SNN (ScrollingNetworkNews) ✿ ✿ Our Mel and Sydney returned to their nesting box with plenty of bonding occurring..but after 2.5 months of Sydney in the box from Dec 2013 to mid Feb 2014, the lack of prey gifts from Mel ( perhaps due to the severe and historic drought underway in California)and they have forgone the nesting process this year as many other raptors ✿ Compared to other owls of similar size, the Barn Owl has a much higher metabolic rate, requiring relatively more food. Pound for pound, Barn Owls consume more rodents – often regarded as pests by humans – than possibly any other creature. ✿ We remind viewers that sometimes owlets may not survive - the parents will dispose of things in "The Owl Way" -viewer discretion is advised, this is nature and the "Owl way". ✿ ~ ✿ “Animals, like us, are living souls. They are not things. They are not objects. Neither are they human. Yet they mourn. They love. They dance. They suffer. They know the peaks and chasms of being.” ― Gary Kowalski, The Souls of Animals ✿ Each species is a masterpiece, a creation assembled with extreme care and genius." ~ E.O. Wilson

Monday, November 26, 2012

American Peregrine

It was around 8 o'clock in the evening on Thanksgiving Day, when residents of a rural home in Watsonville heard rustling in a planter box outside.
After all of their pets were accounted for, the young men of the family went to investigate and found a small raptor, unable to fly.

Instinctively, they got a large towel, covered the bird completely, and carefully placed it into a cardboard cat carrier. At about 8:00 AM this morning, WildRescue received an emergency page about the injured bird. A photo confirmed it to be an American peregrine falcon. The peregrine falcon is a crow-sized predatory raptor found on nearly every continent. It is the fastest bird on the planet, attaining speeds in excess of 200 miles per hour in a stoop dive (video of these magnificent flyers, HERE).

 The young male falcon was transported to the Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley in San Jose. There it would receive a radiograph to determine the extent of its injuries and if it was, indeed, shot. Upon admission the wound was cleaned, the bird was given pain medication and a dose of antibiotics. Check out the video(below) of its initial exam. Should X-rays confirm the bird was shot, authorities will be contacted.

 NOTE: If you have never heard of a peregrines referred to as 'American' falcons before.

 Response from "WildRescue" - It's our understanding that the original subspecies of peregrine falcon to inhabit Canada, parts of Alaska and the continental U.S. is the American peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus anatum). The peregrines found today in the eastern part of the U.S., however, are descended from five subspecies bred in captivity and released as part of the recovery program.