Those who have the good fortune to have seen Peregrines in their aerial courtship manoeuvres say the display is more thrilling than the rarity of the sighting. ![]() Most are migrants from Eurasia where they congregate in flocks numbering hundreds or thousands of individuals, dispersing as they get to their summer feeding grounds in southern Africa. Whereas falcons tend to swoop, kestrels hover. Kestrels are similar to falcons but are smaller and have less impressive hunting techniques. They’re not warm-weather birds by any means, though, and northern Wisconsin is the southern edge of their winter range.Falcons and kestrels are fast fliers. Still, like most birds, they prefer to avoid the harsh winters there. They like cold, northern habitats and breed in the open tundra above the Arctic Circle. Gyrfalcons are the largest falcons, often reaching sizes greater than most hawks. That makes them faster than any other animal on Earth, and researchers still aren’t entirely certain how they survive such speeds. Peregrines are fast- they can fly at 67mph when pursuing prey and can reach over 200 miles per hour in a dive. They like to perch in high areas while they scan for prey. You’ll find them in open areas near cliff faces- or skyscrapers. Peregrine Falcons are usually found in Wisconsin as they migrate through it, but there are resident populations in the state along the shore of Lake Michigan and along the Mississippi River where it forms the Western border of Wisconsin. Peregrine Falcon image: Mosharaf hossain ce | Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 4.0 ![]() They favor surprise attacks, and often the only way to spot them is to wait until you see a flock of birds suddenly take flight- a merlin may just be the cause.ģ. As a result, merlins are powerful fliers that can outrun and outmaneuver most other birds. While merlins are roughly the same size as the kestrel, they weigh almost three times as much because they’re so heavily muscled. Wisconsin lies just below the southernmost extent of the merlin’s breeding range. Merlins are mostly spotted in Wisconsin as they migrate through to their breeding grounds in Canada or their wintering grounds along the Gulf Coast. They like to nest in cavities in trees, but they’ll find niches and cracks in man-made structures to nest in as well. Sometimes they’ll hover by facing into the wind while flying. They’ll even nest in major urban areas.Īmerican Kestrels can often be spotted perched on fence posts or telephone wires in farm country as they scan for their prey, which includes grasshoppers, lizards, and mice. During those months you’ll find them throughout the state in all kinds of environments. In Wisconsin, however, you’ll only find them during the summer breeding season. In most of their range, kestrels are year-round residents. They may be less numerous when it comes to the number of species than hawks or other birds of prey, but they’re no less impressive. The 4 species of falcons that can be found in Wisconsin are the American Kestrel, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, and the Gyrfalcon. They’re found all over the country and the world, but in this article we’re talking about the falcons found in Wisconsin. ![]() These unique birds often specialize in hunting other birds, and there are falcons on every continent except Antarctica. Falcons are usually smaller than other birds of prey, and they have long pointed wings more suited for speed than for soaring.
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