RRP Blog

2008-04-16T20:16:00.000-07:00

Mississippi River Peregrine Falcons: Great News for Cliff Nesting Falcons

Tuesdays must be the lucky day to find falcons on the river cliffs. On 4/8/08 we located two adult falcons defending Pepin Heights cliff just south of Lake City, MN. On 4/15/08, I spent the entire day surveying river cliffs and was most pleased to find two adult falcons defending a small cliff just north of the town of Minneiska, MN.

It appears that falcons are now taking to smaller or secondary cliffs. However, the one constant is that all cliffs with falcons tower directly over open water. Will this change when all cliffs directly facing water are occupied?

The following is a list of cliff sites with falcons on territory.

West Bluff near Maiden Rock, WI: Historic eyrie with falcons back for the third time.
Maiden Rock: The matriarch of river cliffs. Purchased and managed by the West Wisconsin Land Trust.
Maassen’s Bluff: Four miles north of Alma, WI.
12 Mile Bluff: On the south end of the town of Alma, WI.
Castle Rock: Across the river from Winona, MN.
Lynxville, WI cliffs: The falcons are back on Larson’s Bluff.
Lock and Dam 9: This is the third year for this small cliff to attract falcons. It’s interesting to note that in 2006 there was an adult male paired with an immature female. 2007 an adult male paired with an immature female. 2008 adult female, immature male.
Fountain City: Two adults taking to the nest box mounted to the cliff in 2006.
John Latsch: Adult falcons present. Bandings carried out by Raptor Center.
Queen’s Bluff: South of Winona, MN Bandings carried out by Raptor Center.
Homer cliff near Homer, MN: Two adult falcons defending
Great Spirit Bluff: South of Dresbach, MN.
Leo’s Bluff, Waukon Jnct, IA: The two adult falcons at this cliff have moved to a new cliff just upstream from Leo’s Bluff. This is the third time the falcons have moved upstream. Dan Berger jokes that this is the result of global warming.
Pepin Heights 1: We confirmed falcons on this cliff on 4/8/08. On 4/15/08 I saw them carry out a food transfer. The winds were too strong to attempt to read bands on the top of the cliff. I even got a creepy feeling while standing on the top of this bluff being buffeted by 30+ winds.
Hussen’s Bluff near Minneiska, MN: I confirmed two adult falcons on this small cliff yesterday morning. I met with the land owner who is excited about his falcons.

Cliffs that have had some falcon activity

Twin Bluffs: Near Nelson, WI. Two falcons were present on early visits to the cliff but on 4/8/08 no falcons were observed. This same day, two falcons were observed at the Wabasha Bridge. The owners of this cliff have asked us to install a nest box on the cliff wall.
Trempealeau, WI: Falcons were observed several times in 2007. We have not seen falcon activity as of this writing in 2008.
Brownsville, MN: There are two cliffs south of Brownville that have in past years attracted single falcons.
Alma Marina cliff: This is a historic cliff nest site for the peregrine falcons. Dan Berger working with Fred and Fran Hamerstrom trapped an adult female falcon below this cliff in the early 50’s. We’ve seen falcons at this cliff several times over the years however, last year and, this year, Great Horned Owls are nesting in the one prominent eyrie.
Goose Island cliff: We have had falcons visit this cliff off and on over the last few years. The land owner who lives near the base of this cliff will let us know if falcons are seen once again.
Hastings cliff: Falcons have nested in the nest box mounted to the small cliff and also on a nearby bridge. I have not heard what site the Hasting falcons are using this season.

Bob Anderson
Director, Raptor Resource Project

2008-03-19T21:26:00.000-07:00

First Mississippi River falcon survey for 2008

On Sunday March 16th, I set off on my first river falcon survey for the season. I began my search at Leo’s Bluff near Waukon Junction, IA. Neil Rettig reported seeing one falcon up on the cliff while driving by on 3/13/08. I was a tad disappointed to begin this first of many surveys without seeing a falcon at this lovely cliff. I decided to make a u-turn and head back downstream to Nobles Island, where I was pleased to see an adult falcon flying over Paint Rock cliff, heading directly to Leo’s Bluff. I then felt better beginning my search for falcons.

I was able to locate one adult male falcon on the cliff behind the Lansing power plant. We blocked off the front of the nest box up on the stack last season as there was construction taking place through all of the month of May. The falcons moved back over to their favored ledge on the cliff and once again, the eggs were eaten by raccoons. I’m hoping we can make the stack nest box available for the 2008 nesting season, giving us time to figure out some way to block raccoons from this one ledge the falcons favor.

I found two adult falcons at Queen’s Bluff.

No sign of falcons at the Homer cliff.

I crossed the river at Winona, MN and was pleased to quickly locate two adult falcons at Castle Rock.

No sign of falcons at the Fountain City cliffs.

I was pleased to find two adult falcons at 12 Mile Bluff. This cliff is adjacent to the Alma power plant, where the falcons have bounced back and forth from the stack nest box to this cliff. Where will they nest this year?

I spent quite a bit of time searching the face of the Alma Marina cliff with no luck. I hope this will be the year for falcons to return to this historic nest site.

I was pleased to discover two adult falcons strafing an immature falcon that made the mistake of flying past the face of Maassen’s Bluff. I noticed that the driveway to our local falcon enthusiast, Gary Grunwald, was still blocked for the season. Usually, Gary returns to his upper Mississippi home around the same time the falcons do. I hope all is well for our friend and Maassen’s Bluff falcon observer.

I was pleased to locate an adult falcon flying back and forth across the faces of Twin Bluffs near Nelson, WI. I have notified the owners of this cliff of my observation and know they will be pleased. (Amy's Note: I hear there are rattlesnakes on this cliff. I hope I get to see one ! The landowners here are doing a great job of preserving their cliff top.)

I spent about ten minutes at Maiden Rock cliff before locating an adult male falcon perched on a dead cedar snag. I had a string of cars behind me as I passed West Bluff and decided to pass on stopping, knowing that the owners of this cliff will inform us when falcons appear.

As I drove through the town of Red Wing, MN, I could easily see an adult falcon perched in the front of the Red Wing Grain falcon nest box. We installed a camera at this nest box last year during the banding event. Plant personnel are in the process of installing an Axis server, so we should soon have this nest site linked to the RRP bird cam page.

I met with Dan Orr at the Xcel Energy SHERCO plant on Monday morning with hopes to mount the replacement nest box, camera, and microphone. However, an outage at the plant along with poor weather forced us to cancel this installation. Dan will see that the nest box and camera equipment gets installed this week.

We are so very fortunate to have many friends and falcon enthusiasts helping us follow the cliff nest sites along the big river. We were pleased with the new cliff nest sites that came on line in 2007. I hope all of these cliff sites are active once again this season and, am willing a few more to come on line.

Bob Anderson

2007-07-23T21:37:00.000-07:00

Some Things I Learned About Falcons
I spent more time handling falcons this year than I ever have before. I've always been a little worried about it - suppose I hurt a falcon? Drop a baby? Damage some feathers? However, babies needed to be held this year, and I was there to do it. I thought I'd pass along some of my experience, starting with...

Is it a Boy or a Girl?
Female peregrines are bigger than male peregrines. However, size alone may not be enough to determine sex. We banded four babies in Duluth this spring - three larger and one quite small. All had nice crops and white down, with the tips of a few tail and juvenile feathers just starting to show on the larger falcons. The smallest falcon had no juvenile feathers, thinner down, and preferred to lay rather than sit or stand. Since the only obvious size difference was due to age, not gender, how could we determine sex?

Bob had Rob and I line the three larger falcons up. He told us to listen to the falcons and look at tarsus and foot size. The females have deeper, raspier voices, thicker tarsuses, and larger feet. Take a look at the photograph. Using feet and tarsus thickness alone, who do you think is a girl? Rob and I identified the genders seperately and than conferred with Bob. Fortunately, we'd all reached the same conclusion: three girls and one boy.

Getting the gender right isn't just important for recordkeeping reasons. Since females do have thicker legs than males, male bands tend to be too snug for them. The picture to the right is Husker, a Woodman Tower falcon from Nebraska. Husker was accidentally banded as a male. We trapped her in 2006 to determine whether or not her tight bands had caused any injury or leg deformation. They hadn't. However, Bob suggested it was best to band the very few truly questionable falcons (and there are very few) as females to avoid the situation.

