Dining and Dwelling
Two subspecies of peregrine falcon can be found in Ontario, the anatum and the tundra. The tundra subspecies spends it's summers in the arctic and then flies as far south as South America in the colder months. This cliff nesting raptor specializes in direct pursuit in open air when hunting and as a result prefers open areas. Their main diet is other birds. The peregrine will deliver a fierce blow to larger prey (often instantly killing it), knocking it to the ground where they will land beside it to feed. Smaller prey may be snatched in mid air or knocked to the ground where it will be picked up and carried off.
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Life and Death
The female peregrine will lay 3-4 brick red or mahogany eggs in April, and they will hatch 34-45 days later. The dependant chicks are reared by both parents and when they first begin to fly the parent birds will fly by them holding prey in their talons. The young learn quickly how to grab the food from their parents and after a few weeks of this kind of training the babies are ready to hunt on their own. They will reach sexual maturity at 2 years
of age.
Pesticides are the number one killer of the peregrine falcon. Even small amounts ingested in prey may cause an inability to produce eggs or the eggs produced may have weak, easily broken shells. Even though Canada placed restrictions on the use of certain pesticides (like DDT) years ago, the peregrine is still exposed to dangerously high levels in the areas they migrate and spend half of the year in. Also the peregrines' prey, made up
of almost exclusively birds, includes migratory birds that have also been exposed to pesticides in their travels. Aside from humans indirectly killing these birds they have very few predators and are considered to be at the top of the food chain.
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