NY / Rochester - 2008-15

[carly]

Yes that is good news Maggie, someone with that much experience will certainly take good care of our Queen. 

And those watchers, wow!  Can you imagine putting yourself between 2 attacking falcons and Mariah..!   

[maggieblue]

It was comforting to read that the DEC folks are making sure that Mariah receives the best possible treatment.  The update this morning says that they are going to take her to Syracuse for treatment by a veterinarian with 30 years of experience with Peregrine falcons.  The Queen of the skies deserves the best.  It was wonderful that there were two experienced watchers who knew what action to take when she was on the ground and still under attack.  Kudos to them.

[carly]

They confirmed that both attacked her TPC, in fact the 2 watchers saved her life after the second fall and stood between Mariah and the 2 attacking falcons as they would not cease their attack of her. 

I cant' help but wonder if the 'turncoat' was involved with this other female all along.  I bet he was running back and forth between them and Mariah seemed hesitant at first to get involved with him - good instincts!!   

She did take food from the rehabber last night which is good but they are concerned that she may have internal bleeding due to her feces being black and runny they said.  She has 3 wounds, one deep one that requires moving her to Syracuse this morning for possible surgery.  The DEC is taking over her care as of today.  She is standing on her own they said and they are also treating her with antibiotics for something called 'bumblefoot',

The only good thing about this is that if Mariah doesn't go back, at least now one of her kids can reclaim the area in the future...and I'll be cheering them on!!

[The Peregrine Chick]

Forgot to ask ... has any of the Rochester spotters confirmed that Nobo was involved in the actual conflict?  Or was he just there?  Battles may be between the same gender but that doesn't usually mean that the other mate just sits there unconcerned or uninvolved.  They may not actually fight with the other gender but they frequently are knee-deep in it ...

Dennis and I watched our West Winnipeg male (Ivy) take off after an interloper that turned out to be female.  When his female arrived she lit into the interloper female but he was right there.  Without watching carefully, it would be hard to tell who was actually fighting and who was egging it on.  When the West Winnipeg birds reappeared, she arrived first, followed by him a minute or two later.

[The Peregrine Chick]

Not to be a dark cloud, but not all birds can be education ambassadors, they simply do not have the temperment for it.  Older wild birds can be hit/miss.  And peregrines as a species are kinda snotty. 

Brighter cloud - if she is gravid, even after this fight, she may lay viable eggs.  If she is recovering from injuries that aren't neurological or involve her feet, she could still incubate if she is willing to take food from humans.  If not, I imagine the eggs could be pulled and incubated.  They could be returned later to her to brood/foster if they can keep her on dummy eggs until they are hatched.  But again its all dependent on her taking food from the rehabbers.  With a great deal of good fortune (and if the Project thinks it is best) she could raise the chicks to fledging at which point, she and they (if she's ready) could be hack released from a location away from any/all resident pair(s).  By that point, most of the nests will be in a similar state.  Then everyone will be involved in hunting for and teaching the fledglings and hopefully not particularly interested in looking for trouble.  Then its migration out of the area for everyone and we all wait for next spring.

This is just a possibility - I have no idea what the Rochester/New York experts can/want/will do.  Nor do I have any insight in Mariah's condition or prognosis from the Imprints note.  And I don't know if Rochester/New York has the infrastructure (i.e., a safe hack site, secure breeding facility, etc) or the manpower.  Basically, this is just my first thought of a possibility that might keep everyone out of trouble and work if Mariah actually lays eggs ...

[kittenface]

More update at Imprint
http://rfalconcam.com/imprints/

[allikat]

Well..to me, that would be the perfect honor for Mariah, The Royal Ambassador of the Falcons!

She would literally be on a pedestal!  I can't imagine it being any better than that!

I wish for Mariah to have a full recovery and become the falcon ambassador!

We love you Mariah!

[bev.]

After a bird is rehabilitated , they can take it from school to school and talk to children about the raptors. or it can put on flight demonstrations. It is an ambassador of sorts. 
she certainly deserves at least that.

[allikat]

This may be a stupid question, if it is, I'm sorry What is an educator bird?