How Do I Hold A Falcon?
Some people seem to have a knack for holding baby falcons. Then there are those of us who always seem to end up at least a little bloody - or, even worse, who loose control of the foot just as the bander reaches for a leg. Whoops! Sorry about that scratch! Baby talons are little, but still sharp enough to draw blood. And it seems like every clutch has at least one feisty falcon who is ready to take on the world with his or her feet.

The drawing above shows how to correctly hold a young falcon. You have to hold the falcon snugly, so it can't get its wings loose or flap around uncontrollably. You need to avoid damaging blood feathers: these feathers, which are still growing, are rooted more deeply than the feathers of adults. Damage will delay their growth and the young falcon’s flight. However, you also have to be careful not to hold the falcon too snugly, since it is possible to compress the falcon's chest, suffocating it.

I spent an awful lot of time worrying about how I was holding baby falcons. Was it too tight? Was it too loose? How upset would Bob/Rob/Dave be if they got nailed again? I think they are easiest to handle at 18-23 days. Younger than that, and they are almost too small. Older than that, and they can get real feisty!

Oh, and we don't wear gloves since it is easier to feel and react to the young falcon without them.

2007-07-02T21:40:00.000-07:00

Great River Energy Falcons

I'm not sure what made Boy Scout Daniel Sundberg decide to build a falcon nestbox for his Eagle Scout project, but I'm glad he did! The box was installed on Great River Energy's Elk River Plant in early 2006. Falcons adopted it in early 2007, hatching three young.

Thanks, Daniel!

The adult female at this site has kind of an interesting history. Mom 30/B is from Cleveland, Ohio. She was admitted to the Raptor Center on 10/08/2002 with head trauma. They banded her, patched her up, and released her in Rochester, Minnesota, on 10/17/2002. She briefly showed up at Xcel Energy's Sherco plant in Becker, Minnesota, where she laid eggs in the detritus of a nestbox that had earlier been destroyed by lightning. Unfortunately, a storm washed the gravel and eggs from the catwalk. The falcon disappeared, only to show up at the GRE nestbox not long after.

Brenda Beauchaine, the plant's administrative assistant, is a big fan of the falcons! She pointed out the female's left foot. It was missing two left talons - she had stumps - and another was crooked up at an odd angle. Brenda told us she thought that the falcon had been injured not long before she came to the plant, since she had initially spent a lot of time worrying at her foot. Whatever had happened, it didn't seem to affect her ability to care for her young. There were three healthy babies in the nest.

The nestbox

You can see the nest box location above - it's inside the black box. Most of our power plant sites are accessed via an elevator, a ladder, or some combination of the two. But at GRE, we got a lift in a bucket truck!

Bob in the bucket truck.

It was a piece of cake to get the babies - no huffing and puffing up stairs and no elevators (It is true - one came off the top of the track once. But it didn't happen anywhere we band.) The adults here were not particularly aggressive, a nice change after taking on Nora at Blackdog earlier in the day. The female flew around and called, while the male was nowhere to be seen. Bob got the babies, put them in the sky kennel, and came on down for banding. Daniel was a little hesitant about holding the young falcons - he was afraid he would hurt them - but seemed to quickly overcome his trepidation.

Daniel with young falcon.

The falcons were:

Female 1687-02042 K/54 Jennie
Male 2206-72225 D/59 Dougie
Male 2206-72226 D/60 Falcor

The 1687 and 2206 numbers are federal Fish and Wildlife Service band numbers. The K/ and D/ numbers are color band numbers that allow observers to quickly identify the falcons. Daniel picked the names Jennie and Dougie - I believe they were named after his siblings (what a great brother!) - and GRE picked Falcor.

Once the young falcons were banded, Rob put them back. Daniel may have thought his part in the project was over with - after all, he'd built a great nestbox - but on the way out, I heard Dan Orr from Xcel talking with Daniel and his dad Mark about the possibility of Daniel's troop building more nestboxes. Among other things, Sherco could use a replacement.

All in all, it was a very pleasant day. A big thanks to Daniel, Brenda, and everyone else at GRE for your support of, and enthusiasm for, the falcons.

Amy Ries

2007-06-20T20:33:00.000-07:00

Dot’s 2007 Summer Vacation
Banding with the RRP – June 10/15, 2007

Click here to view Dot's photo galleries.

6/9 Nora arrived in her new truck. She stayed at my house for a couple of nights on her way to Texas. She came to the bandings at West Bluff and Maiden Rock on the 10th.

6/10 West Bluff Got an early start to meet up at the home of Dan and Sheila, the West Bluff property owners who have graciously invited us for breakfast before the banding. The delicious coffee, breads, fresh fruit and juice powered us for the banding. The eyrie was quickly located; Dave and Rob retrieved the four eyasses that were brought up for banding. There were three females and one male – two were named after our hosts. After the eyasses were safely returned and we went back to the house, Dan and Sheila provided more refreshments. Nora took some group photos, and then we were on our way to Maiden Rock.

6/10 Maiden Rock A Wisconsin Public TV crew was waiting in the parking area. Doug and Gary were also waiting. We drove the access road across the beautiful restored meadow, then walked the rest of the way to the Maiden Rock bluff. The Wisconsin TV people wired Bob for sound. Bob knew where the eyrie was located so it was quick work to bring up the eyasses – two females and one male. A person from WPTV had his son and daughter with him and Bob asked the little boy for his name. “Griffin” he said – and it was done, the male falcon would be named Griffin. After banding the eyass Griffin, Bob had the little boy sit down with his legs spread so as to corral the eyes while he banded the other two. When it came time to put them back in the transport carrier, Griffin did not want to part with his new buddy. He was disappointed he could not take the eyass home. It was a very touching scene, with little Griffin almost in tears (I’m sure his dad bought him a nice present later). WPTV also spent time interviewing the RRP crew. It was time to go when the Wisconsin Land Trust people wanted to lock the access gate, but not before Rob provided treats from the tailgate of his truck.

6/11 Maassen’s Bluff We met up on the road near Gary’s house near the foot of the bluff. At the top, the eyrie was located and one 14-day-old eyass was brought up for banding. Sarah, a new recruit this year, held it for photos. She goes to school in Illinois and joined us on Sunday and Monday before having to head back.

6/11 Alma – 12 Mile Bluff The falcons who had previously nested on the box on the Alma stack moved to the bluff. Finding them would prove difficult. John Thiel had seen them, but did not have the exact location of the eyrie. John led us up the bluff to a place to park and then a short hike to the cliff face. Bob, Dave, Rob and Amy began searching for eyrie. Despite the kak-kak-ing of the female making us think eyasses were around, none were located. Bob rappelled down the cliff to the bottom, we packed up the gear and headed down ourselves, only to discover when we got down to the Alma parking lot that Bob had spotted an eyrie and seen an eyass. It was decided that after lunch another attempt would be made to find and band the eyasses. Three were banded after lunch.

I was a little bleary eyed and instead decided to head home. I had already planned not to hike up the bluff at Castle Rock – which turned out to be a wise decision because when they spotted an eyass through the scope, it looked to be too old to attempt a banding.

6/13 Lansing Cliff After obtaining permission from Alliant Energy and signing releases we were permitted to drive up to the cliff overlooking the Mississippi and the Lansing power plant. Two of Amy’s children were along for the adventure. Dave and Amy went over the edge where the eyrie was located. They found it, but it contained one broken egg and one unhatched one. They then scouted out another location and discovered another eyrie; this one containing the remains of three eggs. Dave said there was a “highway” of raccoon tracks leading to the eyrie. We were all disappointed.

6/13 Great Spirit Bluff It was quite an event at this site with friends and relatives of the property owners there to witness the banding. We expected to meet up with Rob at this site, but instead found out he had a run-in with poison ivy or maybe wild parsnips and was covered with blisters (yikes!). Amy and Dave retrieved the eyass and Bob banded two healthy females and one male. They were put in a shady spot on the grass for a photo op and then whisked back to the eyrie. The bluff was most scenic, but then most of the sites were and I apologize for the large number of view pictures but the river is ever-changing and I can’t resist trying to freeze it for a moment.

