The day after learning about the male Great Horned Owl, I received a call in regards to the Peregrine Falcon I had inquired about. She had also suffered a wing injury and they were hoping to release her back into the wild. When they began her flight conditioning (forcing a bird to fly in order to build their strength up after an injury), however, they realized she just couldn’t fly well enough.
Peregrine Falcons primarily hunt other birds and they use their amazing speed to strike their prey in mid air. These truly are the fastest animals on the planet and can reach speeds over 200 mph! Even the slightest imperfection or weakness in flight at these speeds can be fatal. Peregrines even dive in a spiral motion so they can keep their focus on their victim without having to turn their head and cause drag!
The folks at Northwest Wildlife Rehabilitation in Tucson were very happy that we wanted this beautiful bird. Rehabbers are only allowed a certain amount of time to treat and release or place an animal in their care. They cannot continue to keep an animal that can’t be released and doesn’t have a permanent home elsewhere. Most educators seem to want Peregrine Falcons that are fully flighted and this girl had already had one extention of her permits because they couldn’t find her a home.
We are ecstatic to have such a beautiful falcon for our program to share with the public!
