Tracking Peregrine Falcons

BirdNote^®

From Chile to the Arctic: Tracking Peregrine Falcons

Written by Bob Sundstrom

This is BirdNote!
 [Peregrine Falcon calls]
 In September, a streamlined Peregrine Falcon calls as it wings its way south from its Arctic nesting grounds. [Peregrine Falcon calls] The pale gray falcon, which will migrate beyond the equator to spend the winter in Chile, also sends a signal to a group of scientists. On its back, it wears a miniature satellite transmitter, attached there by members of the Falcon Research Group.
 In 2006, Bud Anderson and others of the Falcon Research Group initiated The Southern Cross Peregrine Project. Their goal was to track the migration of the tundra race of Peregrine Falcon, the most highly migratory of all Peregrines. [Peregrine Falcon calls]
 Very little is known of the breeding or wintering sites of these unique falcons. In February and early March of 2007, the scientists themselves migrated to Chile, where they banded and began tracking seven falcons. By late June, the researchers had already broken new ground in our knowledge of the birds. The birds’ transmitters showed several had returned to the High Arctic, and likely nest sites in the Northwest Territories, near Hudson Bay, and on Baffin Island. [Peregrine Falcon calls]
 Would you like to follow the progress of these spectacular, wide-ranging birds of prey? Come to birdnote.org to learn how. [Peregrine Falcon calls]
 For BirdNote, I’m Frank Corrado.
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Call of the Peregrine Falcon provided by The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Recorded by G. Vyn.
Arctic ambient (Snow Buntings) recorded and provided by Martyn Stewart, naturesound.org
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Chris Peterson
© 2007 Tune In to Nature.org         Rev. for Sept. 2009

ID# 090607PEFA5KPLU

Background source: frg.org (Falcon Research Group website)