Posted by Robyn a few minutes ago!
Hi Everyone, I need your help please...
on behalf of Emily & Frederick Falcon
Long post alert!
Rules of Engagement - I would like feedback please, but ONLY positive, helpful suggestions. If anyone posts a negative comment, it will be deleted.
So, some background information...
Some five years ago, some birds started hanging around the high-rise apartment building that we live in, in Caloundra, Qld, Australia.
I thought they were sea-eagles (we live near the beach). A lot of things in my life get names - cars, cameras, aircraft, so I named the bird Emily Eagle. Only to find out she was in fact, a Peregrine Falcon. But the name stuck. And then when I realised there was a pair, he was named Frederick Falcon to complement.
I never fed them, or did anything to help or hinder them, just observed them, and set-up this Facebook page, as a lot of people seemed interested.
They proceeded to nest outside our kitchen window in a planter box. Over the years, they have produced 3-4 chicks each year.
Our balconies and our neighbours below us do get a lot of poop and debris from the birds (bodies of kill, feathers, fur balls, etc). It is very messy and sticks to the tiles, making it difficult to remove and smells when it rains.
Several owners have complained, but have begrudgingly put up with them.
There are now new owners moved into various apartments in the building and they will not tolerate them at all. A couple of times, the falcons have swooped and attached people on their balconies, which can be quite scary at the speed they come in at.
Last year, the Body Corporate committee voted to cover the planter box outside our kitchen, stopping them from nesting there. They being clever birds, went up to the next level and nested there.
So, the issue has come to a head, with the committee voting unanimously to cover all of our planter boxes.
My concern is that it's 'nature', and we humans have taken away their natural habitat - the cliff faces down at the beach, where a boardwalk has been put in and easily accessible by domestic dogs, cats and humans, making it not safe for them there. So the falcons have gone to a higher point - to a man-made structure that we've provided.
I wrote a letter to the committee asking if they would at least let me explore some possibilities of compromise or alternative solutions, as previously no-one had even asked us about it, just made decisions by those that were the most vocal.
I'm pleased to report that the committee has agreed to hear my perspective and will listen to proposals that could manage this difficult situation between humans and nature in our community.
They are all intelligent people, just frustrated by noise, un-hygienic mess and being attacked, so I do understand.
However, Nature can't stand up for itself, so I'm being their voice.
Australia has the worst record of species extinction in the world: since European settlement, 27 species of mammals have disappeared entirely. 1,500 species of other life forms - birds, reptiles, plants, amphibians - as well as further mammal species, are currently vulnerable or endangered.
Does anyone have any suggestions of how we could more harmoniously live together with the falcons?
Is there a way of training them so they don't attack people wanting to sit out on their balconies and enjoy their view?
Is there a relocation program?
Someone mentioned a falcon program at the university in Orange, NSW, Australia?
Ok, so a reminder, ONLY POSITIVE comments that will help move this forward please. I know this will be upsetting for most of you, but please respect that I am trying to help, and it needs to be done with a voice of reason, to be heard and acted on.
