The Peregrine Falcon is found on all the continents of the world, with the exception of Antarctica.
There are 18 races of Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) and of those, 3 of them breed in North America, but only one breeds in Alberta (F.p. anatum).
Nest sites in rural areas are usually on cliffs, close to rivers or marshes. In urban areas, the falcons nest on buildings and in artificial nest structures. The nest is comprised of scrape material, usually sand or gravel, combined with the remains of prey species. . Nest sites are traditionally reused. The female incubates 3-4 eggs for 32-34 days.
Analysis of nest contents shows that the Peregrine diet consists mostly of other avian species, but small rodents, bats, and insects have also been found. The majority of Peregrine prey, even in urban locations, consists of marsh species, showing the direct link between marsh habitat and peregrine survival.
Peregrine nests in Northern Alberta average around 1.7 naturally fledged young per breeding attempt – this means that without human intervention, a breeding pair will successfully produce an average of 1.7 young per year. Studies by Court (1994), and Stepnisky (1997) indicated that the Peregrine Falcon population in Alberta was not sustainable in the early 1990's. However, productivity in Alberta is now high enough for a naturally sustainable population.| Arrival | middle of April |
| Courtship | late April to early May |
| Eggs laid | early to mid May |
| Eggs hatch | mid to late June |
| Fledging | late July to early August |
| Migration | late September |
Peregrine Identification:
Males and females are similar in appearance. Adults have a blue-gray back;
dark, broad moustache; dark hood; light under parts with horizontal barring.
Young Peregrines display a similar pattern to adults, but their color
varies--instead of a blue-gray back, young Peregrines have a brown back. They
also have vertical breast streaks and the young have grey-blue feet and cere;
which are yellow in adults. Male Peregrines are smaller than females. Males tend
to be 38-43cm in length, with a width of 93-109 cm and have an average weight of
about 650 grams. Females tend to be 43-48 cm in length and 109-117 cm in width
and have an average weight of about 950 grams.
Peregrine Conservation
Peregrine Falcons in Alberta have an added survival challenge –migration. The
risks incurred with migrating south every winter effectively lower the annual
survival rate of the peregrine falcon – especially young peregrines. The
recorded return rate for yearlings was only 10.6% in the 1990s. The annual
mortality of adult peregrines in Alberta ranges between 16% and 32%.
The Peregrine population increased in Alberta after the 1980s, when the birds were bred in captivity and reestablished through dedicated work and research of provincial and federal wildlife agencies across Canada.
As populations increase, however, the availability of breeding and hunting habitat in Alberta may be a problem: even as the population of Peregrines in Alberta becomes reproductively sustainable, there may not be sufficient foraging habitat to support them in some areas. The failure of peregrine to re-colonize habitat on the lower Red Deer River, the North Saskatchewan River, and the Bow River supports this conjecture.
Urban peregrine populations have a higher risk of mortality due to collisions with buildings and vehicles, and human disturbance, but are largely free of natural predators, especially the great-horned owl, found near rural nesting locations. Urban populations offer excellent opportunities for research and education.
Management strategies include hack releases of captive-bred falcon chicks (birds are fledged in from an artificial nest structure), and fostering of captive bred young (placing a captive bred egg/chick in the nest of a wild peregrine).
Peregrine Diet Analysis
|
PRE |
June30- |
Sept. 29th |
Total |
Percentage % |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Franklin 's Gull - SY |
50 |
37 |
44 |
131 |
58.0 |
Franklin 's Gull - HY |
0 |
0 |
28 |
28 |
12.4 |
Franklin 's Gull - ASY |
7 |
4 |
0 |
11 |
4.9 |
Passerine - Unk |
0 |
1 |
8 |
9 |
4.0 |
Ring-billed Gull - SY |
3 |
4 |
1 |
8 |
3.5 |
Ring-billed Gull - ASY |
5 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
3.1 |
American Coot |
1 |
2 |
3 |
6 |
2.7 |
Rock Pigeon |
0 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
1.8 |
Franklin 's Gull - Unk |
0 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
1.3 |
Redwinged Blackbird - male |
1 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
1.3 |
Redwinged Blackbird - female |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0.9 |
American Robin |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
0.9 |
Bonaparte's Gull - ASY |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0.4 |
Green-winged Teal - male |
1 |
- |
- |
1 |
0.4 |
Black-billed Magpie |
1 |
- |
- |
1 |
0.4 |
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0.4 |
Yellow Rail |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0.4 |
Warbler - Unk |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0.4 |
Northern Flicker |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0.4 |
Blue Jay |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0.4 |
Brown-headed Cowbird-male |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0.4 |
Solitary Sandpiper |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0.4 |
Greater Yellowlegs |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0.4 |
Lesser Yellowlegs |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0.4 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
71 |
53 |
102 |
226 |
100% |