Day 44: Peregrine Falcon

Today, I have a bird that's in the Guinness Book of World Records - the Peregrine Falcon. This widely distributed bird of prey, with subspecies found all over the world, is renowned for its speed. During its hunting dive, it can reach speeds over 200 mph. Pretty amazing, huh?

You wouldn't know that the Peregrine Falcon is the fastest member of the animal kingdom from our view of one this past weekend, sitting calmly on a telephone pole.

Males and females have similar plumage, but female Peregrine Falcons are much larger than males. Depending on the habitat that a Peregrine Falcon lives in, which can vary greatly, they can eat many species of birds and sometimes bats and rodents. Once a falcon spots prey, it begins to dive (also called a stoop), folding back its tail and wings and tucking its feet. If a bird is caught in mid-air and is too heavy to carry, a falcon will drop it and eat it on the ground. It also plucks the feathers of its prey before eating it.

Though they have been a symbol of the wilderness throughout time, Peregrine Falcons have become increasingly urban. It's not uncommon to find them hanging around buildings, water towers, bridges, or telephone poles, as we did. A few decades ago, Peregrine Falcons became endangered in many areas because of pesticides, particularly DDT. Thankfully, since the ban on DDT in the early 1970s, falcon populations  have recovered.

It was great to see one so close, but I'm also glad to have seen a falcon in action a few years ago. When Jared proposed to me on a mountain in Georgia, we were lucky to see a beautiful Peregrine Falcons flying around above us (chasing a Raven).

 Peregrine Falcon on top, chasing a Raven

 Peregrine Falcon on left, Raven on right