From the Birds of Prey series, I thought today I'd feature yet another exciting set of birds that inhabit the state of Arizona. Listed as Least Concern on the Conservation Status of birds, these Falcons can be seen flying around the Tucson area.
Over the holiday season, my brother Adam and I had a chat about Falcons in Wisconsin. He works at a Nuclear Power Plant on protected land. He says that during several security checks, they've found bird carcasses on the ground. They know it's a falcon because they eat everything except the head of their prey. While that's pretty disgusting, it's also pretty cool info.
Calls, heard mostly near the nest, are described as repetitive
kree kree kree…,
kik kik kik…, and the like, similar to the Peregrine's but higher-pitched. Experts can separate a distant Prairie Falcon from a Peregrine (generally the only similar species in its range) by its shape and flight style. The Prairie Falcon has a longer tail in proportion to its size; a more tubular, less stocky body; and the wing joint farther from the body. Its wingbeats are described as strong and shallow like the Peregrine's and having the same quick cadence, but stiffer and more mechanical.
If you'd like to see these birds, you need to be at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum by 10 AM because that's when they fly. The Raptor Free Flights run until April 15th. For information, check out the
Arizona Sonora Desert Museum website. More tomorrow....
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