After observing the mishaps of the Seattle Peregrines this summer, I put
out a request on Birdchat for fledging success rates (or more appropriate:
mortality rates) of urban Peregrines. I did not receive many replies, but
second-hand reports indicated that mortality was "high" in urban birds (
I don't know if this means higher than in natural sites) and I have heard
from people in FRG that the rate is around 70%. This rate may be similar to
natural sites. I agree with Dennis that cities and Peregrines probably
don't mix, but two points to keep in mind: in the case of the Seattle
birds, *they* chose the site in Seattle, they were not hacked; and
second, (conjecture here) Peregrines are using cities because the
topography imitates natural sites. This may be in response to lack of
suitable natural habitat. It would be nice to see even an inkling of the
media and public concern focused on the Seattle site to be turned toward
the need for habitat preservation and monitoring in natural sites.


David Buckley
lsdb at u.washington.edu

On Tue, 6 Sep 1994, Dennis Paulson wrote:

> Is anyone concerned as I am that maybe peregrines and cities don't mix as
> well as we would like? I know they have lived in cities for a long time--I
> grew up in Miami with wintering peregrines downtown--but from the number of
> window strikes that are being reported, perhaps a city isn't the best place
> for a young peregrine to fledge. Does anyone have data on the frequency of
> this event, which has happened all too often in Seattle? Any other
> comments?
>
> Dennis Paulson
>
>
>