The Peregrine Fund teams with royal foundation

The Boise, Idaho-based conservation organization focused on birds of prey recently signed a two-year renewable agreement with The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation-USA. Albert II became His Serene Highness The Sovereign Prince of Monaco in 2005 and established the foundation in 2006. According to a press release:

The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation works internationally to support ethical and sustainable projects and has undertaken numerous bird and animal life preservation projects including a breeding program in the Mediterranean Basin for the endangered Bonelli's Eagle; an assessment of the polar bear health in the polar regions; and the monitoring, in Africa, of the Niger Giraffes.

The agreement spells out the organizations' shared goals, and it calls for teamwork in conducting research and raising funds. A coordination committee will include a representative from each group.

"The Peregrine Fund is pleased to bring its conservation expertise, proven success, and focus on birds of prey to this joint initiative with the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. Birds of prey, as far-ranging, top predators are acutely sensitive to environmental change and serve both as sentinel species that reveal conservation needs, and as umbrella species that help protect biodiversity," said J. Peter Jenny, president, The Peregrine Fund Inc.

Some of the Fund's projects that might benefit from the partnership include

- a climate change initiative focused on the Gyrfalcon (shown right), which breeds exclusively in the Arctic where the effects of climate warming are predicted to be greatest

- a biodiversity initiative in Madagascar to develop community-based conservation areas protecting habitat for endangered species that exist only on the island

- a species-restoration project to save the critically endangered Ridgway's Hawk on Hispaniola, Dominican Republic, in the Caribbean.

Gyrfalcon photo courtesy of The Peregrine Fund

Raptors in the City takes off again

If you like Peregrine Falcons, marvel at their recovery from the effects of DDT and want to see how they adapt to city life, then you'd enjoy keeping tabs on a PEFA nest in Cleveland, Ohio. Just sign up for the Falcon Flash newsletter sent via e-mail from Raptors in the City.


This year's first Falcon Flash appeared in my e-mail inbox this morning, and I'm delighted to catch up with Ranger, SW and her new mate Boomer. With photos and good details, I get to learn more about this really cool species. Plus, during my spare time (ha!), I can peek at the birds via the FalconCams on Terminal Tower and provided by Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

You really don't want to miss out on this interesting look at the Peregrine Falcon nesting cycle, and the website offers many resources that make birds more accessible to children. Please check it out!

Photo of Ranger, courtesy of Mr. & Mrs. Saladin/Raptors in the City

Harpy Eagle nest found north of known range

From Environmental News Network comes a press release about the discovery of a Harpy Eagle nest with chicks located in Belize, 700 miles north of the raptor's known range.

TOLEDO DISTRICT, Belize – Scientists recently discovered an active Harpy Eagle nest in the Maya Mountains of Belize. Thought to be locally extinct in Belize since 2000 and extirpated from Mexico and most of Central America north of Panama, Harpy Eagles (Harpia harpyja) are designated as “Near Threatened” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and are considered “Critically Endangered” in Belize.


This discovery by a team from the Belize Foundation for Research and Environmental Education is significant because the active nest represents the most-northerly known Harpy Eagle nest in the Americas. According to H. Lee Jones, author of The Birds of Belize, it is the first active Harpy Eagle nest recorded in Belize. Over 1100 km (~700 miles) separate these eagles from other populations.


Harpy Eagles are known as the most powerful eagle in the Americas, hunting prey as large as monkeys and sloths for food. With 7-foot wingspans and individual birds weighing up to 20 pounds, they are a formidable predator. Due to deforestation and hunting, Harpy Eagles are typically missing from most of Central America’s rainforests where they once freely ranged.

Endangered Central American birds might avoid extinction

Researchers recently found that Harpy Eagles -- big birds that weigh up to 20 pounds and range from southeastern Mexico to northern Argentina -- have sufficient genetic diversity to bolster efforts to prevent extinction. Tests on 66 of the predatory birds in 12 countries revealed "high levels of mitochondrial genetic diversity," according to a press release from The Peregrine Fund.

Scientists from the Boise, Idaho-based Peregrine Fund and the University of Michigan led the study, the first to look at mitochondrial DNA in this study. TPF began a Harpy Eagle recovery program two decades ago, raising captive-bred eagles that were released into the wild and remain under scrutiny for reproductive and survival rates.

The peer-reviewed study recently appeared in Public Library of Science and is available online. A concise fact sheet about Harpy Eagle appears here.

Above, Peregrine Fund biologist Angel Muera works with a captive Harpy Eagle. Look at the size of that bird!

New raptor center, wetlands center open in Kansas

Barton County, Kan., now offers two sites likely to attract more birders: Kansas Raptor Center at Great Bend Zoo and Kansas Wetlands Education Center.

Zoo Director Mike Cargill said injured raptors that come to the center go through a step-by-step process. They are rehabilitated in the center's intensive care unit and then go to a critical care unit outside on the zoo grounds.

After that, they will learn to fly while being carefully observed by inmates from the Larned Correctional Facility. The birds will be sent to "large fly pens" at the correctional facility, and inmates will track and record the raptors' movements, Cargill said.

He said being able to use the inmates works well for the project because they can sit and observe the birds for hours at a time.

Operated by Fort Hays State University, the wetlands center will open officially on April 24. It overlooks Cheyenne Bottoms, "the largest inland marsh in the United States and a Ramsar-designated Wetland of International Importance."


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