Essays
Moseying: Exploring the Natural World
Observing a Peregrine Falcon on the Cliffs of Downtown Midland
January 18, 2006
From the upper stories of the tallest buildings of Midland a person can see the grid of streets, the urban forest stretching west and north, and the sweep of Interstate 20 to the south. It is a shame that there is not a restaurant or another public gathering place at the top of one of the buildings – for it allows a person to see their town with a comprehensive eye. Besides that, it sure is pretty at night!
The tall buildings are a unique habitat for birds whose predator-prey dynamics are spectacular. “I believe there are six separate flocks of pigeons downtown,” Janet Hall of Fasken Oil and Ranch told me. She and husband Russell raise pigeons at home. “I notice specific birds by their color because Russell keeps detailed records for breeding purposes. Certain pigeons stay in certain areas or with specific other birds. When I arrive at work in the morning I look out of the window for a minute – just checking on them.”
“I don’t watch out the window all day long, but because I am familiar with our birds, I notice when the pigeons downtown become disturbed. When a flock flies together in tighter formation, or flies a little faster, or circles higher and higher, I know a hawk is hunting. I never want to have a hawk get one of our birds at home, but downtown it does not bother me, and it fascinates me.”
“I have never seen a hawk actually catch a pigeon, but I want to. I have seen hawks carrying pigeons, and have seen hawks eating pigeons. It is interesting to figure out different tactics the hawks use.” Most hawks visit the “cliffs” of downtown Midland from October to April, but in at least one year one species, the Kestrel, nested downtown. Kestrels are small colorful falcons that hunt insects and small birds. In the winter Red-tail Hawks are often seen, and in most years a Prairie Falcon takes up winter residence.
This year, however, a Peregrine Falcon has been living downtown for over a month. In early December former Mayor of Midland Ed Magruder called the Sibley Nature Center about a hawk that had perched on the window ledge outside of his office in the Wilco Building. “I am pretty sure it is a Peregrine, but I want to make sure.” We discussed fieldmarks for a few minutes, and he promised to take some photographs. I promised to pass the word to the Midland Naturalists for further verification of his identification. A week later Mr. Magruder arrived at the Sibley Center with photographs in hand, and it was indeed a Peregrine Falcon.
Peregrine Falcons were an endangered species. As a predator at the top of the food chain, residue from the pesticide DDT built up in the tissues of Peregrine Falcons, and eventually contaminated birds produced thin-shelled eggs and nesting success plummeted. With the banning of DDT, however, and with a very concerted effort to raise and release Peregrines back into the wild, the species has become much more common in modern times. Some of the captive raised Peregrines were even released in major urban areas because of their plentiful pigeon populations. Tall buildings are the same as cliffs to them, which is their preferred nesting habitat.
On Saturday, December 31st the Midland Naturalists (Midnats) did Midland’s Audubon Christmas Bird Census. Mr. Magruder drove over from his residence in Odessa to make sure the bird was spotted. One of the Midnat field parties also saw the bird. In the past 20 years Peregrine Falcons have been recorded only in 5 of those years on the Midland Christmas Counts – normally Peregrines speed on south, sometimes as far as South America, to spend the winter. With this year’s mild winter, this Peregrine has lingered longer than normal.
Ms. Hall watched an altercation between the Peregrine and another hawk. “Last week I spotted a dead pigeon on top of the building to the north of ours. That puzzled me – was it dead from disease, age – or something else? A few minutes later I looked out and a Cooper’s Hawk was plucking the pigeon, letting the feathers float away on the breeze. He ripped off a wing and dropped it over the side of the building and it spiraled to the ground. As I watched, the Cooper’s hunched over the pigeon protectively, because suddenly the Peregrine came zipping by at a high rate of speed, as if it wanted to take the pigeon away from the Cooper’s Hawk. The Cooper’s refused to give up possession, and finally the Peregrine left.”
Peregrine Falcons kill their prey by slamming into them with closed talons and breaking the prey’s neck, and then circle below and catch it as it falls to the ground. In this incident, the Peregrine may have killed the pigeon and the Cooper’s had just happened to be present and be able to reach the dead bird before the Peregrine.
“I love to watch the Peregrine hunt,” Ms. Hall continued. “He will drop down between the buildings and circle around to suddenly pop up to a rooftop where the pigeons are resting. He flies around getting each flock of pigeons agitated. Sometimes he will fly slow, as if not interested in the pigeons, trying to fool them into relaxing. He seems to pick out pigeons of different colors to hunt. This fall I had been keeping track of a “recessive red” pigeon, but it is gone now.”
“A year or two ago I watched two courting Red-tailed Hawks swoop together, lock their talons together and then perform a roll. Hawks are cool and they do such amazing things! I am always a little sad when summer comes along and the buildings downtown become a turkey vulture roost. Though they are graceful fliers, they are not spectacular aerialists.”
I had not been aware of the incredible aerial community until my wife Deborah started working downtown and began telling me what she saw. Over the years other folks have called about the hawks, but this year’s spectacular visitor has made it a year to remember. Thank you, Ms. Hall and Mr. Magruder, for sharing your stories.