20 Year old Peregrine Falcon reappears injured after year long absence!
June 10, 2009 - International, National and Local News
Kathy Reports:
Found a great falcon news story today in the Buffalo News that I wanted to share with falcon fans. Given that peregrine falcons still suffer from a high mortality rate, this is truly amazing!
Like the legend of the Phoenix, a peregrine falcon that went missing after nesting for years at the Statler Towers has seemingly risen from the dead.
The male bird was found Tuesday crossing a driveway in Amherst.
The 20-year-old male bird, which vanished one year ago, was thought to be dead because he is one of the oldest peregrine falcons ever recorded.
“He just disappeared. Gone without a trace,” said Connie M. Adams, a state Department of Environmental Conservation wildlife biologist. “Instead, we find out that he had been evicted [by another bird].”
The falcon was picked up by Buffalo Animal Control, then passed on to the DEC. Currently, he is at Erie County SPCA headquarters in the Town of Tonawanda, where his health is being evaluated.
Joel Thomas, a wildlife administrator for the SPCA, said the bird has been grounded for a few days. Thomas also said the bird has a severe fracture on his left leg and may also have internal injuries.
“We don’t know if he was knocked out of the sky by his competition, but it definitely comes as a surprise that he is still alive,” Thomas said. “If he wound up dead in the cage tomorrow, I wouldn’t be shocked because he’s in real rough shape, beyond being attacked.”
Thomas said once SPCA officials diagnose the bird, they will decide if the falcon can survive surgery. If surgery is performed, it would take about one month for the bird to recover.
He also said the bird’s days in the wild are over — that he will probably live the rest of his life in an educational or research institution.
The falcon first appeared in downtown Buffalo in 1996 and began nesting at the Statler Tower in 1998. DEC officials estimate he fathered nearly 40 other falcons with three females in his 12 years on the scene.
“It’s truly amazing,” Adams said. “For him to be alive without a nest for this long is testament to how tough a bird he really is. He is a survivor.”