A small, young adult male peregrine falcon was admitted to Ravensbeard in June after we received a call from Phoenicia about what appeared to be a downed hawk in someone’s yard.
From the photos that were sent to us, it quickly became clear that this was not a hawk, but a peregrine falcon—and a beautiful one at that. Unfortunately, he was unable to fly.
Hawks tend to be larger, heavier-bodied birds with broad, rounded wings designed for soaring. Falcons are generally sleeker, faster birds with long, pointed wings built for speed and, in the case of peregrines, spectacular high-speed dives.
Because the injured falcon could not fly, he was caught without much difficulty and quickly taken to a veterinarian. X-rays revealed a clean fracture of the radius, one of the two parallel bones in the forearm portion of a bird’s wing. The radius lies alongside the larger ulna and helps maintain the structure and alignment of the wing.
Following the diagnosis, the falcon was placed in a small enclosure to restrict his movement and give the fracture time to heal. After three weeks, he was transferred to a larger enclosure where he could begin moving more freely.
Five to six weeks after his arrival, there was no visible droop in the injured wing or other obvious cause for concern. The fracture had healed nicely. It was time for the next stage of rehabilitation: rebuilding his strength and flight muscles in Ravensbeard’s flight cage.
After many laps around the flight cage, the peregrine demonstrated that he was once again a strong and capable flyer. He was ready to return to the wild.
All in all, it was a very successful rehabilitation.
Whenever possible, Ravensbeard releases rehabilitated birds close to where they were originally found. We also like to involve the caring people who first noticed an animal in distress and reached out for help.
On August 9, at a soccer field in Phoenicia, the woman whose family had originally found the falcon was given the opportunity to participate in his release. She held him briefly before letting him go.
The peregrine immediately took flight, then circled back for one brief moment before disappearing into the sky. Ellen described him as one of the most beautiful peregrine falcons she had ever seen.
He was wild once again.
There is an added significance to successfully rehabilitating and releasing a peregrine falcon here in the Hudson Valley because this region played an important role in the species’ remarkable recovery.
For centuries, peregrine falcons ruled the skies, capable of reaching speeds of more than 240 miles per hour during their breathtaking hunting dives. But by the middle of the 20th century, peregrine populations had plummeted.
Once widespread across North America, these magnificent birds were pushed toward extinction largely because of DDT, a pesticide that accumulated in their food supply. DDT interfered with calcium metabolism, causing peregrine eggshells to become dangerously thin. Many eggs broke during incubation before the young birds could hatch.
Just as the peregrine falcon seemed in danger of disappearing from much of the United States, an important part of its recovery story began here in the Hudson Valley.
Dr. Heinz Meng, a biology professor at the State University of New York at New Paltz, believed that peregrine falcons could be successfully bred in captivity. At the time, many scientists doubted whether it could be done.
Meng and his students spent years developing and refining captive-breeding techniques, using specialized aviaries designed to provide conditions in which peregrines would reproduce. In 1971, their efforts achieved a historic milestone with the successful captive breeding of peregrine falcons.
Their work helped demonstrate that peregrines could be bred in captivity and contributed to the techniques that would eventually support larger conservation and reintroduction programs.
Across the country, scientists, falconers, conservationists, and wildlife organizations worked together to breed and release peregrine falcons back into the wild. Combined with restrictions on DDT, those efforts produced one of the great wildlife conservation success stories of the 20th century.
By the 1990s, peregrine populations had recovered so dramatically that the species was removed from the federal Endangered Species List on August 25, 1999.
So when a peregrine falcon takes flight again here in the Hudson Valley, it represents more than the successful rehabilitation of one extraordinary bird. It is also a small continuation of a conservation story that began, in part, right here in our own backyard.
Short Video: The Man Who Saved the Peregrine Falcon