<
https://www.thegazette.com/environment-nature/peregrine-falcons-once-extremely-endangered-now-stable-in-iowa-skies/>
"A small silhouette dotted the sky in Waverly in 2003. If you squinted at it,
you might’ve been able to make out pointed wings backlit by the sun, powerfully
commanding the air with strong pumps. It hovered over a waterway and cast a
shadow atop some pheasants scattered there.
Richard Woods patiently watched the scene from the ground. He startled the
pheasants, causing them to take flight — and then, the hunt was on for his
peregrine falcon flying above.
The raptor folded its wings and dropped hundreds of feet in seconds. It zeroed
in on a pheasant and swiftly knocked into it midair. The stunned prey bounced
onto the roadway below, where about a dozen observers with the North American
Falconers Association watched in awe.
“Falconry is one of those sports where you can have the highest high or the
lowest low, depending on how things go,” Woods said as he recounted the chase.
“That was a really (high) day.”
With a blow of his whistle and a swing of his lure, Woods summoned his
peregrine falcon back to his gloved hand, ending the demonstration. He bred his
first peregrine in 1992. At the time, he was the only licensed raptor breeder
in Iowa. Now 71, he owns four pairs of peregrines and has bred and sold
hundreds more.
Falconers train birds of prey to hunt wild animals. But years ago, they were
not allowed to own peregrine falcons in the U.S. The once widespread species
was nearly eradicated from North America in the 20th century, reduced to just
39 pairs in the lower 48 states by 1979. Two subspecies were listed as
federally endangered in 1970 before today’s Endangered Species Act even
existed.
More than 50 years later, peregrine falcon populations are flourishing across
the U.S. Even though they’re still listed as a species of special concern in
Iowa, their local populations are stable. Their profound resurgence arose from
decades of collaboration between falconers and researchers, two groups working
toward the same goal: to save the species.
“If you want a success story, they are truly a success story,” said Amy Ries of
the Decorah-based Raptor Resource Project. “It's not all gloom and doom.
There's not nothing that we can do.”"
Via
Future Crunch:
<
https://futurecrunch.com/good-news-abortion-mexico-vaccine-indonesia-conservation-alaska/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