I also should of added in my post that I do not want Mariah to be released either...let her recover and keep her safe and treat her like royalty.  That's the least she deserves.  She's truly magnificent!

[bev.]

Carly, I feel the same as you. I would like to wring the males neck right now, even though I know this how it works.I am hoping that she cannot be released and that she can be an educator bird. She is known the world over. Froona documented her well. I thank all of us that have followed her are in shock becasue the season has been so upsetting for her to begin with.

I remember well, how this happened at Toronto Sheraton a few years ago, when Rhea Mea took over. although I think it was just Rhea Mea that took part. Mark Nash and I cried through e- mails.  but we love Rhea Mea.   But Mariah is the queen.

[allikat]

No Carly...It isn't aweful to feel this way!
It's so hard to be human & humane sometimes!
I wouldn't want to see her released into a  "trap" so to speak, either. 
I know it's nature and this is what falcons do in their world, and unfortunately, technology and recovery projects bring that reality to us, literally. 
I am very thankful that Carol & Brian were there to rescue her from a tag-team.

Mariah....you are a beautiful falcon and the queen of the skies.  We are all pulling for you to recover!

[carly]

More details from yesterday's fight, apparently Mariah did indeed hit the building the second time she fell.

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/kfalconcam/message/96494

I can't believe how upset I am over all this, more so because that turncoat mate of hers helped this new flousy!!  Part of me is hoping they can't release her because she will go right back and the two of them will finish her off and I couldnt' bear that.  Is that awful to feel like that?  I'd rather see her go in peace surrounded by the people that have watched and cared for her for years than to see her fall to the ground defeated   

[bev.]

To me Falcons and Mariah go hand in hand.
I have been a  follower since I started watching falcons, and I am extremely upset.

I am so glad that Carol and Brian were there.
Mariah will always be Queen of the skies.

Kimmarie of buffalo and Joyce first introduced me to Mariah and I was hooked from there on in. Kyver, the box , and now Mariah.

 

It si a bit much for me at the moment. thanks for the reports.
I am a member of their site so I have been over there.

[carly]

More news, I was afraid Zephyr might be a victim, soon as they said it was the falcon from the Psych centre and if the new tiercel helped, wonder if they planned it -do peregrines do that, set her up for a fall I mean???

Carol reports that Mariah survived the night. She’s not out of the woods by any means but it’s a hopeful sign. She will be seen by a Veterinarian this morning to check for other injuries and to determine whether she needs surgery. There is some concern about her eyesight but it is too soon to make a determination regarding that yet. Both the rehabbers and Vet have been informed that she may be gravid, or ready to lay eggs.  DEC Wildlife Technician Mike Allen has also been in contact with the rehabbers this morning.

In related news, we’ve received more details about the territory battle. It seems that Mariah was attacked by two Peregrines. Carol said that Mariah was brought down to the ground once and went back up. When she fell the second time Carol and Brian moved in to protect her from further attacks which were still being made. It seems likely that their actions saved Mariah’s life, and we’re grateful for their quick thinking and decisiveness.

The rehabbers noted that Mariah had two injuries, one sustained yesterday and another that looked recent. Watchers including Carol, Joyce Miller and Jim P traded notes about their various observations over the holiday weekend, and it seems like Mariah may have last been in command of her territory on Friday. Carol and Joyce reviewed their photos and watch observations from Saturday and both feel confident that the intruding female was at Midtown tower at that time. So Mariah may have sustained her first injury sometime after Noon on Friday, 10 April. As we saw last year and have witnessed at other sites, territory disputes like this can take place over a couple of days. This latest news appears to lend weight to an extended territory dispute.

All of this leads to a lot of uncertainty. Since two falcons attacked Mariah on Sunday, could it the new tiercel have worked with the intruder to attack Mariah on Sunday? If the female intruder is the one that has been seen at the Brighton site recently, what happened to Zephyr, who was seen in her company? Unfortunately there are a lot more questions than answers at this point. Doubtless we’ll get some of those answers as time goes on. For now we’re concentrating on Mariah’s treatment and we’re hopeful for her eventual recovery.

[carly]

Oh no, she has been through so much already and now this. I'm so glad they were able to rescue her, long live the Queen!!!