News: Peregrines

[Alison]

This morning's update on peregrine falcon Phoenix, injured in the refinery explosion:



Today, Ferdinand Baer took our Phoenix to the veterinarian again for pain treatment. Unfortunately, it turned out that the skin on the wing also shows burns. But at least she was able to keep down the food she was given yesterday. Her condition continues to worry us greatly. In this context, a heartfelt thank you to the practice of Dr. Cronenberg, from whom Phoenix receives medication.

I also read this morning that three of the eight people injured in the blast were hospitalized with severe injuries.

[carly]

Thank you for the update Alison.  Poor girl 

[Alison]

An update on the falcon injured in the refinery explosion, posted three hours ago: 

There is news about our lady falcon, whom we have named Phoenix. The burnt skin on the foot is now peeling. That looks really bad. Today there was an appointment in the morning with the vet. What worries us a lot is that she has probably suffered from smoke poisoning and may have had to inhale various toxic fumes. The food intake is also rather hesitant. "It is far from over the mountain," says Ferdinand Baer, ​​our head of the bird station. So, keep your fingers crossed!



https://www.facebook.com/rathausturm.wanderfalken/photos/a.857341854326481/1955142121213110/?type=3&theater

[Alison]

More information on the refinery explosion:

Major explosion at refinery near Ingolstadt, Bavaria



Eight people were injured in an explosion and a subsequent major fire on the grounds of the Bayernoil refinery in Vohburg on the Danube. According to information from the BR, a strong explosion on the grounds took place ar 5:30 a.m. in the district pf Irsching. The area was cordoned off over a wide area.

Initially, according to police, 1,800 people from surrounding homes were forced to leave their homes because of the smoke.

After about three hours, the cloud of smoke partially dissipated - and people were able to return to their homes, as a spokesman for the Police Headquarters in North Upper Bavaria stated.

Disaster alert and large-scale deployment

According to police, the district office of Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm triggered a disaster alarm. How the explosion and the fire happened was initially unclear. "The fire fighting is running at full speed," the spokesman continued. "The situation has only relaxed to the extent that the evacuation of local residents is no longer necessary." Furthermore, there were several fires on the site; the flames were not under control.

Police, fire and rescue workers were on site with a large contingent of about 400 forces. A thick column of smoke had been seen over the area in the morning. Sirens howled.

Local residents said that the bang was heard for miles in the morning. Residents were asked to keep windows and doors
closed.

The injured are, according to police, co-workers of the enterprise.

https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/explosion-raffinerie-101.html

[Alison]

Major explosion at a refinery in Vohburg, near Ingolstadt, Bavaria

This past weekend, there was an explosion at a refinery near Ingolstadt, Bavaria. Not only were eight people injured, but an adult peregrine falcon was also found injured by the fire department. She is still alive, although almost all of her feathers are scorched. She is now being cared for at the Bird Station in Regensburg, where the staff will do their very best to restore her to health.

I realize that she will need to be in care for a long time, perhaps a year or more, to be able to replace her feathers, but I very much hope she will be able to recover from this horrific experience.







From the Bird Station in Regensburg:

If you would like to support us, you are welcome to join us and help with a donation. The address is:

Raiffeisenbank Regenstauf, IBAN: DE75 7506 1851 0000 0490 34

https://www.facebook.com/rathausturm.wanderfalken/

[GCG]

Falcon revival breeds resurgence through falconry.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/falcon-revival-breeds-resurgence-1.4777794 

[Alison]

Cardiff, Wales

Peregrine falcon rescued from home's TV antenna in Wales

 

Animal rescuers in Wales said they are searching for the owner of a peregrine falcon found tangled in a home's TV antenna.

RSPCA Cymru said rescuers responded to the home in the Pontcanna area of Cardiff on Monday after a witness reported spotting the bird of prey entangled in the antenna atop a home.

The rescuers called in help from the South Wales Fire & Rescue Service, which dispatched firefighters from Ely Station with a ladder to reach the distressed falcon.

The bird was found to be distressed but managed to escape serious injury. The RSPCA said it is trying to find the falcon's owner.

"This poor bird was in a real mess, found hanging upside-down from a television aerial in Pontcanna," RSPCA animal welfare officer Sian Burton said. "Fortunately, despite such a distressing encounter, the peregrine falcon initially seems to be doing well, and is now being checked over by vets."

https://www.upi.com/Peregrine-falcon-rescued-from-homes-TV-antenna-in-Wales/6081533054231/

I am very glad this little juvie was rescued. Not sure why he/she would have an owner.

[Alison]

Bradenton, Florida

 

This poor Laughing Gull was hit by a car, and ended up embedded in the front of the vehicle. Great work by the Bradenton Police Department to rescue him! He is now recovering from his ordeal at Wildlife Inc.

BPD Animal Services to the rescue! This poor little guy was struck by a car then stuck in the grill. Thankfully, Detective Lixa Moyett and her team were able to get him out safely. He has a minor wing injury but is well on his way to recuperating.

https://www.facebook.com/BradentonPoliceDepartment/posts/1791781784272162

[burdi]

Montreal bridges home to growing numbers of peregrine falcons — with a little help from their friends

Raptors like to nest in and around bridge structures because they're akin to cliff habitats

CBC News · Posted: Jul 11, 2018 5:00 AM ET | Last Updated: July 11

Read entire CBC news story here

[The Peregrine Chick]

I wondered the same thing Alison ... but peregrines are always award-worthy!

