Rare bird recuperating from life-saving surgery
Peregrine falcons rare in Florida
A rescued immature peregrine falcon rests in an incubator. Photo Courtesy of HAWKE
A young peregrine falcon, which are only rarely seen in Florida, is recuperating after major life-saving surgery.
Staff at St. Johns Veterinary Clinic operated Friday on the bird, which was found injured earlier this week in Volusia County.
Dr. Mark Gendzier, a veterinarian, said pins were placed in the radius in its left wing, and the tibiotarsus in the bird's right leg.
"This bird was in quite good shape for having two fractures," he said. However, the healing rate for fractures in birds is lower than in humans and other animals because avian bones are hollow.
There also isn't much blood supply to bones, which is essential for healing.
Peregrine falcons were endangered for years after wide-spread use of DDT lowered its reproduction rate, and they had few nests east of the Mississippi, according to the Audubon Society. Now, peregrine falcons migrate through Florida on their way to habitat in South America.
The bird, resting on its breast Friday afternoon in an incubator set to 90 degrees, is expected to pull through.
Melanie Cain-Stage of H.A.W.K.E., a wildlife rehabilitator, said the bird probably would not recover enough to be released into the wild.
"Eventually, he'll get the wrappings off and some rehab like physical therapy" and would become an education bird, she said.
Stage said the bird was too young to be reliably identified as male or female because its flight feathers had not yet come in.
In males, "wing feathers are slate blue," she said, while females have brown wing feathers.If it's a male, she'll name it Ken after longtime friends Ken Pacetti and Ken Moffitt, she said in an e-mail. Pacetti passed away Monday, she said.
In the meantime, she said she'd make up a sling to protect the bird's foot, and would keep it "clean, calm and fed."
That entails administering painkillers and antibiotics, Gendzier said.
And Stage said she'd use calipers to feed the sharp-beaked bird small pieces of quail three times a day.
"They're upscale birds," she said with a laugh. "They won't look at a mouse."
"You have to know how to handle them," she said.
Gendzier didn't know how the bird, found somewhere in Volusia County, was injured, but Stage said it might have been hit by a car.
Or, it might have collided with something during a high-speed dive.
It definitely wasn't hit by a predator, she said.
"Nothing messes with a peregrine," she said.
"They're hyper birds, but they're real smart," she said.
Cool Facts
* The name "peregrine" means wanderer, and the Peregrine Falcon has one of the longest migrations of any North American bird. Tundra-nesting falcons winter in South America, and may move 15,500 miles in a year.
* People have trained falcons for hunting for over a thousand years, and the Peregrine Falcon was always one of the most prized birds. Efforts to breed the Peregrine in captivity and re-establish populations depleted during the DDT years were greatly assisted by the existence of methods of handling captive falcons developed by falconers.
* The Peregrine Falcon is a very fast flier, averaging 25-34 mph in traveling flight, and reaching speeds up to 69 mph in direct pursuit of prey. During its spectacular hunting stoop from heights of over 0.62 mi, the peregrine may reach speeds of 200 mph as it drops toward its prey.
* The Peregrine Falcon is one of the most widespread birds in the world. It is found on all continents except Antarctica, and on many oceanic islands.
* Populations crashed in 1950-1970 because of DDT poisoning; eastern population destroyed completely. It was declared an Endangered Species, and extensive efforts were made to re-establish birds in East, beginning with the work of Tom Cade in 1970 at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, which eventually developed into the Peregrine Fund. The species recovered enough to be removed from the Endangered Species List in 1999.
Source: Cornell Lab of Ornithology
About H.A.W.K.E.
The Humane Association of Wildlife Care and Education (H.A.W.K.E.) is a not-for-profit organization licensed by the State of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The organization does not receive state or federal support and depends mainly on donations from members, fund-raisers and support of the community. Curator Melanie Cain-Stage has been helping wildlife in northeast Florida since 1979. Go to
www.hawkewildlife.org to join online with a credit card or to donate. For information, call 692-1777.
