Magnificent Falcons

We have been lucky to have a locally rare falcon roosting in trees for the last few days very close to the mill. It is an Eleonora’s Falcon (Fr. Faucon Eléonore), named after Eleanor of Arborea, a famous queen or lady judge in 14^th century Sardinia, the first ruler in history to grant protection to hawk and falcon nests.

 Falcons are by nature elegant birds, generally slimmer than hawks, built for pursuit speed. However, even two falcons have differing body shapes, adapted to the way that they capture their prey.  Eleonoras are noticeably less bulky than peregrines (Fr. Faucon pélerin).  They need the acrobatic speed for chasing prey whilst heavier peregrines often power down from above at tremendous diving speed, and are the fastest animal on the planet.

 Eleonoras delay the reproduction period to late summer, nesting in colonies on the cliffs of the Mediterranean coastal  islands, and use their aerobatic skills to capture tired birds that have been flying from further north on their migration routes. A recent study revealed that they sometimes capture their prey, pluck off the flight feathers, and then store them in cracks in the rock to be eaten later, fresh, by their chicks.  They are the only bird species to have mastered this behaviour.

 Eleonoras themselves are also long distance migrants. This particular bird, a 2 year old male, was fitted in the nest with a GPS tracker in Spain and we, the local LPO, were contacted when it was seen that it was staying here for several days. We were also able to acquire the data of its route during the last 12 months, and its impressive journey.

 

 

Rapidly crossing the Sahara on both its descending and ascending journeys, some 9000 kilometers each way, it eventually arrived to winter in Madagascar, spending several months before turning back north to appear here in early July, to perch and hunt – probably a mixture of large insects and small birds – before it in its turn will drop back to Mediterranean, possibly to find a mate and breed.  Although distant, through the telescope I could see that the prey which it had captured was consumed in a few seconds was small, probably something like a dragonfly.

 I have only ever seen Eleonora’s falcon once before, in Bulgaria, closer to the Greek islands.

Eleonora’s faucon, Michel Fernandez LPO de L’Aude

Peregrine falcons, however, are a fairly common bird in the Aude, and is a raptor that is found throughout much of the world. The differences in the form of these 2 raptors  can be seen in the photos.

 

                                                                                    Peregrine falcon; Claude Ruchet

 

Estimates of the fastest speed at which peregrines can dive vary, but it is in the region of 320 kilometres per hour. When they pull out of dives there is a force of 25 times that of gravity; a human being would black out at a third of this.  It  happens so quickly that you have to be very lucky to glimpse this grey teardrop shape hurtling down from above, and I have only witnessed a true stoop once, but also have heard the sound of a bird rushing past; having just seen a peregrine perched on a cliff above I judged that it had set off in pursuit of a prey somewhere near me.

 

Peregrines have developed several anatomical features to enable them to withstand the strain of their hunt. For instance, they have a structure in their nostrils that slows the passage of the air into the lungs, otherwise the pressure would be damaging. The huge eyes are protected by an extra transparent membrane designed to stop harm from dust particles in the air, called the nictating eyelid, and their lubricating tears have the consistency of maple syrup.

 

                                                                Peregrine head showing the baffles in the nostrils.

 

There are other bodily adaptions which can be found by research on the internet. All in all, the peregrine falcon is a very special bird indeed.

 This has been known throughout history, above all in the art of falconry.  In the 15^th century there was a strict hierarchy as to social rank allowed to hunt with each raptor. Nearly at the top of the list, it was on the wrists of  earls, dukes or princes where this falcon was to be found. I have heard it compared to driving a Ferrari in the modern world.

 British peregrines are reputed to be amongst the best in the world for falconry , and there is a lucrative trade in supplying the rich nobility of the Arab world with young birds. Since the 1970s the taking of wild birds has been totally banned, but captive breeding programs have been established for the market where many thousands of pounds will be paid for the right bird.

 Ironically enough also in the 1970s the use of DDT as a pesticide had reduced the numbers of peregrines to a fraction of the original numbers. The chemical is concentrated up the food chain, and at its apex, the peregrine, caused egg shell thinning to the extent that the eggs broke in the nest. I once made a day’s journey from Yorkshire to Lancashire with an ornithologist in the hope of seeing a peregrine, to no avail.

 One of the most renowned  books in British Nature literature, The Peregrine, is set in the context of a disappearing species by its author, J.A. Baker. Happily during the last fifty years, due to the banning of DDT and other conservation measures, the bird’s status is of less concern, and they can even be found in cities, nesting on skyscrapers and feasting on the abundant town pigeons.  Webcams overlooking the development of the chicks abound on the internet, and many a church steeple has dedicated nests placed on it. Below is a picture of myself building a nesting box on the ramparts of the Cité de Carcassonne. For the peregrine a cliff face or a high man-made structure is equally suitable, and we are the richer for the experience of seeing this magnificent raptor.