Seriously though, perhaps it is the start of a campaign to rehabilitate their image and that it is a precursor to more work being done on the peregrines behalf.  Wishful thinking perhaps but ...

For those who want a crash course in lousy human-raptor relations in the UK check out the Raptor Persecution UK's blog and/or twitter posts.  If you haven't visited them before, you might want to go with Twitter first so you don't get overwhelmed and utterly disappointed in humankind quite so quickly.

[Alison]

https://twitter.com/mbperegrines/status/958819753061179398

I don't understand why the peregrine falcon is being named the Swiss bird of the year. Switzerland has an abysmal record with respect to peregrines. I remember reading an article two or three years ago which stated that all the peregrines in the Zurich area had been poisoned, one by one, over some years.

And as far as I am aware, nothing has improved. There have been no peregrines at the webcam site for years now.

Some time back, the first conviction was obtained against a pigeon breeder who had used a poisoned pigeon to kill a peregrine. The article I read was in German, but there are English articles on this also.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3675567/Swiss-bird-fancier-convicted-killing-peregrine-falcon-kamikaze-PIGEON.html

Back in 2011, the much loved female at the Zurich nest, Carla, brought what turned out to be a poisoned pigeon back to the nest to feed her chicks. She died there, on the platform, right in front of her three little chicks. No one was ever prosecuted.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/686954/Horrific-moment-falcon-is-killed-by-a-pigeon-smeared-with-poison

[The Peregrine Chick]

https://twitter.com/mbperegrines/status/958819753061179398

[The Peregrine Chick]

BCBird has been busy tracking down more information for you all! 
Be sure to check out the link - there is a video!!

Millennium Line falcon: TransLink using birds of prey to scare pigeons
Kendra Mangione / CTV Vancouver / 25 Jan 2018

TransLink has employed a team of winged avengers as part of an aerial assault on a common cause of SkyTrain maintenance issues.  A team of peregrine falcons and their handlers are taking part in a six-week pilot project meant to scare off pigeons, which are often a cause of issues at stations. 

The cooing convicts leave droppings and make passengers nervous. They also wander onto tracks and set off intrusion alarms, bringing the trains to a halt. In 2015, a nest fire caused hours-long delays on the Expo Line. "They're very frustrating," TransLink spokesperson Chris Bryan said.

So TransLink is using peregrine falcons, a natural predator of pigeons, to scare the birds out of the way. Handlers and birds from Raptor Ridge Birds of Prey began wandering SkyTrain stations last month as part of an $18,000 trial.   The results have been mixed.  Pigeons are stubborn, and often return to the dry, heated stations once the falcons have left. "They've got pretty good eyes too," Raptor Ridge Birds of Prey owner Kim Kamstra said.  So the falcons have to hide in carriers, then come back out when the pigeons return. The hope is the pesky birds will learn the stations aren't safe, and move on to other locations.

The peregrine falcon is a common bird of prey found in most parts of the world. The species is known for its speed and can fly at more than 320 km/h when chasing prey.

Source: https://bc.ctvnews.ca/mobile/millennium-line-falcon-translink-using-birds-of-prey-to-scare-pigeons-1.3775759


Love the last line in this story - I suspect the author is perhaps too young to know how close we came to not being able to say that in North/South America and in Europe.
And check out Kim talking to Avro and Avro talking to Kim 

[The Peregrine Chick]

This is courtesy of BCBird


Avro alert: new cop in sky
Rob Gibson / Castanet / Jan 25, 2018



There's a new transit cop in the sky.

TransLink has unleashed a team of peregrine falcons to scare off the pigeons.  Pigeons may seem harmless but their droppings and other antics are responsible for issues at stations throughout Vancouver.  As CTV reports the team of peregrine falcons and their handlers are taking part in a six-week pilot project meant to scare off pigeons.  The pigeons wander onto tracks and set off intrusion alarms, bringing the trains to a halt. In 2015, a nest fire caused hours-long delays on the Expo Line.


Source: https://www.castanet.net/news/BC/217198/Avro-alert-new-cop-in-sky

[burdi]

Windsor bird watcher wants peregrine falcons to stay on endangered list

Urban peregrine population numbers are much lower than some southern non-urban (Alberta, Ontario) and northern populations and it is overall national population numbers and distributions for anatum and tundrius subspecies that are major considerations in determining if a species remains on the "at-risk" list.  Peregrines (anatum & tundrius) haven't been an endangered species federally for more than a decade, but individual provinces have their own lists.  In Ontario they are "special concern" the least of the at-risk categories.  In Manitoba they are still endangered for the moment.  They haven't been on Saskatchewan's SAR list for years and have been "threatened" in Alberta since 2014 and Alberta is a peregrine powerhouse province both north and south.

Thank you for providing this information on provincial and federal lists, TPC.