THE PEREGRINE FALCON: AN AMAZING FLIERPeregrines 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 thesky until they are right above their prey. The peregrine then folds its wingsand dives straight down at almost 200 miles per hour, catching the preyfrom above in its talons (claws) and finally killing it by breaking its neckwith its hooked beak. That spectacular dive is called a stoop, and it makesthe peregrine the fastest bird known.

Years ago people noticed that peregrines hunted a lot of ducks, so theynicknamed the peregrine the “duck hawk.” Although peregrines will take ducks, moreoften they hunt a lot of different medium-sized birds, including some that are biggerthan they are.

Peregrines mate for life, butif one of the pair dies, the re-maining falcon will choose an-other mate. Usually peregrineslive 8 to 12 years, but someNYC falcons are almost 20years old.

Adult peregrines have blue-gray backs and wings.Their un-dersides are white with shortblack bars.The top of the headis dark with dark stripes aroundthe eyes and down the cheeks.

Young birds are coveredwith white, fluffy down. As theyget older they grow flight feath-ers and their dark “sideburns.”The down on top of their headsis the last to be replaced. Theybegin flapping their wings at 5weeks and fledge (start flying) at6 weeks.They can hunt for them-selves at 8 weeks and leave theirparents by 12 weeks.

—Naola Gersten-Woolf

Endangeredby Humans,ThenHelped to a Comeback

Historically peregrine falcons nested on the New Jersey Palisades,the cliffs across the Hudson River from Upper Manhattan and theBronx. During the mid 1900s a few pairs nested on the artificialcliffs of New York City’s skyscrapers and bridges. But by the 1960speregrines disappeared east of the Mississippi River.

When scientists LOOKED FOR a reason, they found that therewas so much of the insecticide DDT in the bodies of all birds of preythat mother birds couldn’t make normal eggs. The eggshells were sothin that sitting on the eggs for hatching crushed them.

To save the peregrines, the United States government put themon the Endangered Species List and stopped DDT from being used.

Scientists and falcon lovers, including the New York State Depart-ment of Environmental Conservation and New York City Department ofEnvironmental Protection, began a restoration effort. Thanks to a cap-tive breeding and release program and careful watching and counting,the number of peregrines grew large enough that, after more than 25years, the U.S. government took them off the Endangered Species List.

Peregrines are still listed as endangered by New York State, how-ever, because there are still fewer here than before. Protecting andLOOKING AFTER the peregrine population continues.

—Naola Gersten-Woolf

For news,webcam&video clips about one pair of NYCperegrines LookAt:WWW.55WATER.COM/FALCONS/NEWS.PHP

NewYork City Audubon 1

New York City

look around

DOWN1. The color of a peregrine’s wings3. 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.

ACROSS2. This is where a peregrine nests.6. This is the peregrine’s nickname.7. Peregrines used to be _____,

but now they’re not.8. This chemical caused the

peregrine’s near extinction.10. The peregrine goes fastest

when it _____.11. The eggs take _____month(s)

to hatch.13. The male is ___than the female.15. A baby peregrine is six _____

old when it leaves the nest.

GO TO WWW.NYCAUDUBON.ORG (click on Look Around NYC under Programs)...

PEREGRINE CROSSWORDBy the 4th grade students of St. Bernard’s

ANSWERSon page 4

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—Drawings on pages 1, 2, and 3by Adira Riben

The Peregrine Falcons ofthe Brooklyn Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge is a wonderful place to watch pere-grines. I LOOK FOR them to start showing their nesting be-havior in February. They mate and lay their eggs in March. Theeggs hatch in April. By May the parents are busy bringing prey(food) to the young. Peregrines dine almost exclusively onbirds, primarily pigeons.

In late May and early June the young are mobile and curi-ous. They walk to the edge of the nest ledge and sit there tak-ing in the sights. When they see one of their parents returningwith prey, the young begin calling with a high, panicky re-peated screech. The adult responds with a more moderate,quick, repetitive “e-chup,” like the sound made by rubber sneak-ers squeaking on the gym floor.

The adult flies into the nest box and disappears toward theback. The young follow. The adult plucks the feathers andother non-edible parts off the prey and tears the flesh with itssharp 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 aregood providers and New York has a bountiful supply of aviantreats. No immature peregrine will go hungry.

