The Wildlife Center of Virginia, the nation’s leading teaching and research hospital for native wildlife, will release a Peregrine Falcon on Tuesday, December 22 at 1 p.m. at the Grandview Nature Preserve in Hampton.  The falcon will be released by Ed Clark, President and Co-Founder of the Wildlife Center.     [Links to video and photographs of the release are posted below]. 

The peregrine is regarded as the fastest animal on earth.  The speed of a diving peregrine has been measured at 217 miles per hour.

The Peregrine Falcon is a native species to Virginia, once nesting in the Allegheny and Blue Ridge Mountains.  By the early 1960s, the falcon was believed to be extinct as a breeding species in Virginia and all areas east of the Mississippi River – a decline linked to the widespread use of DDT and other chemicals.  A program of peregrine reintroduction began in Virginia in 1978.  There are now about 20 known breeding pairs of peregrines in Virginia – in the Hampton Roads and Richmond areas and on the Eastern Shore.  All known nesting sites are on man-made structures – bridges, downtown office buildings, and towers erected specifically for peregrines.

Nicole Koiner, Center Front-Desk Coordinator, Admitting Peregrine Falcon

The Peregrine Falcon to be released on Tuesday is likely a southbound migrant – most probably from New England, Canada, or even Greenland.  The bird was found on November 15 near Quinby in Accomack County, Virginia.  The bird was stabilized by wildlife rehabilitators Kathy Cummings and Lisa Barlow and admitted to the Wildlife Center on November 18.  Upon admission, Center veterinarians found that the bird was thin, had an injury to its right eye, and was missing some feathers on its left wing.  The falcon received pain medication, anti-inflammatories, and antibiotics and was treated with eye drops. 

The peregrine was moved to one of the Center’s outdoor flight pens on November 24.  Although the falcon initially did not fly well, he showed gradual improvement.  On December 8, Wildlife Center staff for the first time exercised the bird through the use of a creance – a long monofilament, heavy fishing line that allows a bird to be tethered during flight [creancing has been used by falconers for centuries].   Through every-other-day creancing, the falcon has regained stamina, has demonstrated that it can now fly, and is ready for return to the wild. 

The name “peregrine” derives from the Latin word for “wanderer”.  Some falcons that nest in the tundra of northern Canada winter in South America and travel more than 15,000 miles in a single year.  

Every year, about 2,500 animals – ranging from common species like squirrels and rabbits to Peregrine Falcons and Bald Eagles – are brought to the Wildlife Center for care.  Since its founding in 1982, the nonprofit Center has cared for more than 53,000 wild animals, representing 200 species of birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians.  The Center’s public education programs share insights gained through the care of injured and orphaned wild animals, in hopes of reducing human damage to wildlife.  The Center trains veterinary and conservation professionals from all over the world and is actively involved in comprehensive wildlife health studies and the surveillance of emerging diseases.

• Video of the December 22 release:  Part I and Part II
• Several members of the Norfolk Eagles Support Team International [NESTI] attended the December 22 release and have posted their photographs on the NESTI Forum.