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The Peregrine Falcon
The Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) can be found
throughout most the world. Once widespread in Poland,
it never occurred in large numbers. Although in the 1960s
the species was extinct in Poland, at least ten pairs of
falcons live now in our country. Credit for the recovery of the
population can be attributed to the efforts of falconers
and conservationists.
The species is now legally protected and has been included
in the Polish Red Data Book of Animals, a publication which
lists the endangered species. Measures to protect Peregrines were
established as long ago as the Middle Ages. In fact, the Peregrine,
on account of its significance to falconry, was one of the first
protected species, besides Beaver, Aurochs and European Bison.
Peregrines display marked sexual size dimorphism: the
male is the size of a pigeon, whereas the female measures up to
30 per cent larger. The body length is 36-50 cm and the wingspan
is 95-115 cm. In adults, the back is blue-grey, the underside is
pale with dark streaks and the breast is finely barred with black
and white. Juveniles, on the other hand, have brownish backs
and upperparts and and lighter brown undersides with dark
streaks. All specimens have a characteristic single dark 'moustache'
and a dark head contrasted by the pale cheeks. The beak is short,
notched near the tip, with the characteristic 'tooth.' The legs, cere
and eye ring are all bright yellow. The nostrils are circular with
a distinct central point. The eye is very dark with a barely
distinguishable pupil . The wings are long, narrow and pointed,
and the tail is short. Flapping flight alternates with long periods
of gliding. The Peregrine is an aerial predator that hunts
medium-sized birds, solely in flight. It attacks by a stoop, often from
a considerable height at speeds of up to 360 km/h.
By the end of March or the beginning of April, the female lays
3-5 dark reddish flecked eggs and incubates them for 32 days.
The chicks stay in the nest for about 6 weeks, then they start learning
to fend for themselves. When they become independent, the young
falcons wander. In Central Europe when they reach sexual maturity,
they tend to become sedentary.
Throughout most of the world the Peregrine nests in a scrape,
normally on cliffs using natural cavities.
A tree-nesting ecotype of the falcon, which used to live also
in Poland, was a phenomenon of interest on a global scale. Its
population in Europe was estimated at ca. 1,600-2,000 pairs.
Pollution with pesticides triggered a massive decrease in the size
of the peregrine falcon population and the tree-nesting ecotype
is now extinct.
Falcons have been used by man for hunting for thousands of years.
Falconers were the first ones to protect the species; at the turn of
1960s and 1970s, they developed the methods of intensive breeding
and reintroducing them into the wild.
In Poland, falconers started a Peregrine reintroduction project in
1990 which covered the mountains (the Pieniny Mountains in the
Western Carpathian range on the Polish-Slovakian border) and in
the forests of central, western and north-western Poland, where 90%
of the 300 falcons have been released). The programme has been
coordinated by the Council for Peregrine Restitution in Poland and
supervised by the Ministry of the Environment.
The falcon's new biotope is the city, free of its natural enemies and
full of food, where high buildings substitute cliffs. The first breeding
attempt in this urban environment occurred in 1998 in Warsaw, when
the birds nested on the Palace of Culture and Science.
Up to today, over 100 chicks have hatched in more than ten
recorded nests (including the ones in the Pieniny mountains).
In addition to the continuation of the reintroduction programme,
monitoring is also an important factor (nest recording, ringing
of chicks, locating new pairs, installing artificial nests, ongoing guarding
of nest sites). The monitoring of the population of the Peregrine
Falcon in Poland is coordinated by the Society for the Wild Animals
'Sokół' ['Falcon']. The Society closely cooperates with the
specialists from the European Peregrine Falcon Working Group.
Please submit any observations of Peregrine Falcons by e-mail
to falco@peregrinus.pl. We would also welcome contact from
any persons interested in supporting activities aimed at protecting
the Peregrine.
Sławomir Sielicki, Janusz Sielicki
The Society for the Wild Animals 'Sokół'