Mortimer Batten, 1923   

DID YOU KNOW?


That threatened
means: Any naive species of plant or animal that might become endangered unless people help
it survive.


That Endangered means: Any native species of plant or animal that might become eliminated throughout all or a significant portion
of its range due to human action.


That the list of threatened and endangered
species
is compiled by COSEWIC
(Committee
on the Status
of Endangered
Wildlife in
Canada) and
includes
mammals, plants, reptiles,
amphibians, fish
and plants.

DID YOU KNOW?

The peregrine dives
or 'stoops' on its
prey at speeds over
250 km/hr -
(150 m/hr), striking
the prey with its
feet or grabbing
it in its sharp talons. Even a peregrine
can fail to catch
its prey. The success
of each stoop is determined by a
falcon's skill,
agility and experience, as
well as the prey's alertness and
ability to escape.

          Egg drawn
          actual size.

DID YOU KNOW?

Young peregrines usually begin their aerial attacks on
flying insects such
as dragonflies and butterflies, snatching them up with their
feet and eating them
on the wing.

DID YOU KNOW?

Of the five to 30
million species on earth, only 1.4 have been identified
by humankind.


In 1990, species
were becoming
extinct at the rate
of one per hour.
If present land use trends continue,
one million more
species will
become extinct
before the year
2000.

DID YOU KNOW?

Worldwide, loss of habitat (not poaching
or hunting) is the largest contributing factor to the loss of
wildlife.
Other causes include: environmental
pollution, disruption
of migration routes
and breeding
behaviors, human disturbance, and
illegal trade of protected animals
and animal parts.

HISTORY OF DECLINE

Derek Ratcliffe, a professional biologist, assessed the situation. His surveys showed massive declines in thirty-six countries on five continents, from the Soviet Union to Australia and Canada to Japan. One area, that thirty years earlier supported 18,000 nests, had only 648 breeding peregrines. North American surveys showed that only Alberta, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and British Columbia had signs of active breeding populations of the anatum race in Canada. The 50 previously known nest sites from Ontario east were inactive suggesting that the eastern Canadian populations had been wiped out.

Further study showed the culprit to be DDT, a pesticide introduced in 1946. Farmers were using it to kill insects that were eating their crops. Insects exposed to DDT were eaten by small birds; these small birds were in turn eaten by peregrines. Stored in body fat, DDT becomes ever more concentrated as it moves up the food chain from one animal to another. That's why predators at the top of the chain, like peregrines, were so severely affected by DDT and other chemicals. Toxic chemicals tend to remain in the fat and bones of peregrines, and although the birds are usually not killed directly, they produce fewer young. Many sterile eggs are laid, while those that are fertile have thin shells which are easily broken in the nest.

By 1972, DDT was banned for use in North America. However, many peregrines winter in Latin America, where DDT is still used. Even those birds that may not migrate to Latin America, still feed on other birds that do; therefore, they continue to pick up toxins. DDT is not the only chemical that is harmful to birds. Others such as dieldrin, endrin, heptaclor and PCBs are especially harmful for birds of prey. The residues (what is left after the chemicals break down in the environment or in an animal's body) remain in the environment for many years and are picked up by a variety of animals.

As late as the 1960s, the peregrine was described as "the world's most successful flying bird" because of its apparently stable, worldwide population. However, after the decline was linked to high levels of toxic contamination, its image changed to a wildlife symbol representing the fragility of the environment.

PRESENT STATUS

There are approximately 15,000 breeding pairs in the world. Canada has a total of 152 pairs and our province is fortunate enough to have a significant share. By 1992, 26 nesting pairs were discovered in Labrador. Most were found on the coast; from the tip of Labrador to Table Bay. Although peregrines are not known to nest on the island of Newfoundland, they are known to pass through during migration. Of the two races of peregrines found in this province anatum is the more endangered.

HABITAT

Peregrine habitat includes places where there is open country for hunting, enough food in the form of other birds, and cliffs for nesting places. The peregrine has found these requirements in such diverse regions and habitats as the arctic tundra, along major rivers in the northern and temperate forests, in mountains, along seacoasts and on islands where there are rocky crags, and even in the eucalyptus forests of Australia. Although peregrines may be found practically anywhere in the world, they are most often seen in the areas where they nest. These include all the continents except Antarctica and excludes only the highest mountains.

FOOD

The peregrine eats little else but birds - all types and sizes from song birds to ducks. Small mammals such as bats and voles make up a small part of the peregrine diet. Food habit studies in Labrador show that our peregrine ate mostly guillemots (pigeon-sized seabirds) and small mammals such as deer mice.

BREEDING BIOLOGY

The nest site is usually a sheltered and inaccessible cliff ledge, close to a coastal or wetland area where shorebirds, seabirds, or waterfowl gather. Here, the peregrine will scrape a small hollow in the loose soil, sand, gravel or dead vegetation on the cliff ledge and lay its eggs.