6/14 Lynxville Got an early start for the drive to Lynxville and spotted Amy’s van on the road ahead as we both turned to cross the Mississippi at Lansing. Followed her to a rest area beneath one of the bluffs past Lynxville; she didn’t think it was the right spot. A short while later Chuck pulled into the rest area – he knew where the right spot was so we followed him there and met up with Bob and Dan, Russ and his wife Carol, and others I didn’t know. Bob stayed on the road with the scope and planned to guide Amy and Dave to the eyrie. We had no sooner gotten to the top and out of the cars when Bob called on the radio to say he had spotted an eyass, but it was way too old to band. So, disappointed, we got back in the cars and headed back down to ground level.

6/14 Lock and Dam #9 Bob wanted to check out this site, but despite seeing peregrines, no sign of a nest was found.

The sites at Fountain City and Homer were scheduled for 6/15, but I was pretty tired so decided to call it a week.

I wondered if global climate change had been the reason why the falcons were past banding age at two of the sites, but that didn’t explain why there was the younger than usual falcon at another. So just like the “experts,” I have no firm answer to the question of global climate change. I can report the eyasses that were banded certainly looked healthy and well-fed and that the Mississippi is as beautiful as ever.

I am already looking forward to next year, God willing.

Dot Karlsen
June, 2007

2007-06-18T00:17:00.000-07:00

Falcons at Maasen's and 12-Mile Bluff

Sorry about the lack of pictures. My camera unclipped from my harness at 12-mile.

12-mile Bluff was supposed to be a piece of cake. Maasen’s certainly went well for us, although we banded just one baby there. The falcons had left the eyrie we’d improved for them and chosen another, with poorer drainage. While Dave and Rob obtained the single baby and brought it up top for banding, Bob rappelled down to the old eyrie and began planning further ways to make it more attractive to the falcons. They had much better production in this eyrie – when they used it! Bob thought that adding a perch after the falcons left in the fall might make it more attractive to them next spring.

The single baby was healthy. We quickly banded it and I got to return it to the eyrie. What a thrill! Maasen’s bluff is really beautiful – limestone swirled with pods of chert and what looks like feldspar to me, interspersed with a darker crystalline rock that I think might be traversine. It is also quite solid compared to some of the places we band falcons – something I quickly came to appreciate. Dislodged rocks are dangerous.

To return this baby to the eyrie, I removed my rappelling gloves and got the firmest footing I could. If I drop the falcon, it dies, so I can’t drop the falcon. Not if rock shifts, falls, or crumbles under my feet. Not if the rope rolls or moves, sending me in an unexpected direction. Not if the baby digs its talons into my skin or the mother whacks me in the head or slices my arm or binds to my back. I quickly recalled all of this before carefully unlocking and opening the kennel door, grabbing the little falcon firmly, and transferring it as far back into the eyrie as I could. I called to have the kennel sent back up the cliff and rappelled down. It was 300 feet from the top of the bluff to the bottom, and it was awesome! I was already looking forward to next year, when we should (if improvement goes well), have even more young to band.

12-Mile Bluff, located just behind the Alma power plant, is a new site. The falcons had previously nested on the Alma power plant, but had deserted the plant for the bluff. Dairyland Power has been very supportive of our work and John Thiel, the company’s biologist, was beaming like a proud father over the prospect of cliff babies. Since we weren’t sure quite where the eyrie was, everyone took a look at it before we went up. We looked for adults, babies, whitewash (aka poop), baby down, and even clouds of flies, which can be attracted to remains. Since no obvious spots showed, we decided that several people would rappel down to look. We got to the top, took a short hike through the woods, and tied off. Bob, Rob, and Dave went down. And down again. And down again. Bob proved his skills by tying off on top, climbing down a short bluff, climbing back up a chimney, and rappelling off that – with something like 50 feet of rope hanging in the air. Rob and I were wincing as we watched, since his rope ran over some small underbrush at the top, where it was tied off. If the underbrush moved or snapped, the rope would move, which could throw Bob off the chimney. I sat on the rope and held it, hoping to prevent any sudden shifts, while Rob made sure that the rope wouldn’t roll. Bob did successfully make the transition down the chimney, which the female seemed to be defending, but didn’t find any young. So we gave up. Bob rappelled to the bottom while the rest of us pulled up rope, packed everything away, and drove down to the bottom, where we discovered that the eyrie had been found. Fast forward through lunch, and it was back up the bluff!

This time, we decided that Dave and I would get the babies. To do so, we had to tie off to trees, back up through underbrush and poison ivy, laying our ropes as flat to the ground as we could, and crawl through a cedar snag. The snag was large and unrooted – ie, just sitting at the top of the bluff. Once we were through, we could descend.

Since there was a real risk of dropping the tree and killing a climber, we decided to go one at a time, Dave first. He got down to the eyrie and tucked under a ledge. Then it was my turn. I’ve never done anything quite so touchy in my life – carefully back through the underbrush, disentangle my rope bag, crawl backwards to the drop through the cedar tangle, first foot out through the cedar, untangle the bag, keep the grigri turned right, second foot out, stand up, lean back, don’t kill my partner! Through the tangle, and I hadn’t dropped anything on Dave. I headed down, at one point rappelling through a live cedar tree – or was it a juniper? – that clung to the cliff. By the end of the ordeal, I disliked the tree.

We got into position. I was on a ledge above Dave, who was positioned on a ledge in front of the eyrie. Bob and Rob belayed the kennel down to me, although it got stuck in the tree on the way down. I caught it and dropped it over the lip of my ledge to Dave, who got the four young falcons in. The eyrie was small and very, very hot – the babies were panting hard and loggy from the heat. However, they looked healthy and had good crops. Dave got the babies in and Bob and Rob took the kennel up.

We’d had to run all the ropes very close together, and of course the tree was in the way. The kennel got briefly caught under the ropes, so Dave and I had to dump rope and give Bob and Rob slack. We did so pronto, although it meant putting a lot of slack in our equipment – something that should be done only if needed, and only if you understand what you are doing. It was needed, and very badly. The kennel easily came free of the ropes and the two men got it up the cliff. We got the slack out of our equipment and dropped the ropes down the bluff. Then we waited. Man, was it ever hot! I didn’t know how those falcons could stand it. I read somewhere that the adults will shade babies with their wings. These babies needed it.

Once the falcons were banded, Bob and Rob lowered the cage again. Of course, it got caught in the tree. Dave used his rope to pop the kennel out and I swung into position to belay it down from the ledge to him, carefully avoiding a large rock that was just waiting to fall on his head. He tucked the babies in, yelled for the kennel to go up, and said, “When I tell you, drop quick. Go right past the eyrie, fast, and don’t even look!”

I don’t like fast rappels, but I did what I was told. Zoom past the eyrie without looking and pull up by Dave, feeling like a real pro. After we got down the talus (stop, pull the rope out of the grapevine or underbrush, drop it a few more feet, stop, pull the rope, etc), he told me that the babies tried to run out of the eyrie after he’d put them back. He blocked the entrance and prevented them from jumping, but wanted me out of there asap to avoid endangering the young falcons.

We got to the bottom and I drank two bottles of cold water in less than two minutes before getting serious and simply showering myself in some ice water. Eventually the rest of the crew got down from the top and we briefly celebrated the return of falcons to yet another river cliff. The four healthy babies were well worth the work! I’ll be looking for them a couple of years from now.

2007-06-03T23:27:00.000-07:00

Northern Banding Trip

It started raining just north of Rush City, 12 miles from my home, and kept on raining all the way to Grand Rapids, 3 hours and 122 miles later. We drove through freshets, squalls, drizzles, and buckets of rain, with the radio forecasting yet more rain for tomorrow. I just hoped we didn’t get a thunderstorm! I still remember going up Genoa between thunderstorms in 2004. The stack was moving in the wind and the heavy weather was clearly heading our way. It is the only time I can remember feeling really frightened on a stack.

Minnesota Power again very kindly provided a couple of rooms for us at the Super 8 Motel. Bob and Rob bunked in one, while I took the other. After all that rain the rooms were a welcome sight, as was free coffee and breakfast in the morning! We stoked up and headed out.

Cohasset stack. The box is on the first catwalk.

