Predation of Black-legged Kittiwake Chicks Rissa tridactyla by a Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus: Insights from Time-lapse Cameras

We directly recorded predation of Black-legged Kittiwake chicks (Rissa tridactyla) by a Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) using a remote time-lapse camera. Between 20 July 2013 and 23 July 2013, all four nests in the camera's field of view failed. A peregrine was recorded depredating chicks in two of these four nests. Periods of adult desertion at the other two nests strongly suggests chicks in these nests were depredated as well. Predation happened at night, a rarely documented behavior of the peregrine. Along with giving insights into peregrine hunting behavior, the use of remote cameras allows us to determine nest fate. Determining sources of chick mortality is invaluable for identifying causes of variability in productivity rates of colonial breeding birds.