Two to five eggs, usually four, are laid over a two-to-three day period. The oval
shaped eggs are cream-coloured with reddish-brown spots. Both male and
female share incubation, but the female does most of it. Both parents protect the nest site, but the female is most aggressive, striking an intruder with her wings or gouging it with her talons.

The young hatch after 28 to 29 days, with the first laid eggs hatching before the last
ones. The small body of the newly hatched chick is wrapped
in creamy white down and supported by oversized feet.

Feathers appear through the down at about eighteen days. The young are fed fresh meat from the parent's bill. At three weeks, they practice wing-flapping and soon after are left alone in the nest, eventually flying 35 to 42 days after hatching. After leaving the nest, the young remain in the area, still dependent on their parents for two months or more.

Rarely far apart, the pair mate for life. However, if one dies the survivor quickly obtains another mate. An entire family will occasionally be seen migrating together.

RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT

In 1970, the Canadian Wildlife Service took 12 nestlings into captivity for a breeding program in Wainwright, Alberta. Two of these birds came from the Labrador coast.
The purpose of the breeding program was to produce young that could be released back to the wild. Breeding programs were also started in Saskatchewan and Quebec. In 1975, experimental releases were made by placing nestlings, hatched in captivity, into the nests of wild parents - a method known as fostering.

In areas where no wild peregrines were found, two other methods - cross-fostering and hacking were used. Cross-fostering involves placing peregrine chicks into the nests of the very similar, but more common, prairie falcon. Prairie falcons then raise foster peregrine chicks as their own. Hacking involves raising young birds by people. Biologists place young chicks in an artificial nest box located at a site that might normally be chosen for nesting. Helpers provide constant care to the chicks while keeping out of sight of the growing birds. The birds are released when they are ready to fly, not realizing that they were dependent on people.

Re-establishing a breeding population is a slow process filled with risks. Birds are lost because of shooting, predation, bad weather and inexperience. Fifty percent are lost in their first year and 15% more die each year after that. Peregrines often do not breed before their third or fourth year, so two out of three young may die before reaching sexual maturity. From 1970 to 1975, 4,000 captive bred peregrines were released in Canada and the United States. No captive-bred birds were released in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Since 1985, studies have been carried out in Labrador by the provincial Wildlife Division to determine the range of the Labrador peregrine. Eight young were banded in July 1990. Banding involves placing a coded aluminum band on one leg. If the bands are found later, the place where the bird was banded can be identified. For example, in January 1991, a banded bird from Labrador turned up on the coast of Brazil, a straight-line distance of 10,000 km. This was the first Canadian peregrine known to migrate to the coast of Brazil. In 1991 and 1992, eighteen more chicks were banded of which two turned up in Texas and Florida .

A Peregrine Falcon Recovery Team, with representatives from across Canada, have implemented a plan to ensure that peregrine populations continue to rise. One of its goals is to re-establish approximately 300 pairs of peregrines in Canada.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

In the 1940s, people thought that DDT would make-their lives easier. It could be used to control the insect pests which spread disease and destroyed crops. By the 1960s, DDT had contaminated water, soil, plants, and animals and threatened the future survival of many living things.

The impact of DDT on spectacular wildlife like peregrine falcons, made us realize how complex natural communities are. Everything in nature is connected in some way, many directly through the food chain. That is why spraying DDT on crops affected peregrines even though they do not eat plants. Living things depend on each other for more than food; every plant and animal must also find a suitable amount of water, shelter and space to survive.

In Siberia, the decline of the peregrine falcon brought about a similar decline in the population of another beautiful bird, the red-breasted goose. These geese like to nest on the ground, making them easy prey for foxes and other predators. To deter predation, red-breasted geese form small breeding colonies near cliffs containing nesting peregrines. While defending their own nesting territory from predators, the falcons inadvertently shield the nesting geese too! Without the nearby peregrines, the geese are more vulnerable to predation. This is why the disappearance of the peregrine in Siberia has threatened the future of the red-breasted geese. With natural communities, it seems, if you change one thing, you affect everything.

It is impossible to identify all of the complex inter-connections in the natural world. However, it is the unexplained and the unexpected that feeds our wonder and respect for nature. Peregrines and DDT have shown us that we must use technology carefully if we hope to maintain our place in the natural scheme of things. Consider these words by Aldo Leopold:

"A thing is right only when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and the beauty of the community, and the community includes the soil, waters, fauna, and flora, as well as people. "

THE FUTURE

Our actions today can make a difference; it's our choice whether we help or hinder. The peregrine was almost wiped out, but many caring people, working together, are bringing it back. The future looks a lot better for the peregrine today. If we keep working together, and we continue to care, we can all make a difference.