The Peregrine Falcon - New York City Audubon

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THE PEREGRINE FALCON: AN AMAZING FLIER
New York City
Peregrines are famous for their way of hunting for food. Peregrines sit motionless on a
high perch or soar across open areas and LOOK FOR a bird to catch. They fly across the
sky until they are right above their prey. The peregrine then folds its wings
and dives straight down at almost 200 miles per hour, catching the prey
from above in its talons (claws) and finally killing it by breaking its neck
with its hooked beak. That spectacular dive is called a stoop, and it makes
the peregrine the fastest bird known.
Years ago people noticed that peregrines hunted a lot of ducks, so they
nicknamed the peregrine the “duck hawk.” Although peregrines will take ducks, more
often they hunt a lot of different medium-sized birds, including some that are bigger
than they are.
Peregrines mate for life, but
Endangered by Humans,
if one of the pair dies, the remaining falcon will choose anThen Helped to a Comeback
other mate. Usually peregrines
Historically peregrine falcons nested on the New Jersey Palisades,
live 8 to 12 years, but some
the
cliffs across the Hudson River from Upper Manhattan and the
NYC falcons are almost 20
Bronx. During the mid 1900s a few pairs nested on the artificial
years old.
cliffs of New York City’s skyscrapers and bridges. But by the 1960s
Adult peregrines have blueperegrines disappeared east of the Mississippi River.
gray backs and wings. Their unWhen scientists LOOKED FOR a reason, they found that there
dersides are white with short
was so much of the insecticide DDT in the bodies of all birds of prey
black bars. The top of the head
that
mother birds couldn’t make normal eggs. The eggshells were so
is dark with dark stripes around
thin that sitting on the eggs for hatching crushed them.
the eyes and down the cheeks.
To save the peregrines, the United States government put them
Young birds are covered
on the Endangered Species List and stopped DDT from being used.
with white, fluffy down. As they
Scientists and falcon lovers, including the New York State Departget older they grow flight feathment
of Environmental Conservation and New York City Department of
ers and their dark “sideburns.”
Environmental Protection, began a restoration effort. Thanks to a capThe down on top of their heads
tive breeding and release program and careful watching and counting,
is the last to be replaced. They
the number of peregrines grew large enough that, after more than 25
begin flapping their wings at 5
years, the U.S. government took them off the Endangered Species List.
weeks and fledge (start flying) at
Peregrines are still listed as endangered by New York State, how6 weeks.They can hunt for themever,
because there are still fewer here than before. Protecting and
selves at 8 weeks and leave their
LOOKING AFTER the peregrine population continues.
parents by 12 weeks.
—Naola Gersten-Woolf
—Naola Gersten-Woolf
For news, webcam & video clips about one pair of NYC peregrines Look At: WWW.55WATER.COM/FALCONS/NEWS.PHP
New York City Audubon
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P EREGRINE C ROSSWORD
1
2
3
By the 4th grade students of St. Bernard’s
DOWN
1.
3.
The color of a peregrine’s wings
They have a black _____ on
their cheeks.
4. They have ____ beaks.
5. Peregrines can live up to two ___.
9. Its claws are called _____.
12. They are birds of _____.
14. They _____ for life.
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5
7
6
10
9
8
ACROSS
2.
6.
7.
ANSWERS
on page 4
11
12
13
14
8.
10.
11.
13.
15.
This is where a peregrine nests.
This is the peregrine’s nickname.
Peregrines used to be _____,
but now they’re not.
This chemical caused the
peregrine’s near extinction.
The peregrine goes fastest
when it _____.
The eggs take _____month(s)
to hatch.
The male is ___than the female.
A baby peregrine is six _____
old when it leaves the nest.
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—Drawings on pages 1, 2, and 3
by Adira Riben
G O T O W W W .N YC AU DU B O N .O RG (click on Look Around N YC un der Programs)...
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Look Around New York City
The Peregrine Falcons of
the Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is a wonderful place to watch peregrines. I LOOK FOR them to start showing their nesting behavior in February. They mate and lay their eggs in March. The
eggs hatch in April. By May the parents are busy bringing prey
(food) to the young. Peregrines dine almost exclusively on
birds, primarily pigeons.
In late May and early June the young are mobile and curious. They walk to the edge of the nest ledge and sit there taking in the sights. When they see one of their parents returning
with prey, the young begin calling with a high, panicky repeated screech. The adult responds with a more moderate,
quick, repetitive “e-chup,” like the sound made by rubber sneakers squeaking on the gym floor.
The adult flies into the nest box and disappears toward the
back. The young follow. The adult plucks the feathers and
other non-edible parts off the prey and tears the flesh with its
sharp beak. Female peregrines are much larger than the males,
so the female young (girls) may out-muscle the male young
(boys) for first dibs. But don’t worry. Adult peregrines are
good providers and New York has a bountiful supply of avian
treats. No immature peregrine will go hungry.
