Other Peregrine Projects > USA Peregrines
PA / Harrisburg - Rachel Carson Building - 2008-21
carly:
Wow we don't do all that detailed checking. They weigh them and then band them and that's it. I know they used to do blood work years ago but they don't anymore..not sure why, maybe it depends on whether or not they are actively testing for something that may be of concern in the population. Perhaps that is what drives such extensive testing..I know down in some parts of the US they have the some concerns with the flame retardants that were found in some eggs so perhaps they are looking to see if the chicks are showing any signs of abnormalities as a precaution.
Better to test now before it becomes a serious issued like DDT did and threatens all our falcons. I'm just speculating but I"m sure TPC might know why they are so thorough.
allikat:
Oh I'm not sure...I didn't watch the banding.
I was just kinda asking/commenting on time frames and the stress level of the adults...Carly will most likely know that answer.
Linder:
Each chick was put in a box with a lid and taken down to auditorium type room. A box was brought in one at a time and the chick was weighted, mouth, eyes, ears, muscle development, tail feather length, feet, don't think I missed any body parts. The first chick brought in did have mites, parasites and they said they were going to dust before putting back on the ledge. Because of this the other 3 brought in would be dusted. The first inside was then tagged, tape put on one tag for identifying in fleding rescue and then put back in it's box. After the first was done it was taken out of the room and the next brought in. This continued until all four had been checked and banded, each chick took approx 5 minutes. This finished about 12:45 or so our time and they said they were going to be taken back to ledge. Then a Q&A happened. This ended around 1:00 and got back on the site webcam about 5 or so minutes later. Watched until 2:00 and only saw the one chick that had been left earlier and two angry parents. If I'm wrong tell me what I missed.
allikat:
After Ohio's banding and now Harrisburg's...is more than an hour just a ta excessive? I know they are doing PR and educating the young which is always a great thing...given that there are a important and protected bird! Just wondering on the stress level of the parents? Only TPC can answer that one...??
carly:
I didn't watch this one but interesting about leaving one chick on the ledge to try and calm the parents.
At our banding, the swing stage they use is the length of the ledge the nest is on so it blocks access to the ledge. The parents of course leave the ledge as soon as they put a toe on the rooftop and start attacking so the stage basically blocks the ledge from their view when it gets up to nest ledge. The three guys stay on the swing stage or skybox as they call it (partly the name of the company) the entire time of the banding and between them ducking and the the sides of the stage - they can't see the chicks are actually gone. They put them in a bag and tie to the end of a rope that someone on the roof pulls up with the chicks. The person on roof takes the chicks inside and goes down the elevator to the banding area.
Meantime mom and dad are so busy defending from the evil humans they don't notice what has happened. Chicks come back down the same way in the bag and get put back in the exact same location they were when they got there. Swing stage goes down and mom and dad think they have driven off the evil men and their chicks are still safe on the ledge.
Bandings are never easy to watch from the outside, hard to watch the parents stress so much and they are so aggressive you're scared they are going to hurt themselves. On the other hand, in the wild they'd have to deal with things alot nastier than a banding - I try to keep that in mind to calm myself because I stress out for them too.
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