Peregrine Falcon

El Halcón Peregrino ha sido el ave más celebrada en la cetrería durante milenios. En la Europa medieval, los Peregrinos eran volados por príncipes y nobles, y se montaban elaboradas expediciones para tomar pichones de eyries remotos en acantilados. La especie sufrió una caída catastrófica de población a mediados del siglo XX debido al DDT, que causaba adelgazamiento de las cáscaras de huevo. Los cetreros jugaron un papel central en el esfuerzo de recuperación, con The Peregrine Fund—fundado por el cetrero Tom Cade—criando y liberando miles de aves. Este éxito de conservación restauró a los Peregrinos en la cetrería, y hoy las aves criadas en cautividad están nuevamente disponibles para cetreros cualificados.

The Peregrine Mystique

No bird captures the public imagination quite like the Peregrine Falcon. When scientists finally measured their diving speed at over 240 mph, it confirmed what falconers had observed for centuries: these are the supreme aerial predators.

Peregrines nearly went extinct in North America due to DDT pesticide use, but made a remarkable comeback thanks to captive breeding programs—many run by falconers. Today, they’re once again available for falconry, though they remain demanding birds that reward experience and skill.

The Stoop

The peregrine’s signature move is the “stoop”—a high-speed dive from altitude onto flying prey. The falcon climbs high (sometimes 1,000+ feet), spots quarry below, and plummets earthward, striking the prey in a burst of feathers.

Watching a good peregrine stoop is one of falconry’s transcendent experiences. It’s also what makes this form of hunting so demanding: you need vast open spaces, suitable quarry, and a falcon trained to “wait on” at height.

Waiting On

“Waiting on” describes the behavior of a trained falcon circling high overhead, waiting for the falconer to flush quarry below. Training a falcon to wait on at proper height—and stay there—is one of longwing falconry’s great challenges.

• The falcon must climb to height (ideally 400-1000+ feet)
• It must stay there, circling, while you find and flush game
• When quarry flushes, the falcon must commit to the stoop
• All of this requires extensive training and appropriate terrain

Hunting Style

Peregrines are bird specialists. In falconry, they’re typically flown at:

Un día de cetrería con Peregrino es una gran orquestación entre halcón, cetrero y frecuentemente un perro de muestra. El cetrero llega a una pradera abierta o terreno agrícola, descaperota al halcón y lo lanza. El Peregrino asciende en círculos cada vez más amplios, ganando altitud hasta ser un punto contra el cielo, esperando cientos de pies por encima. Abajo, el cetrero trabaja con un pointer entrenado para localizar aves de caza ocultas. Cuando el perro se fija en muestra y el halcón está posicionado arriba, el cetrero levanta la presa. El Peregrino se pliega en un picado impresionante—un descenso casi vertical a velocidades superiores a 320 kilómetros por hora. Es la cetrería en su máxima expresión.

Terrain Requirements

This is where many aspiring longwing falconers hit reality: you need space.

• Open country: Peregrines need room to stoop. Trees and power lines are dangerous.
• Game birds: You need access to huntable populations of appropriate quarry.
• Hundreds of acres: A single flight might cover significant ground.
• Pointing dogs: Most peregrine falconry uses dogs to find and flush game.

If you live in a forested or suburban area, peregrines may not be practical. This is a form of falconry best suited to prairies, plains, and open agricultural land.

Temperament

Peregrines are intense, focused predators. Unlike the more tractable Harris’s Hawk, they maintain an edge—a wildness—that many falconers find compelling.

• Highly food-motivated but not “friendly” in the way Harris’s Hawks can be
• Require consistent, patient handling to maintain training
• Can become “sticky” (reluctant to leave the fist) or “rangy” (flying too far) if mismanaged
• Generally less tolerant of handling errors than buteos

Weight Management

Peregrines are more sensitive to weight than Red-tails or Harris’s Hawks. The window between “too fat to fly well” and “too thin to fly safely” is narrower.

Acquisition

Peregrines for falconry typically come from:

• Captive breeders: $1,500-5,000+ depending on subspecies and lineage
• Wild take: Legal in some states with appropriate permits; heavily regulated
• Hybrids: Peregrine × Gyrfalcon and other crosses are popular (different characteristics)

El cuidado del Peregrino combina precisión con atención. El pesaje diario es esencial, ya que estos halcones tienen ventanas de peso más ajustadas que los buteos. El cetrero inspecciona los pies en busca de calor o hinchazón, revisa la cera y narinas en busca de secreción, y examina las plumas de vuelo en busca de daño. Los Peregrinos necesitan vuelos de acondicionamiento regulares entre cacerías para mantener su condición física y su comportamiento de espera—muchos cetreros usan un señuelo balanceado para simular presas y aumentar la altura del halcón. La muda debe estar limpia, seca y bien ventilada, con posaderos adecuados para prevenir pododermatitis. La dieta suele incluir codorniz, paloma u otra carne de ave, porcionada cuidadosamente para mantener el peso de caza.

Is a Peregrine Right for You?

Be honest with yourself:

• Do you have access to hundreds of acres of open country with game birds?
• Can you hunt multiple times per week during season?
• Do you have (or can you get) a trained pointing dog?
• Have you successfully flown other species first?
• Are you prepared for a steeper learning curve and narrower margins?

If you answered yes to all of these, a peregrine might be your next step. If not, consider getting the experience first. Many successful longwing falconers spent years with buteos before transitioning.

The Bottom Line

Peregrine falconry represents the pinnacle of the art for many practitioners. The combination of speed, beauty, and the challenge of coordinating falcon, dog, and falconer creates experiences unlike anything else in hunting.

But it’s not for everyone, and it’s definitely not for beginners. Earn your way there through experience with more forgiving species, and you’ll appreciate the peregrine all the more.