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Excerpts Adapted from the Birds of Saskatchewan:

The Prairie Falcon has one of the more complex seasonal distributions of any bird in Saskatchewan (Smith 1996). It nests in dry, desert-like areas wherever cliff faces occur from south-central British Columbia, southern Alberta, and southern Saskatchewan south through the western US to Baja California and central Mexico. During the winter it disperses east to the eastern edge of the Great Plains (Steenhof 1998).

The Prairie Falcon breeds in cavities and on ledges of earthen cliffs, and forages over river breaks as well as pastures and grasslands in surrounding upland. In fall and winter it disperses widely to all types of habitats- agricultural lands, lakes and marshes, towns and villages.

Between 250 and 500 pairs of Prairie Falcons were estimated breeding in Canada in the 1900s (Kirk and Banasch 1996). In Saskatchewan, the population has remained stable with an estimated 25-50 breeding pairs (Paton 2002) mostly along the South Saskatchewan River, the Battle Creek and Frenchman River drainages, and the Big Muddy Valley. "As late summer approaches, adults and young disperse, and it becomes an uncommon summer visitant throughout the southwest. With the arrival of fall, the species becomes even more widespread but still uncommon as it pursues waterbirds along the shores of lakes well into the Parklands? (Smith 1996).

Original text by Marc J. Bechard. Text adapted by Daniel J. Sawatzky

Read more about the Prairie Falcon in the Birds of Saskatchewan here.

LeeAnn M. Latremouille

Recommended citation: Latremouille, L. M. 2025. Prairie Falcon in Latremouille, L. M., S. L. Van Wilgenburg, C. B. Jardine, D. Lepage, A. R. Couturier, D. Evans, D. Iles, and K. L. Drake (eds.). 2025. The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Saskatchewan, 2017-2021. Birds Canada. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan https://sk.birdatlas.ca/accounts/speciesaccount.jsp?sp=PRFA&lang=en [09 Nov 2025]