 |
| Peregrine falcon, Decorah North Nest |
Although it isn't common, tree nesting has been documented in peregrine falcons in the United States as recently as 2013. The authors of the short communication Tree-Nesting by Peregrine Falcons in North America: Historical and Additional Records reviewed literature and found 33 North American records of peregrine falcons nesting in trees or snags in Alaska, Kansas, Illinois, Tennessee, Louisiana, Virginia, and British Columbia. However, their field research indicates that tree nesting could be more common than the literature suggests.
Of the 33 tree nests recorded between 1867 and 2007, nine were in tree cavities, nine were in the nests of other raptors (most commonly bald eagles), four were in bole 'platforms' created by a large tree breaking or snapping, and ten were unspecified. Of the nine nests found by the researchers between 1998 and 2013 in California and Washington state, six were in bole platforms, one was in a very large snag, and two were in bald eagle nests.
Peregrine falcons tend to imprint on nest sites, so would they be likely to cross over to trees on their own? The re-establishment of tree nesting peregrines in Europe didn't occur until fledgling peregrine falcons were tree-hacked in a process very similar to Bob's cliff release program. But peregrine falcons have taken over osprey nests with no assistance or direction in New York and New Jersey, and the breeding sites reported by Buchanan, Hamm, Salzer, Diller, and Chinnici are the first documented tree nests used by Peregrine Falcons in Washington and California, the first use of redwoods, Douglas-firs, and grand firs ever recorded, and the first reported snag use by peregrines in North America in over 60 years. As the authors state, Additional records of tree-nesting might
be expected if Peregrine Falcon populations continue to increase beyond levels already thought to have exceeded historical abundance (Ratcliffe 1993, Hayes and Buchanan 2002). Given the platform and tree nests in New York, New Jersey, California, and Washington state, it seems that peregrines can change their nesting behavior, although we don't know how likely they are to do so.
One appearance near a bald eagle nest does not make a tree-nesting peregrine population make, but a peregrine in an unexpected place is always exciting to see and we'll keep everybody posted!
Links
- Tree-Nesting by Peregrine Falcons in North America: Historical and Additional Records: http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.3356/JRR-13-25.1
- World's fastest animal takes New York (comment on peregrine takeover of the Jamaican Bay osprey nest): http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-worlds-fastest-animal-takes-new-york-12317871/
- New Jersey peregrine falcon report (comment on Meadowlands nest): http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/ensp/pdf/pefa14_report.pdf
A quick end note: as many of you know, Bob identified the 'bird mounds' at Effigy Mounds (and other places) as peregrine falcons in part because they were shaped like peregrine falcons and in part because they were often located near historical peregrine eyries. His research on that can be read here: https://raptorresource.blogspot.com/2015/08/falcon-effigies-of-upper-mississippi.html. When Bob was asked about falcon mounds in places with no cliffs or falcons, such as the Five Hawks effigy mounds once located near Prior Lake, Minnesota, he replied that there had probably been tree-nesting peregrine falcons in the area when the mound builders were active. While we can't know for sure, it is wonderful to think that there may have been tree nesting peregrines in Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin a very long time ago.
