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Individual diet specialization is known to occur in populations of generalist predators, where specific individuals develop specialist feeding strategies. Diet specialization has been reported in many raptor species and it may be an important driver of intraspecific population structure. Here, we quantify the diet of Peregrine Falcons Falco peregrinus from five breeding territories on an island determined from prey remains collected over four breeding seasons. Three prey species accounted for 69.8% of total prey frequency, with Manx Shearwater Puffinus puffinus being the primary prey accounting for 47.3% by frequency and 40.8% by biomass. European Herring Gull Larus argentatus was the second most important prey species by frequency (13.8%) and biomass (29.8%) followed by Feral Pigeon Columba livia (frequency: 8.7%, biomass: 7.0%). Prey frequency on specific prey groups varied substantially between breeding pairs and months. Two pairs specialized on Manx Shearwater, one pair specialized on Herring Gull and Manx Shearwater, with the remaining two pairs having a relatively generalist diet of Manx Shearwaters, Feral Pigeon and small passerines. Prey frequency on Manx Shearwaters increased throughout the breeding season with a peak in total diet frequency of 63.8% in July, with a concurrent decrease in Herring Gull prey frequency. Higher percentage of Manx Shearwater in the diet explained 87% of the variation in a narrower dietary breadth for the Peregrine pairs. Our results suggest individual diet specialization may be one of multiple factors important for understanding population density in insular raptor populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about the post-natal dispersal of Peregrines Falco peregrinus from lowland areas of England. We used the resighting and recovery data from 66 Peregrine nestlings (34 females, 32 males) colour-ringed in the southwest of England to outline their reported dispersal movements. Our results revealed that Peregrines, in particular females, disperse in a north-northeasterly direction, with females being resighted at greater distances than males. Males were resighted a mean of 44 km from their natal site and females significantly further (mean 117 km). Despite more recent local and regional declines in some areas of their UK range, Peregrines have been increasing at a national level in England and extending their breeding range into new areas. Our results indicate that Peregrines have the potential to continue occupying suitable vacant habitats across the UK. Dispersing birds from the southwest of England are potentially helping to increase the breeding population of Peregrines in other areas where they have been absent or scarce for many years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]