These falcons are formidable hunters that prey on other birds (and bats) in mid-flight. Peregrines hunt from above and, after sighting their prey, drop into a steep, swift dive that can top 200 miles an hour (320 kilometers an hour).
Peregrine falcons are among the world's most common birds of prey and live on all continents except Antarctica. They prefer wide-open spaces, and thrive near coasts where shorebirds are common, but they can be found everywhere from tundra to deserts. Peregrines are even known to live on bridges and skyscrapers in major cities.
These birds may travel widely outside the nesting season—their name means "wanderer." Though some individuals are permanent residents, many migrate. Those that nest on Arctic tundra and winter in South America fly as many as 15,500 miles (25,000 kilometers) in a year. Yet they have an incredible homing instinct that leads them back to favored aeries. Some nesting sites have been in continuous use for hundreds of years, occupied by successive generations of falcons.
Peregrine populations were in steep decline during the mid-20th century, and in the United States these beautiful falcons became an endangered species. The birds have rebounded strongly since the use of DDT and other chemical pesticides was curtailed. Captive breeding programs have also helped to boost the bird's numbers in the U.S. and Canada. Now populations are strong in those nations, and in some parts of the globe, there actually may be more peregrines than existed before the 20th-century decline.
Peregrines are favored by falconers, and have been used in that sport for many centuries.
I've seen the amazing speed of the flight of these peregrine falcons,and luckily I know a close friend who knows,and I will arrange a personal visit to Jose Antonio Otero El Huayco breeding facility.
Jose Antonio Otero Corbetto, has his raptor breeding facility outside Lima. The name of his facility is El Huayco. It is a center for reproduction and rehabilitation for the raptors of Peru.
Jose has been flying falconry birds for over 30 years. His intense interest led him to begin breeding many of the South American species that are popularly used in the sport. His successes at breeding and raptor husbandry also opened opportunities for him to provide rehabilitation for the wild injured and ill birds of his country. Peru has many vastly different climates, from desert-like beaches and plains, such as where the Nazca Lines are found, to some of the highest mountains in South America along the spine of the Andes Mountains, to hot and steamy jungles in the Amazon basin. Raptors occupy all of these environments, pursuing the various feathered and furred quarry so abundant in many of these remote locations.
Everywhere that falconry is practiced, there is a native falcon to fill that nitch. Or rather, wherever there are falcons to be found, humans have longed for a relationship with these exquisite creatures. The Peregrine falcon is one of the most wide spread of raptors, with sub-species found throughout the world, and on every continent except Antarctica. The Cassini subspecies of this extensive family is the Peregrine of the Andes.
