Stoop-ed FastĪnd the peregrine falcon isn’t just fast. While mainly hunting smaller birds (doves, pigeons, etc.), peregrine falcons have been known to hunt birds up to twice their size! So the gulls that call our city home all year long can easily become prey. During larger migrations, as bigger birds visit Ocean Shores, our shoreline can be covered with several kinds of shorebirds, and that is a perfect environment for this apex predator. And Ocean Shores has a lot of birds on our Washington coast. ![]() But what makes the peregrine falcon so unique is that it is avivorous, that is, it feeds on other birds. We see many of these animals in daily life, while others are relegated to exhibits in our favorite zoos. Carnivores are scattered all across America, and come in all shapes and sizes. There are a lot of predators in the animal kingdom. As you plan to visit Ocean Shores, we are here to let you know where can you find them, and just what they are doing at the Shores. Found atop city skyscrapers around the nation, this predatory bird is also quite comfortable soaring off the coast of Ocean Shores, hunting and resting in spots all across our city. The peregrine falcon is one of nature’s most fascinating predators. And that makes our home an equally attractive destination for our world’s fastest animal, the Peregrine Falcon. These amazing falcons were at one point pushed to the brink of extinction in North America, but thanks to conservation efforts they are making a strong comeback.Surrounded by coastline, Ocean Shores is a perfect home for nesting shorebirds from all across the Western United States. 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 67 mph 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 Michigan as they migrate through it, but there may be intermittent resident populations in the state along the shore of Lake Michigan. ![]() ![]() 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. There does appear to be a breeding population of Merlins in areas of the upper-peninsula of Michigan, so keep your eyes open for them in the spring and summer. Michigan lies just below the southernmost extent of the merlin’s breeding range. Merlins are mostly spotted in Michigan 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 Michigan and north into Canada though, you’ll only find them during the summer breeding season. In much of their North America range, kestrels are year-round residents. The 4 species of falcons that live in Michigan are the American Kestrel, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, and the Gyrfalcon. There are falcons on every continent except Antarctica, meaning they’re found all over the country and the world, but in this article we’re talking about the falcons found in Michigan. These unique birds often specialize in hunting other birds, and are among the fastest birds of prey there are. 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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