Arctic Refuge Virtual Bird Fest

Songs From On High: Peregrine Falcons

From river bluffs in America ’ s northernmost wildlife recourse to the city skyscrapers of New York City and beyond, the world ’ randomness fastest shuttlecock calls every continent except Antarctica home .Peregrine falcon in flight by Dena’ina Athabascan designer Sebastian Garber. ? Michael Todd/Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Alaska is home to all three of subspecies of mobile falcons found in North America : the Peale’s, Arctic ( tundra ), and American. Some winter in South America while others stay in Alaska year-round .A peregrine falcon. Note the distinguishing sideburns. ? Kyle Tansley/Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology The largest and darkest-plumed of the peregrines, Peale ’ s ( Falco peregrinus pealei ), are a nautical subspecies found along Alaska ’ s coast from Southeast Alaska to the Aleutians. Peale ’ s tend to stick to their territory and winter in Alaska, but will leave if food becomes scarce. The Arctic ( F. peregrinus tundriu ) and American ( F. peregrinus anatum ) subspecies migrate.

Most peregrines from northerly Alaska, Canada, and Greenland migrate to Central and South America in the fall — sometimes all the way to Columbia, Chile, and Argentina — hunting along the means. They return to interior Alaska in mid-late April and can be seen soaring the thermals above the Alaska Range on their way north to their engender territories ( most return to the lapp river bluffs and cliffs to the lapp nest sites ) .Peregrine falcons are able to reach speeds 175mph+ in a dive and hunt other birds on the wing or by flushing them up from the ground.They feed primarily on other birds, such as songbirds, shorebirds, ducks, and — in urban areas — starlings and pigeons. ? Dorian Anderson/Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology last century, the migrate varieties were hit hard by DDT exposure in the lower 48 states and elsewhere along their migration path. Both the American and Arctic subspecies declined precipitously mid hundred and were both listed as Endangered under the Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1969 ( the jurisprudence preceding the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ). Thanks to ESA recovery efforts and reduced use of DDT throughout their range, both subspecies have recovered. Learn more from Fran Mauer, a guest loudspeaker at the 2021 Arctic Refuge Virtual Bird Festival :Fran Mauer with a peregrine falcon chick on the bluffs of Arctic Refuge’s Porcupine River.

Fran Mauer, retired Arctic Refuge biologist, took contribution in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Porcupine River mobile surveys — a decades hanker campaign. He will present “ My Time Among the Peregrine Falcons of the Porcupine River ( and a few other things ) ” on Tuesday November 16, 5PM Alaska on zoom .

kak, creak, wail and chitter

Adult peregrines have several voice types with different meanings for unlike situations. so look to the flip, and to the ledge, for context clues.

Wailing. Along continuous call used in a variety of situations ( antagonistic, parental, looking for a checkmate, and so forth ). Sounds like ghiii-ghiii-ghiii-ghiii. Creaking. Peregrine-to-peregrine voice used in courting rituals and other situations. Sounds like iiichep/ee-chup. Kakking. Alert predict used against non-peregrine enemies, or to recruit early peregrines for defense of a cuddle. Sounds like kak kak kak. Chitter. A close contact sound between mates. A rapid qi qi chi.

In Alaska ’ s Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, the peregrine is known as qiirayuli. In Yupik, this means “ the one who calls qee qee qee qee ” when disturb. In higher latitudes, other names include, but aren ’ metric ton limited to : Ch ’ akwaii chan metric ton ’ ik ( Gwich ’ in ) and kirgavich kiriat ( Northwest Alaska Inupiaq ) .? Kyle Tansley/Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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