It wasn’t raining – well, maybe drizzling a little bit – but it was very, very foggy. The Cohasset stack is large and usually easily seen from the road. This year, the only thing we could see was a corner of one of the buildings looming out of the mist. We got on to the plant grounds and back to the stack, where some current and past Minnesota Power employees met us. This year, Bob, me, Mike Chambers, and another Minnesota Power employee climbed the stack to band the two babies here. It went off without a hitch. I love this site – I enjoy climbing the stack, and the view is beautiful. Sometimes we bring the young falcons down the stack, but with a 200' ladder climb, it wasn't going to happen. Bob set up the banding supplies on top of the nest box, where they could easily be reached. He quickly and efficiently banded the two healthy young male peregrines while I held them. They were 24 and 25 days old. Although they still had a lot of white down, their juvenile feathers were coming in nicely on their wings and tail. We tried to get band numbers on the female, but were unable to do so.

Bob bands on the nestbox. Note the falcon's tail.

The guys from Minnesota Power.

The fog began to clear up while we were on the stack and burned off not long after we left. The day was so bright and sunny that both of us were surprised when Bob called the MPL Hibbard Plant in Duluth and found out they were in pea fog soup! Duluth, for those of you that aren’t familiar with it, runs down a large hill to Lake Superior, so it effectively sits in a sort of half-bowl against the lake. As we headed downhill from Proctor, the fog quickly became so thick it was hard to see and I’ll bet the temperature dropped a good 15 degrees. It was hard to find Hibbard when we couldn’t see the stack!

Minnesota Power had put up the box last fall and the falcons adopted it this spring. It is not a cammed site and we had no idea what to expect. We met with the Steve Schiller and went through the plant’s safety training before going to the nest. It is sobering to realize how dangerous a power plant can be. I really appreciate them going the extra mile to work with us on the peregrine-utility program – and I miss collecting footage from the King plant!

We were able to take a lift about 2/3 of the way to the catwalk before starting our climb. As at Cohasset, we were given fall arrest devices. These devices differ from plant to plant, but the ones I’ve used all clip on to a cable or bar that runs in the center of the ladder. If you fall, it will cause the device to catch and stop you. We clipped in and climbed up, where we were greeted by two fairly irate parents and four eggs. Bob checked to see if they had pips and we took a moment to try to read band numbers. We didn’t get them, but did confirm that the birds were banded.

After leaving Hibbard, we went to the Greysolon Building, where we were met by Ed and Miriam, former property managers and long-time supporters of our work; Julie O’Conner, from the Hawk Ridge PeregrineWatch, and her daughter Carly; Kelly Boedigheimer, an employee of the Fond-du-Luth casino and another supporter of our work; and Rob’s friend ‘Third’, whose actual name escapes me. At the last minute Jim, who lives in the building, and Michael Furtman, a photographer from Duluth, also joined us. We all headed up.

To get the babies here, we have to go over the top of the building on rope. We tie off to a window-washing rig that has a flat tire, so a bicycle pump is an absolute necessity – we have to pump up the tire before pushing the rig over by the box. We had a lot of help, and quickly got the banding ‘station’ and rig ready. Bob went over the top.

I think Bob decided he was sick of hard hats this year, because he didn’t have one on. Amy the falcon dove on him several times, finally getting his hat. She flew off with it clutched in her talons and circled around the front of the building before dropping it on a lower roof. I’ve seen some interesting stuff on these banding trips, but this was the first time I’ve ever seen a falcon steal a hat! Bob didn’t miss a beat as he put all four babies in a bucket, which we pulled up to the top of the building.

Amy the Falcon steals Bob's hat

Female peregrines are bigger than male peregrines. When banding babies, we look at size to help determine gender. However, that alone may not be enough. In this case, we had three large babies and one very small one. We think they began hatching on May 15th, although there was a big size difference between the larger and smaller falcons. They all had nice crops and white down, with the tips of a few tail and juvenile feathers just starting to show on the larger falcons. However, the small one was clearly younger, not just smaller. Bob looked at the thickness of the little falcon’s tarsus and size of its feet, and declared her a female. That left the three larger falcons.

The Little Falcon

Can You Pick the Male?

Bob pointed out that the falcons were making slightly different noises. The females make a lower raspier noise, while the males make a higher noise. I thought of the difference between crows and ravens, although they sound much more alike than that. At any rate, Bob had Rob and I band a falcon that he was positive was a female before turning to the last two. We listened to them and banded the next bird with female bands (lower voice, thicker tarsus, size of feet) before turning to the last, questionable bird. Rob looked it over, came to a decision, and asked me what I thought. Hmmmmmm. Well, the voice was higher, the tarsus was thinner, and the feet were smaller. I thought it was a male and he concurred, as did Bob. We banded the last bird with male bands and then took a female and drew blood for the University’s genetic study. I quickly returned the young birds to the nest. It was an odd feeling – last year, Duluth was the end of the year and this year, for me, it was the beginning! But what a great beginning: two babies at Cohasset, four at Greysolon, and four eggs at the new Hibbard site in Duluth Harbor. I can hardly wait to come back!

2007-05-31T05:51:00.000-07:00

Banding Peregrines in Duluth

Today's guest blogger is Julie O'Conner, from Hawk Ridge. She runs Duluth's Peregrine Watch. To join her Yahoo! Group for peregrine updates, go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/peregrinewatch/

Wow, it was FOGGY downtown today! We couldn't even see the Greysolon Building from Canal Park, so we plugged in the camera and got treated to a FEEDING!! I couldn't stand it that I couldn't share camera images with you, so I took a couple with my still camera. I don't pretend that they're even decent photos, but they might be better than nothing!

Looking from Canal Pk toward Greysolon.
Mom bringing food into the nest.

Later in the day, Rob, Bob and Amy came to band the babies!! Michael Furtman came along to record the banding process an to start this summer's Peregrine Gallery (http://www.michaelfurtman.com/). You'll be stunned by his photos, check them out!! I took my video camera and got some GREAT footage of the process.

As we arrived on the roof, both parents put up a fuss, but quickly calmed down once we had the babies in hand. There are 4 healthy chicks in the nest, 3 girls and 1 boy! At this age, the difference in size between males and females isn't visible, the banders determined the gender of the babies by the size of their legs! Amazing.

(Amy's note - and their voices. The females have a deeper, raspier voice. I thought of it as the difference between a crow and a raven, although they are much more similar than that example might lead one to think. )

One of the Babies

Putting on the FWS Band

When Bob was over the edge of the building, the female was buzzing past him to attempt to drive him away from the nest. She came close to him several times, but Rob was above Bob and would wave his hand out to divert her attention from Bob's head. It worked for the most part, but when Bob was reaching into the box she came up at a steep angle and TOOK HIS HAT OFF HIS HEAD AND FLEW AWAY WITH IT!!

Amy gets Bob's Hat

Amy Drops Bob's Hat

She flew a circle, then came back and dropped the hat just below us on the roof of the restaurant attached to the Greysolon Building! The whole process took 15 minutes or less, and within seconds of the babies going back into the nest, mom checked in, then perched atop the building for 45 minutes or so. Pretty cool!

The RRP people must be charmed...with thunderstorms in the forecast, we could have been rained out of today's banding! After we came down from the roof and set the gear down in the lobby, we looked out and it was POURING!

The babies each have 2 bands on their legs, one purple USFWS stamped with a 10 digit number on the right leg, and the left band is black over green with a 3 digit letter/number combination stamped into it. This green band is MUCH more visible from a distance than the purple band, so will help us identify the babies after they head out about town.

Rob and Bob named the chicks, and I was surprised and honored to learn that one of the girls was named for me! I'm guessing it was the noisest one...

(Amy's note - I think it really was!)

Here's the rundown:

96/C Female named Kelly
97/C Female named Julie
98/C Female named Sarah
C/92 Male named Jimbo
82/C Mother named Amy

Weather permitting, I'll be in the park again on Thursday around 10am.
Hope to see you there!
Julie

2007-05-16T04:30:00.000-07:00

We've got babies in the nest [at Greysolon]!!

Monday May 14 I checked on the birds in the morning--everything seemed normal, quiet and somewhat boring. The female was on the nest, the male was on the clock tower, no one was moving at all during the 25 minutes I observed.

Today I stopped by the parking ramp to check in and I was able to see quite a bit of 'junk' in the box--looked like either leaves, feathers or other debris, but there were 2 perfectly circular objects that got my attention immediately, I wondered if they could be eggshells??

