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News: Peregrines
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:
--- Quote from: The Peregrine Chick on January 31, 2018, 15:51 ---https://twitter.com/mbperegrines/status/958819753061179398
--- End quote ---
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! ;D
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 ;D
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
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