03.04 – Urban Wildlife: The Peregrine Falcon

Episode description:

“Wherever he goes, this winter, I will follow him. I will share the fear, and the exaltation, and the boredom, of the hunting life. I will follow him till my predatory human shape no longer darkens in terror the shaken kaleidoscope of colour that stains the deep fovea of his brilliant eye. My pagan head shall sink into the winter land, and there be purified.” So writes John Baker in his 1967 masterpiece The Peregrine. Here we pay homage to the fierce, enigmatic, and alluring predator from on high, Falco peregrinus. This is the Single Acorn Podcast.

WORKS CITED

• Elephant seal stealing milk (source)
• Pilgrims & Peregrines, an etymology for peregrine falcon (link)
• Falconry at Medieval Times (video)
• A comprehensive phylogeny of birds (Aves) using targeted next-generation DNA sequencing (source)
• Legacy or colonization? Posteruption establishment of peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) on a volcanically active subarctic island (source)
• Clarifying Subspecies of Peregrine Falcons Along the Lost Coast of Alaska (source)
• A Breeding and Migration Survey of the Peregrine Falcon (source)
• Great article on the natural history and landuse history of Arthur Park, or Donahue Sea Caves (article)
• Destination Recreation: Intervale Sea Caves (article)
• Video of peregrine falcon courtship (video)
• Vocal communication in Peregrine Falcons Falco peregrinus during breeding (source)
• What motivates the food bringing behaviour of the peregrine falcon throughout breeding? (source)
• Peregrine falcon attacks red-tailed hawk (video)
• How falcons die (source)
• Ancient nest site, maybe 16,000 years old, in Australia (source)
• On Being the Right Size essay about terminal velocity by JBS Haldane (link)
• Investigation of breeding peregrine falcons on bridges (source)
• Fledge Watch (link)
• Manual for Peregrine Falcon Fledge Watch (link)
• List of bird webcams (link)
• Peregrine falcon webcam (video)
• Pigeon fanciers killing peregrines (article)
• A summary of intentional poisoning of Peregrine Falcons in Switzerland during the last decade (source)
• Diagnosis and Therapeutic Management of Trichomoniasis in Falcons in Saudi Arabia (source)
• The Falcon’s Stoop (source)
• Ken Franklin’s skydiving peregrine falcon, Frightful (video)
• Hunting at night (source)
• Flow Phenomena in the Falcon Nose – an Interpretation Approach (source)
• Success Rates of the Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) Hunting Dunlin (Calidris alpina) During Winter (source)
• AFRL presents The Tech Inside – Diverterless Inlet, the air intake on planes is similar to those on peregrines (video)
• DDT’s impact on whales not entirely clear, may affect cortisol levels (source)
• Timeline of peregrine restoration (link)
• Effects of pesticides on owls in North America (source)
• Record Number of Peregrine Falcons in New York State (article)
• Peregrine falcons delisted from the Endangered Species List (article)