(PRWEB) September 26, 2003

The Peregrine Falcon is one of the most widespread and well known birds in the entire world. It’s early fame came centuries ago when kings and princes used this powerful and speedy bird for the sport of falconing. It gained worldwide renown for it’s fierce and swift pursuance of wild birds in this sport of kings. Today, because of it’s rarity in the wild, other Hawks have had to be trained and used for this activity.

The Peregrine literally disappeared from the Eastern half of these United States between the 1940′s and the 1960′s. The problem seemed to be the extensive use of the pesticide DDT and it’s derivatives. It seemed to be a chain reaction as the poisoned insects and worms were eaten by the birds on which the Falcon fed, thus, it was passed on to the Peregrine. This type of pesticide did not break down, but continued to build up in the host bird until finally the egg shells were so weakened they could not sustain the weight of the incubating birds. Over the years, without any reproduction, the numbers plummeted until no wild birds remained in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. The pesticide was finally banned and the long arduous task of replenishing these birds through human effort went into place. The Bald Eagle and the Osprey were also innocent victims of the same problem. Through captive breeding and restocking in former nest sites, these birds are all making spectacular comebacks. Many of you who live in or near cities with high buildings in them are now able to share in this exciting adventure. Young peregrines have been partially reared and then placed in “hacking boxes” in various cities around the country with the hope that, if they survived the next two years, they would return to the ” hack sites ” and nest on their own. This has happened in several cities in the Midwest… Omaha, Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Muscatine and Davenport are just a few that have reported success so far. These Falcons normally winter south of us, sometimes to Central America but occasional hardy individuals will stick it out in our area. Their return to the nesting zone can be late March or April. Their nests consist of little more than scrapes in the ground, normally on ledges of steep cliffs. This seems to be why our tall buildings will suffice as nest sights and also seems to protect the young birds from predation by the Horned Owl, as the Owl is not usually found in downtown areas.

The Peregrine averages three to four eggs, which are not incubated until the third or fourth egg is layed. This assures that all hatching will be within two days. Some other Hawks and Owls start incubating with the laying of the first egg.

The female does most of the incubating and the eggs hatch in twenty eight to thirty three days, depending on the weather and the size of the eggs. The young are brooded by the female continually for eight to twelve days until they can better stand the rigors of the weather. She will then remain close by during the day and hunt occasionally, but will cover them at night until they are about three weeks old. She feeds them bite sized portions for the first three weeks, but by the fourth week the prey is just dropped in the nest as the young get very aggressive for the food. The nestling phase lasts from four and one half to six weeks.

They start to fly at about six weeks but will be fed for another two months until their skills are honed and they can capture their own food. They may stay together as a family unit until migration time and the young will then just drift off on their own and the family will then break up for good. As these birds often return to their old nest sites, many times the same two birds will re-mate for a number of years. One of the most exciting things about this specie is it’s speed of flight. They have been clocked in straight flight of 60 to 70 miles per hour and can reach speeds of near two hundred miles per hour in a dive for prey.

Ask around your vicinity and see if these tremendous flyers might be nesting close by.

AT THE BIRDFEEDER THIS MONTH

The Warbler migration will be in full swing and you should test yourselves at identifying them. Remember, some fall birds do not look like they did in the spring and it will challenge you to sort them out.

If you don’t feed year around, be getting the feeders ready as it won’t be too long before some of our Northern visitors will be arriving. You will also be noticing how few of the young birds you are seeing, as they have already assumed adult plumage. Our resident Goldfinches will soon be replaced by the Northern nesters that left our area last May.

The Orioles, Wrens and Rose Breasted will soon be gone until next year. We should not be sad, as the Northern birds will soon be replacing them. Good birding to you all.