Falcons are raptors that are in the genus Falco. There are 37 different species of falcons found around the world. Most falcons have several similar features. They have thin tapered, or pointed wings. Most also have markings under their eyes called malar stripes. Falcons are usually split into three loose groups. The smallest falcons are kestrels. Kestrels eat a combination of birds, small rodents and insects. Males and female kestrels often look very different with the males being much more colorful. In North America we have one kestrel and it is called the American kestrel, see photo above.
Next are the medium sized falcons. In Europe, Asia, and Australia many of the mid sized falcons are called hobbies. In North America we have a few medium sized falcons the most common of which is the merlin falcon, pictured above. Merlins are a circumpolar species that are found in the northern hemisphere of North America, Europe and Asia. They are primarily a bird hunter, using their speed and maneuverability to chase small birds though the air. They will also eat small rodents and insects, but birds typically equal about 80% of the average merlin's diet. Like most falcons merlins do not build a nest, typically they will use an abandon nest, such as a crow's nest, to raise their young.
Probably the most well known falcon is the peregrine falcon. The peregrine is part of the group of larger falcons. Peregrine can be found on every continent in the world other then Antarctica. They are almost strictly bird hunters. They catch their prey by diving at them at speeds of over 200 miles per hour. Here in Minnesota peregrines were almost extirpated in the 1950's and 60's by the chemical DDT. Fortunately DDT was banned in the U.S. in 1972 and through release programs in the 1980's the peregrine has made a complete come back. Unfortunately not all peregrine populations are so lucky since DDT is still used in some parts of the world.
The peregrine falcon is the fastest animal on the planet. Their aerodynamic shape allows them to reach speeds of over 200mph when in a dive, called a stoop. The peregrine uses the stoop to catch their prey, other birds, in mid flight.
Peregrine falcons were extirpated from most of the eastern half of the United States by the mid twentieth century. The reason for their decline was mostly due to the chemical insecticide DDT. DDT was originally used to kill mosquitoes and stop the spread of malaria in the 1950's. Later in the 1960's it was used as an insecticide on crops. The DDT worked its way up the food chain, peregrines eating passerines or other birds that had eaten an insect, seed or fruit that was covered with the poison would then have the poison in their system. The DDT would not kill the bird but it did effect the egg that the birds produced. The shells of the eggs of birds poisoned by the DDT were so thin that when the 2 to 3 pound birds went to sit on the eggs to incubate them most would break. This severely effected the number of new peregrines that were being hatched and the over all population of the birds plummeted.
In 1972 DDT was banned in the United States. Later groups like the Peregrine Fund, out on the eastern coast of the United States, and the Midwest Peregrine Foundation began programs to release peregrine falcons back into areas where they had once existed. Here in Minnesota many of the birds were released from hack boxes on skyscrapers. Nesting platforms, like the one pictured above, were placed on building, bridges, smoke stacks and other tall man made objects. This has helped the peregrine falcons in the area expand their range beyond the few natural cliff areas in Minnesota and increase their population beyond what it was prior to DDT. The pergrine was taken off the endangered species list in 1999. The birds pictured here were hatched from the nest box at the Ford Damn on the Mississippi River in 2010.
Juneau is one of three female peregrine falcons that we have in the education department at The Raptor Center. Juneau was discovered walking along the shore of Lake Erie near Point Mouilee, MI with an injured wing in September of 1998. When she arrived at The Raptor Center several days later it was determined that she had been illegally shot in her right shoulder. The TRC vets did all that they could but the damage to her shoulder was irreparable. Juneau can fly for a short distance but could not survive on her own out in the wild. Juneau is a great part of our education department. She was the second peregrine falcon that I learned to handle and has been one of the most common birds that I work with at TRC. That is why I was excited to use her in the 2012 TRC calendar. The picture above can be found representing the month of April. It was shot at the Gortner Parking Facility on the U of M St Paul Campus.
Once upon a time, not so long ago, there was a land where almost no peregrine falcons flew. It was called the eastern United States. A chemical, called DDT was used in the 1950s to kill mosquitoes which were responsible for much of the spread of the disease malaria. After malaria was brought into check in the 1960s, farmers began to use DDT as an insecticide for their fields. Little did people know that DDT was traversing the food chain and building up in the system of many birds. The DDT did not hurt the birds directly but it did make the shells of their eggs so thin that when the birds would incubate the eggs most of them would break.
The peregrine falcon was one of the birds that was affected by DDT. By the time DDT was banned in 1972 the peregrine falcon had all but disappeared from its range in the eastern half of the United States, including Minnesota. In the mid 1970s the Peregrine Fund began to release peregrines back into the wild. Using eggs from captive falconry birds the Peregrine Fund was able to use hack boxes to feed and protect the young birds with no human contact while they learned to fly and become independent. In 1982 the Midwest Peregrine Society began to release peregrines back into Minnesota and the rest of the Midwest as well as south central Canada.