I scanned for several minutes looking for the male, but found him perched right outside the box! I haven't seen both parents AT the box since they started incubating. This made me even more certain that something had happened. He flew off and out of sight--HUNTING??

Turns out, those circular things WERE eggshells! After 30 minutes or so, the female popped her head up as the male landed on the perch, then she got up and moved around enough for me to see 3 little fuzzballs and one egg left to hatch!

I'll send photos as soon as I can figure out a way to take a decent picture from the monitor--may not be possible with my cheapo little camera. Like a proud auntie, I'm dying to have pictures to show! Good grief.

I'm looking forward to the season, can you tell?!?!

More later,
Julie

2007-03-31T07:49:00.000-07:00

River Report: 3/26/2007

We started out the morning at the base of Leo’s Bluff near Waukon Junction, IA. We quickly located two adult falcons. The adult male is un-banded. The adult female is: b/g 66/A, a 2005 HY falcon from St. Louis, MO. Her right leg had what looks to Dave Kester and I to be a plain aluminum band. Last season on 5/17/06 we were shocked to find the shell fragments of three recently hatched eggs and one intact pipped egg. Both adult falcons were missing! I had a strange feeling about this loss and wanted to see who showed up this season. I am now more then ever convinced something killed both adults at or around 5/15/07.

I located an adult falcon on the Lansing, IA power plant cliff. It was perched about 20’ from the new nest box. The next few days will tell us just where the falcons choose to lay their eggs.

I worked my way upstream, spending time at each potential cliff nest site. From Lansing, IA north, we saw no falcons until Great Spirit Bluff near Dresbach, MN. Saw two falcons at Queen’s Bluff. Was disappointed to not find any falcons at the Homer, MN cliff where on 3/20/07 Amy Ries saw two falcons.

Found two adult falcons defending Castle Rock cliff across the river from Winona, MN. I did not see any falcons but have had reports from two people seeing one falcon at the Fountain City cliff nest box. Found two adult falcons defending Maassen’s Bluff. It made my day to find one adult falcon defending Twin Bluffs near Nelson, WI. Found two adult falcons at Maiden Rock. The adult female has a purple band on right leg. Was very pleased to find two adult falcons defending West Bluff! How great to have falcons back at this historical cliff after success in 2005 and no falcons in 2006.

Two adult falcons at the Red Wing Grain stack house nest box. Was able to read the band number on the adult female falcon at Horizon Milling in Lake City, MN. She is the resident falcon 29/A. Could make out the letter K on the adult male indicating he is very probably the resident male K/U. This pair is on their second egg as of this writing.

Over the last week or so only one falcon has been seen at the Lynxville, WI cliff. However, just this evening, Dave Kester reports finding two falcons on site. We now need to keep watch on the lock and dam #9 cliff north of Prairie Du Chene, WI.

We'll keep everyone posted! Let us know if you see falcons along the river between roughly Red Wing and LaCrosse.

Bob Anderson
Raptor Resource Project
http://www.raptorresource.org

2007-03-25T21:11:00.000-07:00

I know that spring means melting snow, green grass, maple sap, and the season's first bare feet. But spring also means a floodtide of birds boiling up the Mississippi River valley to parts north. It was Tuesday, March 20th, and I was headed down river to Lansing, Iowa, to help install a peregrine nestbox. Little did I know that the spring migration was in full swing.

I had planned to come downriver on the Minnesota side and go back through Wisconsin, crossing at Winona. Although I was looking for peregrines, I expected to see some bald eagles - especially on Lake Pepin, which is famous for bald eagles. I didn't expect to see more bald eagles than anything except geese, ducks, and maybe gulls.

I began seeing large numbers of eagles near the mouth of Lake Pepin. At one point, I turned into a lake overlook and started counting eagles. Without really trying, I counted 20. 'Wow!' I thought 'Lake Pepin really does have a lot of eagles!' But Lake Pepin wasn't unique. Remember when Bald Eagles were really, really rare? As I headed downriver, I saw eagles sitting on ice, eagles perched in trees, eagles soaring over cliffs, eagles locking talons, and eagles sparring. I saw eagle nests. I saw adult eagles and immature eagles. I called people on my cell phone and babbled at them about the mind-boggling number of eagles I was seeing. Between the Highway 26 turn-off from 61 and New Albion, Iowa, I'll bet I saw over 50 eagles. I started counting about 2/3 of the way through the trip and got to 30. But I didn't see any peregrines until Lansing, IA, where Bob, Dave Kester, Tom Griffin, Maggie Jones, David Litton, and myself were all meeting at the Alliant Power plant to install a new nestbox on the cliff behind the stack.

This site has an interesting history. We first attracted falcons to a nestbox on the plant's stack. After two successful seasons, we mounted a nest box on a nearby cliff and removed the stack nest box. The falcons succeeded in producing young for two seasons in the cliff nest box. Then, in 2003 and 2004, they moved to a ledge, laid eggs and hatched young, which they lost to raccoon predation. They moved back to the stack and fledged young in 2005. They moved back to the cliff and lost their young again in 2006. This spring, the plant planned work at the stack during nesting season, so we decided to place a nestbox on the cliff and close the one on the stack.

Picture #1 shows Bob with the nestbox strapped to a backpack frame (picture by Maggie). The box is quite heavy! The rest of us are gathering up ropes, bags, equipment, and etc. to bring to the bluff. It is amazing how much equipment this takes. Fortunately, the cliff is a fairly easy stroll downhill and through a small woods. The last nestbox I helped install was a roughly 145-foot pull up the side of a watertower. This was easier.

Once we reached the spot, Bob and then Dave went down to check it out. Dave found a spot and Bob sent me down to take a look as well. Okay, we had a spot! It was quickly decided that Bob and Dave would install the box, I would hang overhead and pass equipment down in such a way that they would not be showered with falling rocks (a real danger on some of these cliffs), and Tom would rope up at the top and drop stuff over the first lip. Bob rigged a pulley to make dropping the box easier and safer for everyone involved, and we went to town.

Pictures #2 and 3 show Bob standing by the nestbox and Dave helping Tom get into a harness. Although Tom didn't come down on rope, Bob and Dave prefer everyone working near the edge to be harnessed and anchored.

Bob and Dave dropped over the edge and rappelled down to the chosen spot. I rappelled down to the halfway spot, and Tom, Maggie, and David began lowering the nestbox. The overhang was covered with rocks and dirt. Almost none of them were loose enough to simply be picked up and tossed out of harms way, but most of them could be jarred loose by, say, a heavy nestbox. We had to be quite careful to avoid dropping rocks and dirt on Dave and Bob - rocks especially are very, very dangerous. Picture #4 shows me muscling the box over a little overhand at the top. Note my lovely black snowsuit - it was cold on the cliff! Picture #5 shows Bob and Dave installing the box. Three bolts were easy. The fourth was the reason we went through two batteries.

Once the install was finished, I wanted to go down and take a picture of the box. Dave and I switched ropes. Dave discovered that I had a really, really bad rope bag. Note: old army-style backpack may not be acceptable substitute for actual rope bag. Must buy new bag! I took a picture of the cliff from the box, and Dave covered the old eyrie so the falcons couldn't use it. The ledge they had been nesting on was covered with raccoon tracks.

Once those tasks were completed, we picked up and headed down to the plant. We went up the stack and covered the front of the old nestbox so the falcons couldn't nest there, either. We all hope that providing the falcons with a new home, safe from racoons and out of the construction zone, will make this a productive spot for falcons once again.

On the way home, I saw falcons at Homer Bluff, just south of Winona, MN; Castle Rock, and one falcon at Maiden Rock. The falcons at Homer Bluff were quite exciting - Doug Wood spotted them here last year, but the site wasn't productive. We are hopeful it will be this year.

All in all - what a wonderful day! Falcons, eagles, friends, and a day on the cliffs - what could be better than that? I'm really looking forward to summer!

Amy Ries

2007-03-10T08:29:00.000-08:00

There were a lot of questions about how the weather might have impacted the Valmont Owl nest. The owls nested later and the first clutch of eggs failed. At this point, we don't know whether or not there will be a second. I looked up the weather records online at one of NOAA's fine sites.

December 2006 through February 2007 saw considerably more snowfall than the preceding year:
Snowfall December January February
2005/06 6.3" 5.5" 11.42"
2006/07 45.5" 27.5" 15.3"
2005/2006 saw a snowfall total of 23.22 inches. 2006/2007 saw a snowfall total of 88.3 inches.

