Latest news with #PeregrineFalcons
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Macomb County Peregrine Falcons: Experts hope to protect ‘threatened' species
The Brief Three Peregrine Falcons have made Macomb County their new home, and experts are hoping to keep them protected. Danielle Durham with the Michigan Hawking Club says they hope to ensure the falcons stay off the endangered species list. Now they've been reclassified as 'threatened.' SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (FOX 2) - A trio of Peregrine Falcons have decided to make downtown Mt. Clemens their home, and researchers are keeping a close eye on them. Big picture view Experts like master falconer Danielle Durham with the Michigan Hawking Club tell FOX 2 they hope to ensure the falcons stay off the endangered species list. "Peregrines in and of themselves are just awesome birds," Durham said. "They are the fastest animal on the planet. I don't just mean the fastest bird. They are the fastest animal on the planet." Recently, a few falcons have made a home in downtown Mt. Clemens, high atop the old Macomb County building, and their three babies were banded over Memorial Day weekend. "It was fun. It was quick," said Durham. "They don't turn the air-conditioning on in the weekends, so it was a little warm. But yeah, we were able to band three healthy chicks, two females and a male." Local perspective Durham was one of the officials who banded Monarch, Warthog, and Czwig. She says the club paid for them and put different color bands that can be seen with a spotting scope. "It's not like a radio transmitter where you don't see where it is," she said. "But bird watching is such a big thing that most people, and with social media, most people will post 'Hey, I found this bird and it has this band. Who is it? Can you help me?" That way, they're tracked. Durham told FOX 2 over a year ago they were considered endangered, almost gone from the Great Lakes region. But now they've been reclassified as 'threatened.' "Threatened means the population isn't where they'd like it to be," she said. "They might be really uncommon, really rare to see. They're not reproducing the way they should be." So the goal is to get that population up and get them thriving in the wild and in cities. "They help keep all the animals in check. They eat birds, which is great for the city because we have lots of pigeons and small birds like that they can eat. So they're pivotal in the food chain," she said. What you can do If you would like to see them, there's a live webcam. You can view it by tapping here. You can also learn more about the Peregrine Falcons of Macomb County by clicking the link here. The Source FOX 2 spoke with master falconer Danielle Durham of the Michigan Hawking Club and used details from the Macomb County website for information in this report.
Irish Examiner
19-05-2025
- Science
- Irish Examiner
Peregrine Falcon chick born in Cork city — and another hopefully on the way
A Peregrine Falcon chick has been born at St Fin Barre's Cathedral. The new arrival is a "7cm long ball of fluff at the top of a windy tower" and the parents are Makeda and Solomon. The Dean of Cork welcomed the hatchling. Reverend Nigel Dunne said: "We are delighted with this news." "Hopefully this chick will thrive and be able, in Christ's words, 'to live life abundantly'." And that's not all the good new either. It is hoped that a second egg will hatch in the coming days. A Cathedral spokesperson said that "all are well, however these early weeks are a challenging time for all young birds". The nest has a camera monitoring it and this project is a collaboration between St Fin Barre's Quarter Development Group who funded the nest camera and access equipment, BirdWatch Ireland. Dr Alan McCarthy has been providing expert advice and the National Parks and Wildlife Service's Sam Bayley has also giving oversight on the project. Peregrine Falcons are birds of prey (raptors) with a short hooked bill. They have a heavy powerfully built body and a medium length tail — the female is larger than the male. The adult birds are a bluey grey with white underparts. Juvenile birds are similar to adults but have brownish upperparts and streaked, not barred, feathers on the body. BirdWatch Ireland notes that: "Estimates of speeds vary, but it seems likely that birds reach speeds in excess of 300km/hour, making it the fastest animal on the planet." The species is still recovering from a dramatic and well-documented decline in the 1950s and 60s due to the effects of pesticide poisoning.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Heartbreak as last Worcester cathedral peregrine chick dies
