News, Videos & Other Webcams > Birds in the News

News: Peregrines

<< < (45/51) > >>

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."

The Peregrine Chick:
Rare bird recuperating from life-saving surgery

Melanie at HAWKE reports that their peregrine is doing very well - recovering from surgery and tolerating the associated handling calmly.  Melanie thinks the bird might be a female and she has 30 years of raptor experience including a couple of peregrines - a male and a female.  She also passed along an email from Carol who found the juvie at her home near the beach.  From the description of the bird's injuries & Carol's description of how the bird was found, it is very probable that the youngster was hunting birds near power/phone lines and collided with them.  We have had similar injuries among birds here so its a good guess.  The wing fracture was an open fracture which are notoriously poor to heal well enough, so the little "girl" will become an education bird - young is good in that case, they can "take" to captivity better than older birds.  Peregrines are snotty-by-nature though, so we will have to see.  

Melanie will send us updates as she has time ... I told her that it would be a great favour for y'all as I know you are experiencing peregrine withdrawal these days.  Will forward whatever I should receive!

So big applause and best wishes to Melanie, her vets, volunteers and all the supporters of HAWKE in Florida!

Alison:
Rare bird recuperating from life-saving surgery
St Augustine News / 28 Nov 2009

A young peregrine falcon, which are only rarely seen in Florida, is recuperating after major life-saving surgery.  Staff at St. Johns Veterinary Clinic operated Friday on the bird, which was found injured earlier this week in Volusia County.  Dr. Mark Gendzier, a veterinarian, said pins were placed in the radius in its left wing, and the tibiotarsus in the bird's right leg.

"This bird was in quite good shape for having two fractures," he said. However, the healing rate for fractures in birds is lower than in humans and other animals because avian bones are hollow.  There also isn't much blood supply to bones, which is essential for healing.

Peregrine falcons were endangered for years after wide-spread use of DDT lowered its reproduction rate, and they had few nests east of the Mississippi, according to the Audubon Society. Now, peregrine falcons migrate through Florida on their way to habitat in South America.  The bird, resting on its breast Friday afternoon in an incubator set to 90 degrees, is expected to pull through.

Melanie Cain-Stage of H.A.W.K.E., a wildlife rehabilitator, said the bird probably would not recover enough to be released into the wild.

"Eventually, he'll get the wrappings off and some rehab like physical therapy" and would become an education bird, she said.

Stage said the bird was too young to be reliably identified as male or female because its flight feathers had not yet come in.  In males, "wing feathers are slate blue," she said, while females have brown wing feathers.
Note: there are no colour differences between the genders.  Adults are slate-grey, juveniles are brown.  Appartently this was a reporting error  :)

If it's a male, she'll name it Ken after longtime friends Ken Pacetti and Ken Moffitt, she said in an e-mail. Pacetti passed away Monday, she said.  In the meantime, she said she'd make up a sling to protect the bird's foot, and would keep it "clean, calm and fed."  

That entails administering painkillers and antibiotics, Gendzier said. And Stage said she'd use calipers to feed the sharp-beaked bird small pieces of quail three times a day.

http://staugustine.com/news/local-news/2009-11-28/rare-bird-recuperating-life-saving-surgery

Photo from the Humane Association of Wildlife Care and Education.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page