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p18 tribune v november 14 1990 peregrine a wonder to watch artbriggsjude outdoors one of the added bonuses of sitting in a goose blind on the tidal flats of hudson bay was the chance to watch a peregrine falcon at work here in its homeland wilderness this now endangered bird of prey was doing what it was noted for pursuing moderatelysized birds with all the grace speed and agility of a feathered missile this particular falcon had a liking for the flocks of sand pipers and other shore birds that wheeled in unison over the sand dunes or ran along the swirls of the moving tide in this tundra land of stunted growth it had to settle for the protruding snag of an old tree stump how it decided which individual in a formation of 50 flighty birds was to be the victim i could only guess possibly they are in this regard similar to african cheetahs that concentrate solely on one antelope giving rise to the old adage theres safety numbers which holds true as long as your number is not select ed the killing forays of this our fastest fal con reminded me of the morning a few years ago when a peregrine paid us a visit at our farm near westport among the small flock of feral pigeons that hung about the barns was a pure white one the remaining bird of a trio a neighbor had persuaded us to provide a home for that morning my coffee break was interrupted by the blur of a hawk speeding past the picture window turn ing towards the bam in the direction the raptor was headed i saw half a dozen pigeons rise to avoid the danger the white on was among them but unlike its dullcolored coun terparts which escaped under the overhanging root the startled white pigeon kept going and flew across the valley with all the finesse of a fighter plane engaging an enemy the falcon now identified as a peregrine made a half rolling flight correction and dove to the attack in an instant it closed on its slower moving adversary raking it with its razorsharp claws and sending up a small puffof snowy feathers because the peregrine was a young inexpe rienced hunter the pigeon escaped this initial onslaught and dove low over the streamside shrubbery the falcon recov ering from its steep dive quickly climbed above the pigeon once more then attacked again by this time both birds were over the pond arid as the peregrine hit the pigeon a second time it knocked it sideways and very nearly into the water again all the fast- moving falcon had to show forits peregrine falcon persistence was a scattering of white feathers now floating on the pond surface the falcon continued its pursuit finally catching the pigeon as it tried to dive into a grove of mediumsized white pine into this mass of evergreen boughs both birds disappeared and when i went to check out the scene a half and hour later there was no sign of either the victim of its attacker the remarkable result of this spirited conflict was the fact that somehow the pigeon survived a few hours later it returned to the safety of the barn looking for all intents and purposes like it had suddenly been sucked into the intake of a jet engine while the inexperience of the young peregrine no doubt saved the pigeon from joining its passenger pigeon rela tives it also points up the vulnerability peregrine falcons face in the first year or so the their lives studies have shown that over 60 per cent of fledged falcons die before the next spring add to this the fact that our north american peregrines migrate to mexico and south america where pesticides con taining harmful residues are still widely used with these falcons at the top of the food chainits little wonder that many of our songbirds are fewer in number arid many of those species that are captured by peregrines add to the hard pressed fal cons woes it is also a sad lament that peregrine falcons like other birds of prey are not included iirthe migratory birds convention act an international agree ment that protects other migratory bird species so while they are fully protected in canada and some us states in others and in central and south america they are not still the hope of saving the peregrine has been greatly enhanced by the rearing and releasing of falcons bred at the canadian wildlife service raptor facility at wainwright alberta since the mid 1970s each year an average of 100 fledglings from this center are returned to wild cliffs or city ledges all across the coun try the results though slow are already paying dividends calgary and edmonton now boast of breeding pairs in those cities while a peregrine one of 19 released in the st catharines area in 1987 was found nesting on a motel ledge in toledo ohio a year later among other places toronto aurora hull montreal winnipeg and algonquin park have also been recipients of young peregrine falcons for release i m c i tore iiilii poors sashes mouldings hardware etc remodeling or redecorating post beam held over by popular demand fall flooring sale continues 34 x 2- 14 prefinished cb921 reg 469 a 19 sqft 4 34 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