Academic literature on the topic 'Peregrine falcon – Effect of noise on'

California leads national strawberry fruit production with annual value in Ventura County alone near $300 million. Bird damage to fruit routinely accounts for 3–5% losses and may exceed 50% in some fields. Conventional bird control tools have limited or no effect on fruit damage and may contribute to noise pollution. A four-site study at Oxnard, Calif., from Jan. to Apr. 2005 (highest value fresh market season) showed that release of Peregrine, Saker, or Barbary falcons in combination with helium balloon launching (site 4) in response to fruit damage reduced fruit damage from 80–90% to 15–20% after 1 week. When fruit damage increased again (>20%) a repeated 1-week daily program completely reduced fruit damage during the rest of the season. Falconry alone at site 2 (near man-made structures) for two consecutive days reduced fruit damage from 70–80% to 10–20%, however, at site 3, near giant reed, three weeks of daily releases did not eliminate the damage, but confined it to the strawberry beds adjacent to reed shelter (reducing overall damage from 100% to 25–50%). High frequency of release is likely unfeasible and destruction of shelter habitat may be justified. Falconry alone before damage occurrence (site 1) seemed to prevent fruit damage; however, lack of birds and fruit damage before, during, and after releases made it difficult to draw conclusions about the success of the preventive program. In April, no fruit damage occurred even during bird presence suggesting the change in their diet. The study showed that seed-eating birds were the main pests at Oxnard, Calif., and that trained falcons can disperse them, thus, reducing fruit damage. The success of falconry was site-specific and depended on proximity of suitable habitat and availability of food sources for pest birds.

This is a personal account of the investigation of DDE-induced eggshell thinning and the subsequent use of this information in the legal battle over the banning of DDT. The article focuses on the toxicological effects of DDT on the peregrine falcon, Falco peregrinus, although the effects on other species are briefly considered. The peregrine falcon population crashed throughout the Holarctic region in the 1950s and 1960s. Eggshell thinning was discovered in British peregrines in 1967 and was soon found to be a global phenomenon. The relationship between dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) residues and eggshell thinning was established by the beginning of the 1970s. Information on the effect of DDE on the peregrine falcon formed an important part of the evidence that led to the banning of DDT, and since a ban has been implemented in many countries the peregrine populations have improved in most areas.Key words: peregrine falcon, DDE, eggshell thinning.

Abstract In May 2011, a webcam in Zurich, Switzerland, registered the sudden death of a Peregrine Falcon. Analyses revealed that poison had been applied to the nape feathers of the pigeon captured by the bird. This case really raised the awareness of Peregrine Falcon poisoning by pigeon fanciers in Switzerland. BirdLife Switzerland, with the help of numerous partners, started researches on the subject that pigeon fanciers began a “war” against Peregrine Falcons and other raptors. Between 2006 and 2017, BirdLife Switzerland listed 7 cases of proven intentional poisonings of birds of prey where analyses confirmed the use of poison; and 19 suspected cases with the presence of dead pigeons and birds of prey simultaneously or other suspicious deaths in Switzerland. Three decoy pigeons with poison on the neck could be secured before they were captured by the target species. Two pigeon fanciers who used poisoned pigeons were convicted in 2016 and 2017. Although the numbers of proven and suspected cases are still low, we believe that the phenomenon may be much more widespread. We think that the poisoning may have a negative effect on the population of the Peregrine Falcon in Switzerland.

1. The mean, minimum drag coefficients (CD,B) of a frozen, wingless peregrine falcon body and a smooth-surfaced model of the body were 0.24 and 0.14, respectively, at air speeds between 10.0 and 14.5 ms−1. These values were measured with a drag balance in a wind tunnel, and use the maximum crosssectional area of the body as a reference area. The difference between the values indicates the effect of the feathers on body drag. Both values for CD,B a r e lower than those predicted from most other studies of avian body drag, which yield estimates of CD,B up to 0.41. 2. Several factors must be controlled to measure minimum drag on a frozen body. These include the condition of the feathers, the angle of the head and tail relative to the direction of air flow, and the interference drag generated by the drag balance and the strut on which the body is mounted. 3. This study describes techniques for measuring the interference drag generated by (a) the drag balance and mounting strut together and (b) the mounting strut alone. Corrections for interference drag may reduce the apparent body drag by more than 20%. 4. A gliding Harris' hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus), which has a body similar to that of the falcon in size and proportions, has an estimated body drag coefficient of 0.18. This value can be used to compute the profile drag coefficients of Harris' hawk wings when combined with data for this species in the adjoining paper (Tucker and Heine, 1990).