Because of the efforts of the Peregrine Fund and Midwest Peregrine Society, as well as many other organization that supported the cause, in 1987 peregrines were able to successfully nest again east of the Mississippi River for the first time since the 1960s. The recovery continued over the 80s and 90s until the peregrine was removed from the endangered species list in 1999. With the peregrine population increasing on its own the Midwest Peregrine Society quit releasing birds into the wild and turned most of their resources to monitoring and studying the peregrine population that they helped to restore.
Each year volunteers from the Midwest Peregrine Society monitor nest locations. They watch the falcons so that they can see which birds nest where and which ones are successful at hatching eggs. When the chicks are the proper age, usually the end of June or beginning of July, the Midwest Peregrine Society goes to the nest box to band the chicks. Since the natural habitat of peregrines are cliffs most nest are located in out of the way places. Many of the artificial nest boxes are located on skyscrapers, smoke stacks or in this case the wall of a dam on the Mississippi River.
Banding can be a tricky task. Adult peregrines are not fond of humans at their nest. If you are lucky the parents just fly around close by over head and scream at what they view as invaders. In some cases some of the more territorial birds will even come at a bander talons first to protect their young. The chicks are banded as quickly and safely as possible and then returned to the nest. In the end the peregrines are the victors because they have driven away the invaders and protected their young.
I had the privilege of photographing the peregrines while they were banded at the Ford Damn last year. The pair hatched and raised 3 chicks, which kept them busy bringing food back to the nest. The last picture is one of the chicks just before its first flight. It took a period of 3 weeks to go from the white puff balls of the first pictures to a fledged immature peregrine falcon.
This summer I spent quite a bit of time at the Lock and Dam No. 1 which is located between St Paul and Minneapolis. Lock and Dam No 1 is the second lock located on the Mississippi River, the only one further upstream is the Lower St Anthony Falls Lock and Dam. It crosses the Mississippi just north of where it meets the Minnesota River. It is often referred to as the Ford Dam because of the adjacent Ford Plant.
Between 1978 and 1983 major major renovations were made to the lock and dam. Most of the manual and hydraulic components were replaced with more modern components with computer controls. An observation area was added to allow visitors to view the operations of the lock during the warmer months of the year.
The dam is a buttress style dam made out of reinforced concrete. On the St Paul Side of the river stands a hydroelectric power station. The power station and dam were once owned by Ford and they were used to power the neighboring plant. With car companies running into financial problems Ford sold the dam and power station to Brookfield Power Co in 2007.
The reason that I first visited the dam was to photograph the banding of the peregrine falcon chicks that had hatched in the nest box that was attached to the dam walls on the Minneapolis side. The banding was done by the Midwest Peregrine Foundation, who are responsible for bringing the peregrine falcon species back from extinction in the Midwestern United States and southern Canada. Because the Midwest Peregrine Foundation has ties to The Raptor Center I found out about the banding and was able to get a front row seat.
After the peregrine chicks were banded I continued to visit the dam to check in and document their progress. Feeding three growing peregrines, one male and two females, can be a tough job, fortunately there was ample prey around the dam and the adults were very adapt at their hunting techniques. Once the chicks were old enough to thermal regulate their own body temperature the female joined the male in hunting which certainly made life easier.
Eventually it came time for the young to leave the nest. There were several ledges below the nest box that ran most of the length of the lock and served as a great place for the young to learn to fly. On these ledges they were protected from people and predators, except possibly other raptors, and their long lengths made them great runways for the chicks to practice their take offs and landings. I saw two of the young take what I believe was their first real flight.
Eventually the peregrines moved on. Even though they were probably still in the area it was no longer any easy way to find them or to take pics. There were other birds that were still hanging around though. For birds like double-crested cormorants, great egret and great blue heron the area around the damn is excellent habitat with plenty of fish to eat. Occasionally an eagle or osprey would stop by to do some fishing only to get chased away by angry peregrines.
Even with hungry peregrines in the area you can still find smaller birds raising their young. Perhaps the swallows that erected their nest beneath the stairs of the observation area were just too small to be worth the chase for the peregrines. Especially when their are numerous pigeons in the area which are not quite as quick or agile as the swallows and have a lot more meat on their bones.
I also managed to find dragonflies at the dam also. Cobra clubtails are usually found around large swift rivers and streams. The overflow water that pours over the dam makes the current a little faster in this area. Plus areas that are inhabited by humans often attract bugs, like flies, mosquitoes and bees which are prey to many dragonflies.
