[Animals] The 'boom' of climbing threatens the peregrine falcon, a protected species

[Draeno]

 

The peregrine falcon, like other birds of prey, is dedicated to looking for gaps and holes in the mountain walls to establish its nest. It is an important choice because both the female and the male will spend at least two months prowling and hunting in the surroundings of the chosen area. When the couple has already decided where they will build the house for their future chicks, it is time for laying and incubation.

And this is a crucial moment. "Any inconvenience, no matter how small, can take away the calf," warns Marco Antonio Barba, a naturalist and ringer authorized by the Institut Català d'Ornitologia (ICO). This is what has happened in a nest in Baix Llobregat. The presence of climbers climbing an unauthorized rocky area scared away a pair of pilgrims who decided to abandon the nest.

 

 

Barba has met right in front of this failed nest with three rural agents to recover the abandoned eggs and try to find out exactly when the birds gave up breeding. Thus, an investigation could be launched and discover who broke a protective tape and then failed to comply with what an information poster dictated.

"The fever to open up new climbing routes causes a lot of damage", comments Carles Barés, coordinator of the Mountain Support Group of the Corps of Rural Agents of the Generalitat. The restrictions are "surgical", only at points where there is evidence of the existence of nests. In addition, they last a short time: "During the rest of the months, when it is not the breeding season, there are no limitations and you can climb calmly. You just have to comply with the regulations, on the web you can check which walls are allowed and which are not" .

 

https://www.elperiodico.com/es/sociedad/20230429/escalada-amenaza-halcon-peregrino-pajaros-anillamiento-rapaces-86629172