Other Peregrine Projects > USA Peregrines
PA / Harrisburg - Rachel Carson Building - 2008-21
Linder:
--- Quote ---Some biologists feel the chicks aren't stressed at all and that parents have to deal with intruders all the time so it's not placing an 'undue' stress on them.
--- End quote ---
That is basically what was said today. They also said not in verbatim if parents are distressed at the nest site that they will abandon it. They justified this by saying they have been nesting here and banding as been going on and the nest has not been abandoned.
They had a set time for the banding and on their web site posted
5/6/2009 :: Educators and Students Invited to Attend Peregrine Falcon Banding Event on May 27th
On Wednesday, May 27th, the Dept. of Environmental Protection and the Pennsylvania Game Commission will host the annual Peregrine Falcon Banding Event at the Rachel Carson State Office Building in Harrisburg, PA from 12:30 - 2:00 p.m. Teachers and their students, non-formal educators and youth organizations are invited to attend this event. Activities will include the weighing, examination and banding of the nestlings. There is no cost to attend the banding event.
To register for this event, please contact Ann Devine at 717 772-1644 or adevine@state.pa.us.
This doesn't seem like a financial event but a learning one, however, too excessive or not in returning the chicks to the ledge and not having the parents banging at windows.
The Peregrine Chick: just helping out with the quotes & reability, no changes to content.
carly:
I don't think there is a set time for bandings, TPC?. The general rule of thumb here in Ontario is get it done as quickly and efficiently as possible to reduce the stress on the chicks and the parents.
There are divided opinions however from what I've read and people I've talked to. Some biologists feel the chicks aren't stressed at all and that parents have to deal with intruders all the time so it's not placing an 'undue' stress on them. Others feel the opposite way. We the observers of course stress like crazy because we view their reactions as quite stressful.
I don't think they are taking long on purpose, ours took at least an hour if not more yesterday which is double the usual time. The reason? We had government officials there who wanted to make an announcement to support our cause and at the end of the day - when you are in position where you rely on donations and even your own money to support something like helping an endangered or threatened species, you will bend over backwards (within reason) to be able to have the support and funding of the government. It means you can do things you probably only dreamed of to help the falcons.
This year alot of the bandings seem to be very 'PR' focused and I think that's because falcons are now making a comeback and we are finally getting publicity. It's an opportunity to make people aware of the work that has been done and what still has to be done and get the general population to not only donate but to become involved.
Humans tend to be fickle and causes come and go. Several years ago they used to have 40 people show up to do 'fledge' watch at my site, now we can barely scrape 3 or 4 people together to do it and aside from myself and one other guy, they are all retired. Not that I'm knocking retirees in any way but it's not always easy on them to stand all day, run down the street, run into traffic from dawn to dusk and yet they do it without complaint. Would be nice to have some of the younger generation helping out too and you know some of the retirees have been doing this for a decade or two and you learn so much just talking to them. <<Steps off her soapbox now>>
By the way I think 2 hours is excessive too personally but I'm trying not to be so emotional now and think of it from a more professional point of view now that I'm learning more about the organization and the obstacles they face..not always easy though I admit ... :-\
Linder:
Anyway my whole reaction on this was if this did take over 2 hrs and I don't know for sure if it did, should it be happening? That is why I asked if anyone had seen anything.
carly:
They must have known the chicks were inside no doubt. Apparently peregrines can't count...which is why they can slip an extra chick or two in for them to foster from time to time and the parents will accept them.
I would find it weird though they wouldn't notice 4 missing out of 5...one or two...maybe but 4 out of 5 is a bit tough to swallow.
Linder:
They did explain why there were checking the different body parts, it made sense and I understood as well as the kids in the room. They also said that the reason one chick was banded before was to placate the parents, which I mentioned before, but that when the other 4 were brought back that the parents wouldn't know any better and accept them because they don't know how many they have. Now that sounded weird to me, but maybe they don't. What bothered me was the parents at the window. Was this because they were mad at the window and the chicks were back or mad at the window because their chicks weren't. That site has sound and it was noisy.
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