By William Leroy
I was just about home the other day when I witnessed a dark shape descending at high speed toward a quail that was moving across the road directly in front of me. The hapless quail disappeared in a cloud of dust and feathers as a peregrine falcon emerged from the chaos and leaped back into the sky. Clocked at speeds of up to 220 miles per hour, peregrine falcons are said to be the fastest birds on earth and nature’s finest flying machine. Their name comes from the Latin word pereginus (meaning traveler). You’ll know find them soaring high in the clouds or perched in a tree, but these falcons almost became extinct.
About the size of a crow, the peregrine falcon is a distinctive bird with a dark stripe coming down from the top of its head, accented by a white throat. Their tails are long and narrow with black bands. Females are larger than males, with both sexes having wingspans of 40 inches. Their body length is 15 to 20 inches, and they weigh in at 1 1/4 to 2 3/4 pounds.
Rivaled only by ospreys, peregrine falcons have a vast global distribution. They are found on every continent except Antarctica and live in a variety of habitats, from sea level up to 12,000 feet. In their northern range, peregrines are highly migratory, traveling to warmer areas during winter and as far as 1,500 miles. Peregrines chiefly hunt birds, but they will also take mammals, reptiles, or insects. Typically, prey is captured in the air after fast pursuit or a rapid dive.
Peregrines build their nests near the center of their 30-mile home range. They will defend their nests from intruders and want no neighbors closer than three miles. Peregrines pick their mates for life at three years of age, staying together even when not breeding. Nests are located on rocky cliffs or abandoned eagle or hawk nests, and some cosmopolitan peregrines prefer bridges and ledges on high-rise buildings. Up to four eggs are laid and incubated by the female. The male will take nest-sitting duties as well. In about a month, the chicks hatch and fledge a little more than a month later.
Man is the peregrine’s greatest danger. DDE (from the pesticide DDT) once caused the peregrine populations to disappear in many parts of the world. Eating smaller birds that ingested food sprayed with DDT, the peregrines accumulated this poison, resulting in eggs with shells too thin to survive. By the mid-1960s, there were no peregrines in the eastern United States. By the middle of the 1970s, western populations had declined by 90 percent. DDT was banned in 1972, but it is still used today in Latin American countries, where migrating peregrine falcons winter.
Beginning in 1974, The Peregrine Fund and other agencies embarked on a reintroduction program. Adult birds are bred in captivity and the eggs removed. After hatching, the chicks are cared for until they are about a month old and then placed in artificial nesting sites (called hack sites) where they are fed and cared for by unseen scientists. Once old enough to fly, the fledglings are allowed out of the nest to learn to hunt. These hacking programs have been very successful. In the eastern and central U.S., more than 1,200 peregrines were released. Since 1977, over 2,700 peregrines have been released in the west. Populations of peregrines have increased enough to upgrade their status from endangered to threatened and, in some cases, they have even been removed from threatened status. Thankfully, there is now hope for a full recovery of these beautiful and majestic birds.
About Wild At Heart
Wild At Heart is an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation and preservation of Arizona’s native wildlife through the rescue and rehabilitation of injured and orphaned birds of prey, relocation of displaced raptors, public education and habitat enhancement programs. Due to general encroachment into wildlife habitat, much of Arizona’s wildlife heritage is at risk! Wild At Heart operates as a nonprofit organization, founded by state and federally licensed wildlife rehabilitators “Sam” and Bob Fox. With the help of volunteers, they care for hundreds of raptors each year, including a wide variety of owls, hawks, and eagles.
Wild At Heart receives NO state or government funding. Our support comes from generous members of the community like you who are concerned about our ever-decreasing wildlife habitats in Arizona and Worldwide. One hundred percent of all donations go directly to the care of these magnificent birds of prey. Did you know that $20.00 provides food for one large owl or hawk for two weeks, $50.00 provides antibiotics and medications for the clinic for one week, $100.00 provides enough for fuel to allow several bird rescues to be made? Donations of any amount are appreciated. Please make your check payable to: Wild At Heart, Inc. and mail to the address below, Wild At Heart is a 501(c) 3 organization, Tax I.D. # EIN 86-0770883.
For Additional Information or To Volunteer
Mail: Wild At Heart, 31840 North 45th Street, Cave Creek, AZ 85331
Phone: (480) 595-5047
Web: http://wildatheart.f2g.net
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