For over ten years I have been monitoring and helping
with banding peregrine falcons in New York City. In the early
years I pushed my infant daughter in her stroller on the Brooklyn Bridge walkway. As a parent I watched with my heart in
my throat as the fledglings (young birds learning to fly)
leaped off the nest ledge for the first time. I watched their
clumsy take-offs and landings and I cried as I saw the terrible
end of the ones that didn’t make it. I was thrilled and delighted to watch the adults teaching the young the skills they
needed to survive. I watched the adults transfer prey to the
young in flight and saw the young birds struggle to fly with the
added weight. I knew as a parent that you have to allow the
young to try and fail on their own if they are ever to succeed.
This year I will try to bring my daughters, Hayley and Ariana
(who are now 11 and 8 years old), up to the Brooklyn Bridge to
view the fledglings as they flap their wings and prepare for their
first flight. I doubt my girls will feel the same joy that a parent
feels when he sees his young take their first steps or, in this case,
first flight. But I’m sure they will be thrilled if they are lucky
enough to see that first leap. It happens every year right here in
New York City, and you can see it if you LOOK AROUND.
—Carl R. Howard
GO WITH A GROWN-UP
Peregrine nests cannot be visited. However, it is possible to see peregrines flying
nearby. If you have binoculars or a spotting scope you can see them much better.
• Brooklyn Bridge from the pedestrian walkway—look inside the archways (Brooklyn
to Manhattan)
• Water Street along the esplanade just north
of the Port Authority Heliport along the
northbound side of the FDR (Manhattan)
• Marine Parkway Bridge from Riis Park on the
south side of the bridge (Queens)
• New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell
Medical Center from the esplanade along the
FDR northbound (Manhattan)
• Verrazano-Narrows Bridge from along the Belt
(Shore) Parkway Esplanade (Brooklyn)
• Throgs Neck Bridge from Little Bay Park
north of Cross Island Parkway (Queens)
• Riverside Church from the sidewalk along
southbound Riverside Drive (Manhattan)
LOOK FOR them mornings and late afternoons from late May to early June when
they are hunting near their nests to feed
their growing nestlings. The whole family
may still be visible in the vicinity of the nest
mornings until early August.
As young peregrines approach 3 1/2 weeks of
age, NYC DEP biologist Chris Nadareski places
identification bands on the feet of the nestlings.
By Barbara Saunders; copyright © 2006 and used
by permission.
. .. FOR P ER EG R I N E- THE M E D I DEAS FO R SCIE NCE OR EIG HTH GRADE EXIT PROJECTS.
New York City Audubon
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Use an aerial photo website such as
www.earth.google.com, www.oasisnyc.net or
www.maps.google.com to find your home
or school. This is what a peregrine would
LOOK AT if it flew overhead.
Next enter Flat Rock Nature Center, NJ and
scroll east to the Hudson River. This will
bring you to the cliffs of the New Jersey Palisades where peregrines are once again nesting after being absent for nearly 40 years.
Today most peregrines in our area nest on
New York City bridges, skyscrapers and towers. So enter Battery Park or Central Park,
NY to see where NYC peregrines find lots of
meaty pigeons to eat!!!
LOOK IT UP!
• Mac Priebe, The Peregrine Falcon: Endangered No More, Mindfull Publishing 2000.
• http://birdcam.kodak.com or www.kodak.com/go/birdcam has lots of information and a teaching guide.
• www.nyc.gov/html/dep (use search box for “Peregrine Falcons in NYC!”)
• B. Allen Loucks & C. Nadareski,“Back from the Brink,” New York Conservationist, April 2005.
— Gina McCarthy & Naola Gersten-Woolf
Our Thanks To:
Copyright © 2006
New York City Audubon
71 West 23 Street
New York, NY 10010
212-691-7483
lanyc@nycaudubon.org
www.nycaudubon.org
Naola Gersten-Woolf:
Publisher & Managing
Editor
Jennifer Knox:
Art Director
Cecelia Rogers:
Banner Designer
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The 2005-6 students at St. Bernard’s
School and their science teacher, Peter
Joost. NYC Audubon regrets that we
could not print all their contributions.
Barbara Allen Loucks of NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
and Chris Nadareski of NYC Department of Environmental Protection
for reviewing this manuscript.
Con Edison and
the National Fish
and Wildlife
Foundation/NYC
Raptor Fund for
their generous
funding of this
publication.
WRITE A STORY from the point of view of a
peregrine on the New Jersey Palisades.*
Tell what you imagine the falcon saw and
thought when these important events in
human history took place:
• Henry Hudson first sailed up the Hudson;
• The Revolutionary War;
• Building of the George Washington Bridge.
Do the same for a day in 2006.
*If you are 10 to 18 years old, send a copy
of your work to Look Around New York City,
c/o the address or email at left, no later
than March 1, 2007.The person who sends
in the best work will be asked to be a
Junior Contributor to Look Around for
2007-2008.
—Gina McCarthy
Peregrine falcon chicks in the man-made nest box that is their New York City home. By Barbara Saunders; copyright ©2006 and used by permission.
ACROSS
2. Cliffs
6. Duck hawk
7. Endangered
8. DDT
10. Dives
11. One
13. Smaller
15. Weeks
Through the Eyes
of a Peregrine
By Melissa Guion; copyright ©2006 and used by permission.
ANSWERS TO
CROSSWORD
PUZZLE on p. 2
DOWN
1. Blue-gray
3. Stripe
4. Hooked
5. Decades
9. Talons
12. Prey
14. Mate
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