Abstract Many birds nest in association with aggressive birds of other species to benefit from their protection against predators. We hypothesized that the protective effect also could extend to foraging resources, whereby the resultant resource-enriched habitats near a nest of aggressive raptors could be an alternative cause of associations between nesting bird species with non-overlapping foraging niches. In the Arctic, the Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus) and the Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) are 2 raptor species with non-overlapping food resources that have been reported to nest sometimes in close proximity. Since nesting Peregrine Falcons are very aggressive, they may protect the small rodent prey near their nests from predation, and Rough-legged Hawks could use these hot spots as a nesting territory. In 2 regions in low Arctic Russia we found that (1) the nesting territories of Peregrine Falcons were indeed enriched with small rodents as compared to control areas, (2) the probability of nest association between the 2 raptors increased when rodent abundance was generally low in the region where hawks did not use alternative prey, and (3) hawk reproductive success increased when nesting close to Peregrine Falcons. These results suggest that implications of aggressive nest site defense in birds in certain cases may involve more mechanisms than previously explored. A key ecological process in tundra, rodent population cycles, may explain the occurrence and adaptive significance of a specific behavior pattern, the nesting association between 2 raptor species.

To assess the impact of low-altitude jet overflights on parental care, we examined nest attendance, time-activity budgets, and provisioning rates of 21 Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) pairs breeding along the Tanana River, Alaska in 1995 and 1996. Several intrinsic and extrinsic factors influenced attributes of nesting behavior. Female nest attendance declined substantially with progression of the nesting cycle, while male attendance patterns were consistent throughout the nesting cycle. Further, although females typically performed most of the incubating, male attendance at the nest area varied considerably among breeding pairs. Both prey item delivery rates and estimated prey mass delivery rates increased with brood size. Prey item delivery rates per nestling, however, decreased with increasing brood size; yet estimated prey mass delivery rates per nestling did not vary with brood size. Peregrine Falcons apparently maintained constant provisioning rates per nestling as brood size increased by increasing average prey size. We found evidence that nest attendance and time-activity budgets of Peregrine Falcons differed during periods of overflights compared with reference nests, but differences depended on stage of the nesting cycle and gender. Males had lower nest ledge attendance during periods when overflights occurred than males from reference nests when data from the incubation and early nestling-rearing stages of the nesting cycle were combined. Females apparently compensated for lower male ledge attendance by attending the ledge more during overflown periods compared to females from reference nests, although this trend was not significant. During late nestling-rearing, however, females perched in the nest area less during periods when overflights occurred than females from reference nests. We did not see a relationship between nest attendance and the number of overflights, the cumulative number of exposures experienced by each nesting pair, or the average sound exposure level of overflights. Nor did we find evidence that nestling provisioning rates were affected by overflights. Low altitude jet overflights did not markedly affect nest attendance, time-activity budgets, or nestling provisioning rates of breeding Peregrine Falcons.
Graduation date: 1999

In order to examine the potential impact of military jet overflights and other disturbances on productivity of peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus), we observed behavioral reactions of peregrines to disturbances at nests along the Tanana River, Alaska during the 1995-1997 breeding seasons. Military jets conducted low-altitude flights over a sample of nests under observation in each year (experimental nests), while other nests were not intentionally overflown (reference nests). Other disturbances occurred at random. Animal noise monitors (ANMs), which collect and store data on noise disturbance levels, were deployed at each observed nest. A total of 878 above-threshold (��� 85 dB) overflights were recorded by the ANMs during the course of the study. A total of 401 close (defined as ��� 1000 m slant distance from the nest) overflights by subsonic F-16, F-15, A-10, Harrier, Jaguar, or Tornado jet aircraft were recorded during observations. Close overflights by military jets accounted for 63% of all observed potential disturbances at experimental nests; they accounted for 2.6% of all observed potential disturbances at reference nests. Other potential disturbances at reference nests included civilian fixed-wing aircraft (41%), boats (33%), avian predators (17%), helicopters (5%), and mammalian predators (1%). Peregrine falcons responded differently to animate and inanimate sources of disturbance, and responded most intensely and most frequently to other raptors, particularly conspecifics. Flight reactions were common, but not in response to inanimate sources. Among inanimate potential disturbances, falcons responded most intensely to boats (6% of reactions involved flight), and least intensely to helicopters (3%) and fixed-wing aircraft (2%). Intensity of reactions to military jets was indistinguishable from that to either boats or other aircraft. Intense behavioral responses (including flight reactions) to military jet overflights were rarely observed in this study, even at slant distances <500 m, and no intense behavioral responses were observed at slant distances >550 m. Peregrine falcon productivity (number of fledglings produced per nesting attempt) in the study area was within the normal range for Interior Alaska and the Tanana River. Dose of jet aircraft disturbance was not correlated with productivity. Productivity was, however, negatively correlated with reactivity of both individual falcons and mated pairs. Those falcons that responded more intensely to overflights tended to have lower productivity. The sensitivity of breeding peregrine falcons to low-altitude jet overflights is a better indicator of subsequent productivity than actual dose of overflights. This is likely a reflection of lower parental quality/investment among breeding pairs with high reactivity (i.e., younger, less experienced parents are less likely to be productive).
Graduation date: 1999