“Look up! It’s a bird… It’s a plane… It’s the Peregrine Falcon!” Sounds familiar right? Superman was a fictional character, much like Humphrey Bogart in the Maltese Falcon, and while he was very popular and entertaining, he was no match for an actual super bird called the Peregrine Falcon. This creature is one of the most powerful and flying birds that exist. The peregrine falcon probably has one of the longest migrations of any bird in North America. Covering up to 15,500 miles in a year on two different continents, spanning North and South America, hence the meaning of the falcon’s name, “wanderer” or the scientific name of “falco pereginus”.
This is an amazing flyer! You will find that these hawks average 25-34 miles per hour in travel flight and as fast as 69 miles per hour in direct pursuit of prey with a hunting incline from heights of over .62 miles! I don’t even know if a Geo Spectrum could navigate at that speed. After reaching speeds of 200 miles per hour, they lunge at their prey and kill it by biting the neck of a songbird, duck, and occasionally bats. OH!!! These hawks are so acrobatic that they can even catch their prey in the air. What a feat!
The habitat of the peregrine falcon is understood to be on all of the world’s continents except Antarctica and on many oceanic islands, making them one of the most widely distributed species in the world. What evidence is there to show the durability of this bird? The hawk has been shown to survive in a wide range of habitat areas including: urban cities, deserts, the tundra, and the tropics. They remind me of people who live in Maine and then travel to Florida in the winter because the Peregrine Falcon will migrate very long distances from where they reside in the winter to their summer nesting grounds in the world. Who knows? They may have even purchased “Time Shares”.
Have you ever been in a big city and seen the image of a hawk or an eagle on a skyscraper? There is a marked parallel with the actual habits of these falcons which are illustrated on top of those buildings. For example, peregrine falcons have done a great job adjusting to living in many of our cities in the United States of America. They have the ingenuity to make use of tall skyscrapers and buildings that have suitable ledges for nesting. They show their desire for culinary variety in their meals by making use of their neighbors, the pigeon and starlings, in the cities for their food supply. What a tasty and delicious treat for these Teflon birds.
These Peregrine Falcons are highly intelligent and can be trained as well. This has always been one of the most prized birds among men. People have used and trained these birds for hunting, as well as messengers. In 1940, the Federal Government issued an order to cull these peregrine falcons, causing the death of 600 birds. One reason may have been because in World War II the armed forces used more than 200,000 homing pigeons as message carriers which were also on the menu for these hawks. This was part of the reason for the decline of these fabulous birds. Populations began to decline rapidly between 1950 and 1970 due to DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane) poisoning. This poisoning affected peregrine falcon eggs, causing thinning and making them susceptible to breaking during incubation. Not to mention, other birds of prey such as golden eagles and eagle owls would occasionally kill peregrine falcon chicks. At this point, they made it to the endangered species list and in 1970 extensive efforts were made to re-establish the bird population. Human-driven efforts to breed the peregrine falcon in captivity began to make a difference to this almost “down for the bill” bird. That’s why we consider them the “Teflon” bird of prey. They have made an incredible comeback. In 1999, the peregrine falcon was finally taken off the endangered species list.
As we’ve seen in part, with the help of man, the peregrine falcon nearly went extinct, and with the help of man, the peregrine falcon has made a tremendous comeback. Let’s all be aware and continue to be part of the solution by participating in the preservation of this “Teflon” survivor. Watch them fly, watch them hunt, watch them perch in their natural habitats. This hawk’s story is one you can share with your children and grandchildren in the future.