THE last of Worcester's peregrine chicks has died, with keepers suspecting that bird flu may have been the culprit. There were fears that things weren't right when the chick stumbled out of the box at Worcester Cathedral and onto the ledge. It soon deteriorated as keepers said they noticed the chick wasn't calling for food and was acting lethargically. Its parents, known as Mr and Mrs P, were not feeding it, something which the keepers said is normal when a chick is unwell. READ MORE: Dog walkers warned of walking in fields after woman charged in horror attack READ MORE: Scared neighbours 'trapped in' homes as huge swarm of bees take over street READ MORE: Burglars take Mr Whippy machine and distinctive tuk-tuk from countryside pub Having displayed multiple symptoms of bird flu, it was feared that the chick was unlikely to survive. The team who manage the Peregrine Falcons in Worcester social media pages said they had decided to shut down the livestream, which has been live on YouTube since the beginning of the nesting season. Shortly afterwards, they confirmed that the last surviving chick had died at around 8.30pm on Thursday (May 15). They said: "As feared the chick died around 20.30 last night, it has been recovered and will shortly be sent to the lab joining it's sibling for analysis. "The egg remains in the box, if we get the opportunity over the next few days this will also be recovered and sent to the lab. "Both adults appear to be healthy and will be closely monitored over the coming days and weeks. "We will post again later today regarding the advertised viewing sessions, if the adults are still frequently around the south and east faces of the tower we may still go ahead with Saturday, we'll monitor today and update later this afternoon." Over the course of the nesting season, which was eagerly watched by thousands of people, four eggs were laid. Three of these eventually hatched but in the first few days of May, two had already died.
BBC News
16-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Worcester Cathedral last remaining peregrine falcon chick dies
The final surviving peregrine chick born in a nest on top of Worcester Cathedral has birds Peter and Peggy produced four eggs at the cathedral this spring, with the first hatching on Easter Sunday - but two chicks died last week and the fourth egg failed to remaining chick became sick and died at about 20:30 BST on Thursday, a post on Peregrine Falcons in Worcester confirmed.A 24-hour livestream of the nest was shut down on Thursday after the bird became ill and started acting lethargically, with its parents stopping feeding it. On Facebook on Friday, Peregrine Falcons in Worcester posted that they had initially thought, before it fell ill, that the last chick had managed to avoid an unknown illness which it said had "caused the demise of the other two"."Cause is unknown [for the last chick] and open to speculation until we receive results back from the lab; as stated this could take some time," the post went on to say."As feared the chick died around 20:30 last night; it has been recovered and will shortly be sent to the lab, joining its sibling for analysis."Both adult birds appeared to be fit and healthy and would be closely monitored, they of people have been watching progress in the nest box on the livestream on YouTube, with nearly 500,000 people tuning in from across the world in nesting pair, also known as Mr and Mrs P, have had three successful years producing and fledging four healthy chicks from 2022 at the cathedral. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
09-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Second Worcester Cathedral peregrine chick dies
A second peregrine chick born at a nesting site at Worcester Cathedral, which has featured on a webcam, has died. Parents Peter and Peggy produced four eggs at the cathedral, with the first hatching on Easter Sunday, but one did not hatch and there is now only a single bird left. The latest death followed "chick bullying" of the smaller of the two remaining chicks, the Peregrine Falcons in Worcester group said on with the first chick who died this week, the second one has been recovered and will be taken to a laboratory for tests. Chris Dobbs, a wildlife expert at the cathedral, said the first chick could not be assessed as its mother had probably removed it herself.A 24-hour livestream of the nest box received nearly 500,000 views from across the world last year. 'Pretty cruel world' Mr Dobbs said the "slightly smaller" chick of the remaining two got "shoved into the side of the ledge outside the box".After being shoved off the ledge again on Friday morning, he said "it was obviously out there on its own, the mother wasn't feeding it and it started looking particularly ill". The remaining chick, however, is thought to be healthy."It's being fed like mad at the moment, so hopefully success this year will be that one chick surviving to the end," Mr Dobbs added that the latest death had not really come as a shock."I've seen it happen with other species and other birds, other nests, it's a pretty cruel world and it's the law of the jungle," he said. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
