bands on the chicks as part of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service program to collect data on the reproductive success, migration routes, and health of the species.

“They’re magnificent birds,” said Kalkman, a Casnovia resident and lab technician at Campbell. “It’s fascinating to think of the fastest animal on the planet residing here in West Michigan — and not wanting to head south for the winter. Obviously, they’re remaining for a reason.”

source:  http://www.hollandsentinel.com/news/x1671986077/Popular-power-plant-peregrines-are-no-snow-birds

 

 

Alison:
Not good news . . .

More flame retardants found in urban peregrine falcons than their country cousins
Environmental Health News / 15 Dec 2009

Cosmopolitan peregrine falcons in California have higher levels of flame retardants than ones living on the coast or in the country.

Falcons that make their home in some of California's largest cities carry more flame retardant pollutants in them as compared to those that preside in rural areas, finds a study that measured the chemicals in the birds' eggs.

The eggs from peregrine falcons living in the state's biggest urban areas have five times more flame retardants than eggs collected from nests in the countryside or near the Californian coast. The findings suggest that the health of urban raptors is at greater risk from exposure to flame retardants than those that live in less populated environments.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have been used in numerous products since the 1970s because they make rugs, furniture and drapery less flammable. Like PCBs, their heavy use, uncontrolled disposal and persistence have caused widespread environmental contamination and concerns over potential health effects in wildlife and humans.

The PBDE chemicals are lipid-loving, and will concentrate through food chains to high levels in top predators. Levels of PBDEs have been increasing in humans and wildlife but decreased production and bans of some types in recent years in North America may reverse this trend in the future.

Peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) feed on other birds like ducks, pigeons and starlings, and are susceptible to accumulation of persistent pollutants because of their position at the top of the food chain. Indeed peregrine falcon populations declined in the 1950s and 1960s because high DDT levels thinned their egg shells, preventing the chicks from hatching.

Though this species is no longer listed as endangered in the US, there may be ongoing threats to their health from exposure to flame retardants. These chemicals are known to affect reproduction and the immune system in other bird species.

In this study, 90 peregrine falcon eggs and 7 chicks were collected during 22 years (between 1986 and 2007) from California cities – including San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles (from nests on top of office buildings) – and from the coast and countryside, areas well away from any large urban centers. These samples were analyzed for PBDEs and PCBs.

Concentrations of the PBDEs were five times higher (10.1 parts per million) in eggs from nests in cities than either the coast or countryside (2.38 and 1.61 parts per million, respectively). This is likely because of the higher use and disposal of these chemicals in urban areas. Levels of these flame retardants in the eggs also tripled over the two decades of the study. In contrast, PCB levels in the eggs did not change in any of the regions over the same time period.

Levels in the peregrine falcon eggs were similar to what is known to cause effects on growth and development in other falcon species. The results of this study show that peregrine falcon living in urban areas are at greater risk from exposure to flame retardants than ones living far away from populated areas.

source: http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/newscience/pbde-levels-higher-in-city-than-country-peregrines

Alison:
Sydney, Australia

Taronga Zoo falcon spreads its wings at Balmoral

JUST over six months ago, it was feared Clarkie the Peregrine Falcon would never fly again.

The male Falcon - the world’s fastest animal - was brought to Taronga Zoo’s wildlife hospital in July by the Native Animal Trust Fund after he was found in the Hunter Valley with a broken wing. After two months of veterinary treatment young Clarkie, thought to have just celebrated its first birthday, is now getting flying lessons to prepare him to be released back into the wild.  Last Wednesday, Clarkie enjoyed a lesson at Balmoral Oval, soaring between the bird trainers who were stationed some distance away from each another.

"If we had of just released the Peregrine back at the Hunter Valley without building up its muscle tone and ensuring the bird was able to free fly and use the wing to its full ability, there could have been a very real chance the bird may have perished,’’ bird trainer, Erin Stone said.  Peregrine Falcons can fly in excess of 300 kilometres / hour, their "bullet like bodies’’ allowing them to capture their prey with an incredible amount of force, according to Ms Stone.

She said they were confident Clarkie would be released back into the wild "sooner rather than later’’.

http://mosman-daily.whereilive.com.au/news/story/taronga-zoo-falcon-spreads-its-wings-at-balmoral/

 

I hope this little guy will be very successful when he returns to the wild.

Adding a link to a video: www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1148687/Clarkie-the-falcon-makes-speedy-recovery

Alison:
Rare bird recuperating from life-saving surgery / Injured falcon on road to recovery

ELKTON -- A bird not usually seen in this area that swoops in on its prey faster than a Daytona 500 competitor is recuperating from life-threatening injuries after being found last week in Ormond Beach.

For the first time since its Friday surgery to repair fractures to its left wing and right leg, the peregrine falcon was able to put weight on its broken leg Saturday. The surgeon, Dr. Mark Gendzier of St. Johns Veterinary Clinic, was optimistic.

"It looked very good on his post-op X-rays," said Gendzier, who does pro bono work for wildlife rehabilitators.

The juvenile bird's caretaker, Melanie Cain-Stage of the Humane Association of Wildlife Care and Education (HAWKE Inc.) in this rural town west of St. Augustine, says she's not sure whether the bird is male or female -- and doubts it will be swooping in on prey in the wild again.

"If they aren't perfect, they are going to die" in the wild, she said, explaining that peregrines migrate up to 11,000 miles, with some of them covering the expanse from summer homes in Alaska to wintering grounds in South America.

The juvenile that an Ormond Beach woman reported "falling out of the sky" into her backyard eight days ago was likely migrating to its winter residence, according to Michael Brothers, manager of education and exhibits at the Marine Science Center in Ponce Inlet.

This species, likely of the subspecies peregrinis flaco anatum, generally appears in this area in mid-November as it makes its way to points south, although Brothers said he's seen a number of them roosting in this area all winter, he said.

But they are hardly ever brought in for rehabilitation. Brothers estimates that since the Mary Keller Seabird Rehabilitation Sanctuary opened in 2004, only one or two of the 5,500 birds that have come through the sanctuary have been peregrine falcons. The bird rehab facility is part of the science center.

"It's exciting to see this bird up close," he said.

The Ormond Beach woman who found the bird at first brought the injured animal to the Ponce Inlet facility, Brothers said. But then Cain-Stage, who has a permit to handle peregrine falcons for education, was called on to find the appropriate care for the bird.

Cain-Stage said she believes the bird was probably hit by a car. As it recuperates, Cain-Stage is feeding it beef and quail. Already the bird is getting the hang of its new life in the hospital portion of Cain-Stage's sanctuary, which also houses eagles, otters, turtles and owls. As Cain-Stage approached the bird's incubator with chunks of meat, it stopped making a slight hissing noise and opened its slightly hooked beak.

"Already she knows I'm not going to hurt her," Cain-Stage said. "And that, when she sees me, I'm going to bring her food.  She's been a very good patient."

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