For over ten years I have been monitoring and helpingwith banding peregrine falcons in New York City. In the earlyyears I pushed my infant daughter in her stroller on the Brook-lyn Bridge walkway. As a parent I watched with my heart inmy throat as the fledglings (young birds learning to fly)leaped off the nest ledge for the first time. I watched theirclumsy take-offs and landings and I cried as I saw the terribleend of the ones that didn’t make it. I was thrilled and de-lighted to watch the adults teaching the young the skills theyneeded to survive. I watched the adults transfer prey to theyoung in flight and saw the young birds struggle to fly with theadded weight. I knew as a parent that you have to allow theyoung 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 toview the fledglings as they flap their wings and prepare for theirfirst flight. I doubt my girls will feel the same joy that a parentfeels 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 luckyenough to see that first leap. It happens every year right here inNew York City, and you can see it if you LOOKAROUND.

—Carl R. Howard

As young peregrines approach 3 1/2 weeks ofage, NYC DEP biologist Chris Nadareski placesidentification bands on the feet of the nestlings.By Barbara Saunders; copyright © 2006 and usedby permission.

. . .FOR PEREGRINE-THEMED IDEAS FOR SCIENCE OR EIGHTH GRADE EXIT PROJECTS.

NewYork City Audubon 3

GO WITH A GROWN-UPPeregrine nests cannot be visited. How-ever, it is possible to see peregrines flyingnearby. If you have binoculars or a spot-ting scope you can see them much better.

• Brooklyn Bridge from the pedestrian walk-way—look inside the archways (Brooklynto Manhattan)

• Water Street along the esplanade just northof the Port Authority Heliport along thenorthbound side of the FDR (Manhattan)

• Marine Parkway Bridge from Riis Park on thesouth side of the bridge (Queens)

• NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill CornellMedical Center from the esplanade along theFDR northbound (Manhattan)

• Verrazano-Narrows Bridge from along the Belt(Shore) Parkway Esplanade (Brooklyn)

• Throgs Neck Bridge from Little Bay Parknorth of Cross Island Parkway (Queens)

• Riverside Church from the sidewalk alongsouthbound Riverside Drive (Manhattan)

LOOK FOR them mornings and late after-noons from late May to early June whenthey are hunting near their nests to feedtheir growing nestlings. The whole familymay still be visible in the vicinity of the nestmornings until early August.

ANSWERS TOCROSSWORDPUZZLE on p. 2

DOWN1. Blue-gray3. Stripe4. Hooked5. Decades9. Talons12. Prey14. Mate

ACROSS2. Cliffs6. Duck hawk7. Endangered8. DDT10. Dives11. One13. Smaller15. Weeks

Our Thanks To:The 2005-6 students at St. Bernard’sSchool and their science teacher, PeterJoost. NYC Audubon regrets that wecould not print all their contributions.

Barbara Allen Loucks of NYS Depart-ment of Environmental Conservationand Chris Nadareski of NYC Depart-ment of Environmental Protectionfor reviewing this manuscript.

Con Edison andthe National Fishand WildlifeFoundation/NYCRaptor Fund fortheir generousfunding of thispublication.

Through the Eyesof a Peregrine

Use an aerial photo website such aswww.earth.google.com, www.oasisnyc.net orwww.maps.google.com to find your homeor school. This is what a peregrine wouldLOOK AT if it flew overhead.

Next enter Flat Rock Nature Center, NJ andscroll east to the Hudson River. This willbring you to the cliffs of the New Jersey Pali-sades where peregrines are once again nest-ing after being absent for nearly 40 years.Today most peregrines in our area nest onNew York City bridges, skyscrapers and tow-ers. So enter Battery Park or Central Park,NY to see where NYC peregrines find lots ofmeaty pigeons to eat!!!

WRITE A STORY from the point of view of aperegrine on the New Jersey Palisades.*Tell what you imagine the falcon saw andthought when these important events inhuman 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 copyof your work to Look Around NewYork City,c/o the address or email at left, no laterthan March 1, 2007.The person who sendsin the best work will be asked to be aJunior Contributor to Look Around for2007-2008. —Gina McCarthy

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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 infor-mation 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,” NewYork Conserva-

tionist, April 2005. — Gina McCarthy & Naola Gersten-Woolf

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Copyright © 2006NewYork City Audubon71West 23 StreetNewYork, NY 10010212-691-7483

lanyc@nycaudubon.orgwww.nycaudubon.org

Naola Gersten-Woolf:Publisher & ManagingEditor

Jennifer Knox:Art Director

Cecelia Rogers:Banner Designer