Richard Moore Outdoor Report: Peregrines in Peril

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (ValleyCentral) — For nearly half a century, biologists have been monitoring the biannual migration of Tundra Peregrine falcons along the South Padre Island shore capturing, banding, taking blood and feather samples, and releasing nearly 11,000 falcons.

Bill Seegar, cofounder of Earth Span, partnering with the Peregrine Fund has been chronicling this remarkable passage of raptors for 48 years in one of the longest-running migration studies on Earth.

“Padre Island is perhaps one of the most significant pieces of real estate for millions of birds, particularly the Tundra peregrine. I imagine the vast majority of Tundra falcons that winter south of here come through Padre Island.”

During fall and winter migrations Tundra peregrines may fly more than 5,000 miles one way from breeding grounds as far north as Greenland to wintering habitat in South America.

Peregrine falcons are an ideal sentinel species as their migration traverses the span of the western hemisphere, and their declining numbers decades ago were an early warning of the danger of the harmful pesticide DDT.

With the banning of DDT in 1972, the falcons made a dramatic recovery and were removed from the endangered species list in 1994.

However, a new peril now threatens the sentinel species.

“We are experiencing what we believe to be a fairly significant drop in the population of Tundra peregrines, which is very likely the result of their exposure to this highly pathogenic avian influenza.”

H5N1, which emerged in poultry in China and Hong Kong in 1996, is the type of avian influenza raising worldwide concern and is thought to be the cause of declines in tundra peregrines migrating through South Padre Island.

While the virus has killed or forced farmers to cull more than half a billion poultry worldwide, no one knows the toll on wild birds although it is likely in the millions.

Biologists have not yet ascertained an exact percentage of the decline in Tundra peregrines. They will continue to monitor the falcons on their nesting grounds and during their fall migration as they return to South Padre Island.