Snow depth was deeper in 2007 than in 2006. On February 1, 2006, the snow depth was 0". On the same date in February 2007, it was 13". However, snow depth did drop in February of 2007. By the 16th of 2007, it was down to 2". By the 19th, it was listed as 'Trace'. It stayed Trace until the 28th, when the next wave of storms arrived. Could the deep snow and stormy weather have caused the owls to nest later? It seems possible. However, while there was considerably deeper snowpack in February this year, the overall snow storms, according to the weather data, weren't that much worse in February 2007 than February 2006 - it was January that made the difference. Deeper snowpack could have made it harder for the owls to find food in February 2007, but it doesn't look like stormy weather made it too much harder to get out and look for it. The eagles, who nest in the same region, also nested later but didn't get hit by the last storm.

Mean temperature fluctuated - it was much colder in January 2007 than in 2006, but slighly warmer in February 2007 than in 2006.
Mean Temp December January February
2005/06 33.3 40.7 33.7
2006/07 33.5 27.2 34.6
It seems unlikely that temperature extremes played a role in when they started nesting.

The March records haven't been published yet (I suspect they dump monthly), but I've got a comparision of February 2006 and 2007 at the bottom of the post, for anyone who wants to download it.

I'll go ahead and look up the March records when they become available. I can say that March 2006 looked pretty balmy compared to what we observed in March 2007.

Amy Ries

Boulder Weather Data (word doc)

2007-01-30T18:58:00.000-08:00

California Hawking Club Annual Field Meet
January 2007 – Sacramento

Photographs of the meet can be viewed here.

Tuesday January 9th at 7a.m I set off with my sponsor Mark and his Harris hawk ‘Wiggs’, followed by Bryan and Sondra with their respective Red Tailed hawks. We were on our way to Sacramento for the annual CHC Field Meet. Weather conditions were perfect, the roads were actually clear and we communicated via walkie talkies. Once past the Grapevine, we stopped in Bakersfield to fly Wiggs. No sign of rabbits here. Bryan decided to fly Scarlet but didn’t have any luck either. We drove on looking for suitable fields taking several detours off the highway. After a couple more pit stops we thought we’d found a perfect spot to fly Sondra’s bird, Gabriel. However, he decided to just keep perching in trees as far away as possible and, although returned to the glove each time, was obviously not interested in chasing prey. We then flew Wiggs again but still no sign of rabbits. As the California landscape keeps changing and more housing and industrial developments sprout, it is getting more difficult for falconers to find any decent hunting grounds.

We arrived at our hotel about 8pm and it was much colder there than when we left my valley. By the time we all got checked in lugging respective bird kennels, I was too tired to join the gang for midnight supper so figured on a good night’s sleep. However, I think they forgot to turn on the heat in my room. I was so cold I had to sleep with added sweaters, socks and an overcoat on the bed. I’m not sure I actually ‘slept’ as the next sound I heard was the cry of a hawk coming from a nearby room. Looking at the clock it was 6.30a.m. I was about to dive further under the covers when I heard ‘kack, kack, kack’ the familiar sound of a peregrine. I jumped out of bed so fast, throwing my coat over my jammies and headed out my door. Sure enough there were two falconers getting ready to leave on a hunting party. Dave had a goshawk, and his roommate had a falcon, called ‘Lady’. I could have joined them if I hadn’t volunteered to help at the pre-registration desk for the morning and had an apprentice workshop at 11am. Back to my room and a couple cups of tea later, I wandered downstairs to watch the construction of the ‘weathering yard’ where they were fencing in a huge landscaped area of the interior grounds. It was day one and only a handful of falconers had arrived. By late afternoon there were several peregrines and Harris hawks perched in the yard and I had the hardest time trying to figure the peregrine breeds. They were so beautiful with unusual colour markings but I was too embarrassed to ask at this point. By 6pm some of the vendors had set up their stations next to the registration area. This is where you could purchase gauntlets, perches, blocks, hoods, you name it. Anything and everything to do with falconry. Even some great artwork and collector books. The programme for the first evening was a talk by Vickie Joseph, DVM who shared some valuable information about West Nile Virus vaccines for birds.

Day two: Once again I was woken by the sounds of raptors. These birds just can’t wait to get out and hunt. I would love to have joined the groups but I had more workshops to attend. Fortunately there were many breaks to go view more birds in the yard. This time I plucked up the courage to ask questions. You have no idea how relieved I was to be told by several ‘seasoned’ falconers that they also had no idea of the peregrine hybrid mixes. You had to ask each individual handler and, by the end of the event after observing more than 30-40 longwings, I was still no wiser. However, a budding 13 year old falconer-to-be called Connor could i.d. nearly every one of these hybrids. There were a lot of Gyr/Saker mixes and it was rare to see a standard Anatum.

Day three: It got really cold overnight and all the bird baths in the yard froze solid. There was also a vicious wind but today was Lure flying competitions so we headed for some far away field and I was really tempted to view from the warmth of our vehicle. However, the excitement of watching hawks chase a mechanical rabbit lure was thrilling and if the winds hadn’t been so high, I’m sure more falconers would have entered their birds. Next up was the falcon lure competition. I have to say this was the highlight of my trip. I forgot that I couldn’t feel my fingers or icicles were forming on my lashes. Watching a falcon ‘ring up’ (climb) against buffeting winds, disappear from view, then suddenly appear out of nowhere to chase a lure cannot be adequately put into words. The all time Master of this event is Joe Suffredini who, with his Lanner/Saker ‘Grover’ put on the winning show. He had his tiercel doing loops, figure eights and chasing the lure between his legs. The bird even buzzed a cameraman and, at one point, I thought it was going to land on my head. I spent time later talking to Joe - he and his brother run Avian Entertainment training animals for the movie industry and special events. He said the birds know it’s their job to ‘work’ every day! That evening we had a BBQ poolside with huge projection screen where we watched some amazing falconry videos. Thankfully the hotel provided many portable heaters.

Day four: Up at dawn to get on the road for the ‘World Famous CHC Sky Trials’. Promised as a crowd pleasing event held in a wide-open field. Even though it was still single digit temps I managed to help out collecting the $2 donation entrance fee. I’m sure there were about 100 people braving the elements as we waited for the PA system and food truck set up. Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to warm up my fingers enough to take any photographs at this event. Due to the windy weather, once again we only had about 9 falconers willing to fly their birds in this competition. The idea is for each falconer to walk out into the middle of the field, un-hood his falcon and wait for it to ‘ring up’ high enough for them to ‘serve’ (release) a pigeon so we could get to view a stoop. I lost sight of the first entry and so did the falconer. He was last seen with his telemetry equipment and I never did find out if it was retrieved. The next few birds became specks pretty quickly as most of the birds took advantage of the gusty winds gaining 1,000 feet pitches. But the action was so fast and faraway when they reappeared in a dive, it was impossible to actually witness a strike. I was somewhat disappointed until the last entrant – a guy called Joe Roy who participates every year. He released his falcon and it actually stayed in view, right above us, just ringing up in a leisurely manner. This bird would just ‘wait on’ watching Joe obviously expecting to be ‘served’. But Joe was busy chatting to his buddies out in this field and we’re wondering why there’s no pigeon. He’d glance up at his bird and look away. The bird then starts to ‘ring up’ higher, we can still see him as he once again ‘waits on’ for his trainer to ‘serve’. After several more climbs (against strong winds I would add), we all start chanting ‘release the pigeon Joe’, but now Joe decides to ignore all of us and lies down on the ground sitting back on his elbows just chatting away. The bird is still watching his trainer and obviously understands it has to keep climbing until it is now out of view, at which point Joe decides to stand up and ‘serve’ the prey! Well, let me tell you, when that falcon reappeared in a stoop like a 200mph missile just above our heads it was one of the most exhilarating scenes I’ve witnessed. I should also add that most of the pigeons escaped serious injury except maybe the last one and each falcon returned to the gloved fist for their treats after each performance.

That evening we attended the Banquet where they give out game pins to falconers who caught the most prey during the week. Also I was lucky enough to win a hawking vest off the ‘super raffle’ table along with a fabulous t.shirt from the SkyTrials.

