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Peregrine Falcon

Mathew Schwartz

Speed: 240 mph (Maximum, Diving)

Mass: 1.5 – 3.3 lbs (Female), 0.73 – 2.2 lbs (Male)

Conservation status: Least Concern (Population stable)

Scientific name: Falco peregrinus “wandering falcon”

Wingspan: 2.4 – 3.9 ft. (Adult)

Class: Aves

Domain: Eukaryota

Life Span: About 10 years

Habitat: Migrate from South America and the Gulf Coast to the Alaskan tundra each year. With their global range, peregrine falcons can be found in a variety of habitats, including mountains, forests, cities, valleys, deserts, and coastlines. Found on every continent except Antarctica, and on many oceanic islands.

Diet: Birds as large as sandhill cranes, and as small as hummingbirds, have been consumed by falcons. Their typical prey items include shorebirds, ducks, grebes, gulls, pigeons, and songbirds. Peregrine falcons also eat bats, and they occasionally steal prey—including fish and rodents—from other raptors.

Fun Facts

→ One of the fastest animals on the planet.

→ The longest known lifespan of a peregrine falcon was 19 years and 9 months, found in Minnesota in 2012.

→  Peregrines generally mate for life, returning each year to the same area and even the same nest. However, the female will accept a new mate if the first is killed.

→  Have a special twisting structure in their beaks that allows them to breathe while diving at high speeds.

→  Peregrine falcons have absorbed large amounts of DDT (insecticide) from their prey, which has poisoned adults and thinned their egg shells, preventing the offspring from developing. Since the banning of DDT in the 1970s, peregrine falcons have steadily increased in numbers and are no longer federally listed on the endangered species list.

Why are they important?

→ Indicator species: The health of their population can indicate the health of the environment

→ Pest control: They kill millions of insects and animals that destroy crops

→ Ecosystem regulation: They help control the populations of their prey, such as doves, ducks, and ptarmigan

→ Safety: Trained peregrine falcons are sometimes flown at airports to scare away birds that could collide with planes 

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Horned Grebe

Mathew Schwartz

Other names: Slavonian grebe

Scientific name: Podiceps auritus

Mass: 0.66 – 1.3 lbs 

Conservation status: Least Concern (Population decreasing) 

Family: Podicipedidae

Order: Podicipediformes

Habitat: Breed on small, shallow, freshwater ponds with emergent vegetation such as rushes, sedges, and reeds. They also use artificial ponds such as industrial borrow pits that have filled with water, so long as some emergent vegetation is present.

Diet: Small fish, salamanders, frogs and tadpoles, crayfish, leeches, amphipods (tiny crustaceans), and a great variety of aquatic and aerial insects and their larvae.

Fun Facts

→ As in many grebe species, Horned Grebe frequently ride on their parents' backs, nestled in between their wings. The chicks may even go underwater with their parents during dives.

→ The Horned Grebe regularly eats some of its own feathers, enough that its stomach usually contains a matted plug of them. This plug may function as a filter or may hold fish bones in the stomach until they can be digested. The parents even feed feathers to their chicks to get the plug started early.

→ A horned grebe has full control of the feathery “horns” on the sides of its head and can raise or lower them at will.

→ Sleeping horned grebes tuck one foot up and use the other to navigate in the water. This causes them to lean to one side.

→ The oldest wild horned grebe on record was approximately 5 years and 11 months old.

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Rhinoceros auklet

Mathew Schwartz

The rhinoceros auklet is a seabird and a close relative of the puffins. It is the only extant species of the genus Cerorhinca. Given its close relationship with the puffins, the common name rhinoceros puffin has been proposed for the species.

Other Names: Unicorn Puffin

Scientific name: Cerorhinca monocerata

Class: Aves

Family: Alcidae

Genus: Cerorhinca

Order: Charadriiformes

Habitat: Nest on islands in the North Pacific, in colonies ranging from a few pairs to thousands of pairs. These islands may be forested or covered only in grasses, and they often have dense cover of salmonberry, willow, rose, or salal.The rhinoceros auklet is common in Pacific waters from southeastern Alaska to Washington, and can be seen farther south during the nonbreeding season.

Diet: Primarily small, schooling fish or zooplankton. They also consume some squid and invertabrates.

Fun Facts

→ The rhinoceros auklet's horn is part of its bill and is responsible for its name. The horn is fluorescent, appearing grayish to humans but brightly colored to animals that can see ultraviolet. This feature may help rhinoceros auklets see each other underwater when foraging or at night at their breeding colonies. The horn grows annually in early spring and is shed in late summer.

→ The rhinoceros auklet is monogamous, and although they migrate across similar areas during the non-breeding season, pair-mates migrate separately.

→ The rhinoceros auklet dives into the water and swims with their wings underwater to catch fish.

Why are they important?

→ Nesting behaviors have an impact on the terrestrial ecosystems of their breeding islands. The burrows they dig contribute to soil aeration, and their guano enriches the soil, leading to healthier island vegetation. 

→ They are predators that play an important role in the health of marine ecosystems. They help control the populations of fish and squid they eat, which contributes to a balanced ecosystem. They also contribute to nutrient cycling.