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Home > Blogs > Birds and Butterflies > Archives > 2012 > February > 10 > Entry
Fast Falcons
When asked what the fastest animal on earth is, most people would respond, “the Cheetah!” But, Dayton is actually home to an animal that is even faster! Can you guess what animal this might be? Tired of guessing? It’s the Peregrine Falcon!
The peregrine falcon is a beautiful raptor, or bird of prey, and is built for speed! They are beautiful, as you can see in the photo, and though they are smaller than other birds of prey, they are efficient and are larger than our area’s other falcon, the American Kestrel. A peregrine falcon exhibits it’s speed during hunting. Unlike other hawks and owls, they often spot prey while flying. Once spotted, they will swoop down at speeds up to 200 mph and grab the prey with their talons! They can even take smaller birds out of mid-air! This amazing bird was put on the federal endangered species list in 1970 due to a by-product of DDT called DDE which weakened egg shells, much like it did with the Bald Eagle. Like the bald eagle, the peregrine falcon has made a comeback, and is no longer on the endangered list, though the population is still being monitored.
You may have seen peregrine falcons in a zoo or wildlife center, but did you know that Dayton is home to a pair of nesting peregrine falcons? There were only 43 nesting pairs of peregrine falcons in Ohio in 2011, and most were near Lake Erie. Dayton’s pair nest on the Liberty Bank Tower downtown. While peregrine falcons often nest on tall buildings in urban areas, this actually isn’t a safeplace for them. Many young peregrine falcons die due to falling and crashing into buildings while learning to fly. However, cities often offer the only habitat opportunities for the falcons today. They nest and roost on cliffs, and also require a close water supply, and many natural habitats with these features no longer exist. So, while it is cool that they often live in cities, it actually isn’t the best place for them. However, next time you’re downtown, look to the skies to see if you can spy our peregrine falcons! If you want to check on the history of their nest history, check it out on http://ohiodnr.com/wildlife/dow/falcons/sites.aspx and there is a falcon cam that will start back up for the 2012 nesting period in March or April, thanks to the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery at http://www.boonshoftmuseum.org/falconcam.html
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