Sunday the four of us caravanned home, made a few pit stops and decided to detour through the Mojave desert to fly each bird. This time all three hawks were far more successful than previous days. Also, we tallied how many other birds we’d seen along the way. I think it was about 80 red tailed, 2 red shouldered, 20 plus kestrels and a fake owl.

This event was definitely what you call an ‘E’ ticket: Exciting, entertaining, exhilarating, educational and exhausting! I absolutely loved being woken by the sound of a hawk or falcon. Beats an alarm clock any day.

Veronica B.

2007-01-06T08:15:00.000-08:00

December Falconry Hunt 2006

Veronica sends us another account of her progress as a falconer. Enjoy! Note - you don't need to log-in to see the pics - just follow the link and click.

Link to Pics > December Falconry Hunt

I was fortunate enough to go hunting several times during the latter part of December, thanks to time off for the holiday season.

Christmas Eve day, we set off for Santa Clarita, the Sand Canyon area. It was a beautiful day but a little windy. Once unhooded, Wiggs immediately took off towards a huge tree and it took several minutes to reach his location as the surrounding brush was extremely dense and unfriendly. Mark and I each had a long extendable pole. One end is for thrashing bushes to flush quarry, the other has a perch on top covered in green astroturf and can be used to retrieve your bird during inaccessible situations. The three of us worked together as a team and I was thrilled that Wiggs was observing my actions as well as Mark, particularly as we were quite some distance from each other. However, the two times I called ‘ho-ho-ho’ while flushing rabbits, Wiggs wasn’t paying attention and at one point I fell down a rabbit hole….yes, right up to my knee! Did I feel like a fool but I bravely hobbled on. Eventually, after a lot of swooping and soaring, Wiggs finally caught his rabbit. I have learned that I cannot go rushing in to ‘help out’ but need to stay back and let Mark either open up the rabbit for Wiggs to eat or furtively remove the rabbit (for later use) and replace with alternate fare.

A few days later, we all went out again to another desert area and hiked to a nearby hill in the hopes of some soaring slope flying. This was my first time watching a bird ‘wait on’
(they are flown in a “waiting on” style, in which the falcon climbs high above the falconer, waiting to “stoop” at game flushed beneath it.) I couldn’t believe my eyes as I thought only falcons waited on, not hawks, but I guess Harris Hawks are an exception. It was windier this time and the telemetry came in handy because Wiggs disappeared over the ridge and did not really need our help flushing prey. He managed quite well on his own as, by the time we heard his bell, he’d consumed quite a chunk of rabbit! No accidents to report on this outing but one pair of filthy sneakers might not see daylight again!

Christmas Eve was another exciting and unpredictable adventure as we hiked through the Tujunga Wash for nearly an hour before unhooding Wiggs. This time I don’t think his weight was low enough because he just seemed to take us for a joy ride and had his own agenda. I would have been quite happy to go along except for the rocks, uneven terrain and deadly cactus bushes. You really need a lot of stamina to keep upright and I was doing great until this one giant cactus “attacked” my leg. It went through my jeans puncturing the skin and took for ever to remove the spiny needles. I had them everywhere, stuck to my glove, my jacket and even my leather boots. I tried to soldier on, once again hobbling in pain and have never been so happy to hear the squeal of a caught rabbit! However, even after more than two hours of hunting, Wiggs decided he didn’t want this prey and flew off again. Does this bird know when I’m at the end of my staying power! Eventually, as the sun was setting we made it back to the truck and I got my first compliment from my sponsor…he said…’you did real good out there today’!

Veronica

2006-12-28T23:01:00.000-08:00

Veronica's Sunday Hawking Post

Veronica guest-blogs again on a recent hawking adventure. Here are some pics to go with the blog: Veronica's Gallery

Up at 5am…Mark arrived at 6am (probably wanted to make sure I was suitably attired – i.e. waterproof footwear!)…set off for Carpinteria – arrived by 7.30am – met Dave Roth (Master Falconer) and his Goshawk ‘Cisco’ and beagle ‘Bailey’. Using Dave’s vehicle, set off to Goleta, checked out a few duck ponds. Chose suitable spot and Dave’s plan involved picking up a few rocks for me and Mark to pocket for use in helping to flush the ducks while he and his bird hid in the bushes. Before taking the hooded Cisco out of his traveling box, Dave prepared the transmitter devise and attached to Cisco’s ankle, and checked the transmitter frequency. Unfortunately, Cisco somehow managed to get his hood off during this process which meant ‘no duck hunting’. Evidently, once Cisco is ‘unhooded’ he expects to be immediately released, NOT rehooded, so there was no chance Dave could creep toward the pond and hide or for us to make our way to the other side with our ‘rocks’ and act as flushers. We had to switch to plan B…rabbits, not ducks! Dave let his bird loose and it went up to top of nearby building and the three of us, along with Bailey set off into heavy dry dense brush. Bailey had his own plan for flushing rabbits, meaning he doesn’t come when called! Cisco flew to nearby telephone pole and closely watched all three of us while we tramped through the undergrowth kicking bushes and trying to just rouse anything that would move. I couldn’t see a rabbit anywhere and was literally getting covered from head to toe in prickly burs. Meanwhile, Cisco is flying gracefully and swiftly from one pole to another. It was quite strenuous keeping up with this hawk. The hard part is trying to watch where you’re walking so as not to trip and fall, as well as looking up to keep track of your bird. This is obviously where telemetry is crucial. It’s really neat to see your bird looking down at you understanding your movements are helping it hunt. You can tell from the hawk’s posture if it sees something moving in the brush and several times Cisco took off and swooped but never landed. Just on to another pole further away….urgh. Whenever your hawk takes off in pursuit of quarry, it’s customary to call out - ”ho, ho ho”…but I think this will take a bit of getting used to for me as I’m too excited watching the flight to remember to call out in a timely manner. Finally, one of us, or maybe Bailey, must have flushed a rabbit as Cisco took off and literally zig zagged in and out of the bushes faster than a speeding bullet! It was all over in seconds as I heard the squeal of the rabbit. We made in carefully and Dave told both of us to stay back while he killed the rabbit and felt it was okay to approach his eating hawk. Something I learned here was most interesting.

The noise/screaming you hear when the hawk pounces on the rabbit is not from pain at being attacked. The sound is sent out to attract other predators in the area, be it fox, coyote or other bird of prey which, when/if it arrives, will confuse and/or scare off the hawk releasing its grip on the rabbit enabling it to escape. Anyway, while Cisco was getting his fill and after Dave felt he was almost satisfied, he offered it delicious quail breast on his glove which was readily accepted and, at the same time, deftly removed the remaining rabbit hiding it in a back pouch. This has to be done secretly as you must not let your hawk think you’re taking away his prey. You could be viewed as competition, causing resentment. Also, at the same time, this is when you get your bird leashed to the jesses and back to the fist. It’s a lot to remember all at the same time….whew.

This was very different hunting from ‘fist flying’ when we used the mechanical ‘run’ lure for the passage red tailed hawks. I’m figuring that depending on what type of hawk/falcon you fly, and what kind of quarry you hunt, it’s not always going to be fist flying.

I will be attending my first annual California Hawking Club Field Meet in Sacramento Jan 10 -13 as follows:
……..Each year the CHC holds a Field Meet where falconers come to fly their birds on wild game, attend clinics and workshops on falconry equipment and husbandry, enjoy speakers who discuss these and other topics concerning raptor conservation and public education at the nightly meetings, purchase falconry equipment and artwork, and test their luck during the raffle(s), culminating in a Saturday night banquet and awards ceremony…..
I’ve already been invited to accompany some of these falconers while they hunt so my anticipation and excitement is mounting daily. Hopefully I will return with some great photos and tales to tell.

Veronica

2006-11-11T08:09:00.000-08:00

This post's guest blogger is Veronica. She has some falconry photographs posted elsewhere, but wanted to provide an explanation of her chosen sport. Please keep comments respectful, even if you disagree with falconry. - Amy

Before you view these photos, I would like to add a brief and much edited explanation about falconry and the ‘trapping’ process as some of these pictures might appear to cause some concern in certain individuals. Please be assured that the stress these hawks go through while being trapped is kept to a minimum. Ultimately it is their choice, (once they’ve been ‘manned’) to either fly free and return to the wild or stay with their keeper (falconer) resulting in co-operative hunting.

