As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Friday 27 April 2018

Endangered bird found on rooftop of downtown Lansing building



LANSING (WILX) A Peregrine falcon with three eggs was recently found on the rooftop of the Comerica Bank Building in downtown Lansing.

The bird, which is an endangered species in Michigan, was found on April 5th by a worker during a construction business meeting.

The U.S. peregrine falcon population declined in the 1960's due to a pesticide called DDT. By 1968, the entire U.S. peregrine falcon population east of the Mississippi River was gone.

According to a June 2017 report from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the southeast Michigan Peregrine Falcon population has increased from five young birds reintroduced in 1987 to 15 nesting pairs that reared 30 young in 2016.

More from the DNR: "These falcons require large areas of open air for hunting, and are not found in areas that are heavily forested. The diet of the peregrine falcon includes a wide variety of small birds, including pigeons, seabirds, shorebirds and songbirds. Occasionally, they have been known to take small ducks, earning them the misleading name "duck hawks." Peregrines hunt by diving at their prey from far above and catching it in mid-flight. During these incredible dives, called "stoops," the birds can reach speeds of 180 miles per hour."


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