Hi Tweets,

Early Tuesday morning I heard a report on the BBC about Peregrines
nocturnal hunting of migratory birds especially water fowl. The report
was based on a paper in the journal British Birds with followups today
in the Daly Telegraph and this report from The Scotsman:

"Not only are they thriving as urban dwellers, but these aerial hunters
have turned themselves into nocturnal killers to take advantage of the
city environment.
According to a report on the habits of urban peregrine falcons,
published in the journal British Birds, they have been spotted hunting
in the most unlikely places, including New York's Empire State
Building, and have also been sighted in Glasgow, Aberdeen and
Edinburgh.

Studies in France, Germany and Holland have shown how the breed use
artificial light directed on to buildings at night to their advantage,
attacking prey at short distances and using the shadows to avoid being
dazzled while looking for a potential kill.

According to the report, artificial lighting also cancels out the
natural camouflage of prey species which renders them highly visible to
a peregrine.
Edward Drewitt, an ornithologist who co-authored the report with Nick
Dixon of the Hawk and Owl Trust, explained: "Many of the water-bird
species have pale bellies, which are lit up by street lights as they
fly by them.

"The peregrine will hide in the shadows of a building looking up at
these birds flying over, then swoop up, come level with them and grab
them out of the air. It's a different approach from their daytime habit
of diving on to the prey, but many of these prey species tend to be
slow-flying, so it's very easy for the peregrine to catch up."
Mr Drewitt said that the rising presence of peregrine falcons in cities
was a sign that the species was healthy: "The fact is that peregrine
numbers are doing so well that their natural nesting sites are filling
up, so you get satellite birds which are not paired with a mate, who
move into the city where there's less competition for food."
Mr Drewitt said that the shift was positive as urban peregrine falcons
were both easier to monitor and protect, as well as being harder to
attack.

James Reynolds, spokesman for the RSPB Scotland, said it was not
surprising that peregrines had adapted to city living.

"They are very intelligent birds, so it's hardly surprising that they
have adapted their hunting habits to take advantage of an urban
landscape. Having said that, I have never heard of them hunting at
night, but it just shows they adapt to their surroundings. In many
ways, cities with their tall buildings mimic their natural habitat of
high cliff faces."

The research has shown the peregrine falcon's urban leanings have been
repeated across Europe and numbers are expected to rise further."


Any news of such behavior in the Seattle area?

Don and Sandi McVay
dmcvay at cmc.net
Queen Anne