> Veronica's Falconry Photos

"Why would anybody in their right mind want to do this?"
Falconry is the pursuit of wild game with a trained bird of prey. Any other form of possessing a hawk is illegal and certainly not falconry. It is a strictly monitored Federal and State controlled sport. In a detailed sense, falconry consists of trapping a wild hawk or falcon and modifying its natural fear of man into a feeling of trust and security. Once this trust is established, the falconer takes the hawk to the field and flushes quarry (wild game) suitable for the species of the hawk they are flying. Most falconers, much less individuals who consider becoming falconers, cannot answer the question above easily. People who become falconers do so out of an appreciation for the nature of predation and predatory birds. A deep, abiding affection and respect for your hawk is an absolute prerequisite for you to become a falconer of merit. A poorly known fact is that a high percentage (75%) of all wild-hatched hawks and falcons die before becoming adults. In the case of Red Tailed hawks, the mortality rate is as high as nine out of ten. In the state of California an apprentice is only allowed to trap either a Red Tailed hawk or Kestrel.

Consequently, because falconers take immature birds before the winter die-offs, there is actually no impact at all on wild populations. There are two sides (or more) about taking birds from the wild. Those opposed to falconry say, ' for every bird held in captivity there is one less bird in the wild". In point of fact, since falconers take only immature birds from the wild, raise them to maturity and eventually release them back to the wild, there is an actual INCREASE in the overall population. The federal government has documented and verified that many wild hawks in captivity are released or lost back to the wild, where their chances of survival are good, since they are proficient hunters (thanks to their falconers) and survived through the first year - the year with the highest mortality rate. As the Federal Environmental Impact Report quotes

...fifty years of falconry in the United States have shown absolutely no adverse impact on the wild population due to falconry...

- Veronica

Diane and KimMarie’s Amazing Adventure of the Unexpected!

2006-10-26T06:26:00.000-07:00

Photo Album Links

Album One: Day One and Raptor Release

Album Two: Hawk Ridge

Day One - Friday, September 29, 2006
We didn't really have any set plans for the day. KimMarie's request was to visit Black Dog. While we didn't get to see Nora or Mille, we did see a third year bald eagle on Black Dog Road. Diane took some wonderful pictures of "him" preening. It appeared that he may have just hunted and eaten (he looked "wet"). We then stopped by the osprey nest that is located nearby on a tower. The osprey pair didn't produce eggs, but this could be an active nest next year. After u-turning to go back down Black Dog road, we saw plenty of cormorants which filled a dead tree and even some great white egrets.

An unplanned visit to the "Norwest Bank" (aka Wells Fargo Bank) paid off. We saw one of the peregrines sitting outside the nest tray. It definitely was an adult and looker smaller so maybe it was the male. According to "What's New" on the Raptor Resource Project: Nero, a 1999 hatch from NSP Sherco, spent his sixth season at the Norwest Financial Building. Maybe it was Nero!

We next went to "Diane's" osprey platform at Hyland Park. No ospreys but we did see 2 red tailed hawks sitting side by side. Red tails in love, to quote Marie Winn. KimMarie was able to get a picture of them together before one flew off. While still at the park, Diane caught a photo of an Eastern Phoebe sitting on Peterson Style Box (hunting flying insects). We heard an Eastern Bluebird in the trees and brush, but couldn't find “him/her” perched nearby.

What can I say about the visit to the Raptor Center except...AMELIA! As Diane has already shared on the forum, we were coming out of the parking ramp when we saw four people walking slowly with a peregrine -- we both we thinking the same thing -- could it really be??? We got a good look at the bird - wings outstretched and mouth open in defiance - yes! It was Amelia coming back from one of her flight exercise sessions. Her attending vet came up to talk to us and we were fortunate to find out more about her condition, her time at the Center, and her progress.

Afterwards, one of the center's volunteers gave us a lengthy tour - we were very lucky to get such a wonderful tour of the education birds and learned a lot about them and their personal histories. She realized we knew more about raptors than most so she said she'd skip the raptor 101 tour. After our first question, she stopped the tour and ran back to get her notes on each bird. She knew we'd want details!

After all of our day’s activities we met up with Dot for dinner and to celebrate birthdays.

Day Two - Saturday, September 30, 2006 Raptor Release at Lake Rebecca
(Diane, Dot, KimMarie and Nora were there)

We made it to the park shortly before the first release. First to be released was a red tailed hawk. It was a 2005 hatch. The bird had been shot. Next release was a Cooper’s hawk which was admitted with a ulna (wrist) fracture. The final release was a red shouldered hawk. This hatch year hawk was admitted with a chest fracture. The hawk flew into the trees behind the release area and stayed there until the start of the 2nd release. Maybe all the people, from a distance, intrigued him.

There were a number of education birds to look at. Prior to the afternoon release, we saw 3 bald eagles flying over the area. Two flew very low . One of the vet interns we spoke with said he saw 4 eagles flying together. It was a great day for eagle sightings!

The afternoon release started with the release of a red tailed hawk. It had a collision with a car and had eye trauma and blood loss. Next released was Cooper’s hawk which they suspected had West Nile Virus. The final release was a broad winged hawk. The hawk had a collision with a building. Like the red shouldered hawk, this hawk decided to stop and enjoy th eview before taking off.

Before we left (Diane and Kimmarie), we took the drive and then the walk to the area where the trumpeter swans gather. Plenty of Canada geese and mallard ducks. I didn't count but there were at least 12 - 15 swans. At least 7 first years in that group.

We ended the day with THE DRIVE TO DULUTH!

Day Three - Sunday, October 1, 2006 Hawk Ridge
LOL! Spectacular, clear and sunny day for people to enjoy, but a lousy day to see migrating raptors! We were told the birds need an overcast day to push them down and north or northwest winds to push them inland. The first day the count was 239 raptors. Among the birds we saw were sharp shinned hawks, American kestrels, bald eagles, Merlins and turkey vultures. At Hawk Ridge, they catch and band neotropical migrant passerines, which is fancy talk for they band passing songbirds. They catch them in a mist nest and band them. The first to be banded was a Hermit Thrush. Then they caught and banded a black capped chickadee.

The "Star" of the day was the Merlin diving at the great horned owl decoy that was placed as a lure. It was diving and vocalizing the entire time! It was amazing to see a "small" falcon trying to take on a bird so much larger than itself. What a show!

On our way back to the Best Western (down Superior Street) we "found" the building the Duluth peregrines nested on! This would be the nest box Diane the peregrine and Nora the peregrine fledged from in 2005. After parking the car back at the motel and freshening up, we walked to the nestbox on the Greysolon Plaza Building to get a closer look at it. It still had that “new car smell” ;-) Walking back to the motel, we spotted what looked like a male peregrine between Lake Ave and 1st Ave which was only 1 ½ - 2 blocks from our motel! He flew low, about 4 or 5 ft from the ground right past us. We tried to follow him, but he was faster than us! He knows his territory and eluded our cameras. This really was a twist of fate moment - Diane didn't plan on booking at this particular Best Western, but good thing for us that she did! If we had been at the other one, we never would have found the building, box or the bird!

Day Four - Monday, October 2, 2006 Hawk Ridge
We went back to Hawk Ridge for a little over a half day before we headed back to the cities. Today some of the birds that were spotted: an osprey, a bald eagle, 3 northern harriers, 3 American kestrels, ravens, turkey vultures and a Cooper’s hawk. Recorded were 65 sharp shinned hawks. We think we saw all of them! While we were there an American Tree Sparrow was banded as well as a first year Sharp Shinned Hawk. Before we left Hawk Ridge, KimMarie spoke with a nest monitor for the Duluth/Greysolon Plaza Building box (it turned out that this was a trip of well timed and well placed coincidences!) and she said the male is known to fly low so it could have been him! (KM note: I’d like to add that it was wonderful to meet Julie! She shared some wonderful pictures of her monitoring efforts and the falcons. She was thrilled to meet “the Diane” who “her” Diane was named for and she was happy to hear that we saw one of the adults staying in the area.)

Day Five - Tuesday, October 3, 2006
From KimMarie - Farewell Minnesota! As my plane was leaving the runway I looked out the window and my last view was of the Black Dog Smokestack! What a great visit with Diane, Dot and Nora. I hope I can come back again soon!