OH / Ironton-Russell - 2005-10

[Alison]

2010 NESTING SEASON

Peregrine falcons banded and named

Three new peregrine falcons were introduced, named and banded Thursday morning at the park pavilion just off of the Ironton-Russell Bridge, with about four dozen people watching.  The Ohio Department of Natural Resources took the chicks out of their nest to place small bands on their legs as identification. They do this to track and protect the animal for a period of time after it is no longer considered endangered.  “They were endangered and we had zero peregrine falcons in Ohio,” said Jenny Norris, ODNR wildlife research biologist. “Now there are 35 territorial pairs and seven additional singles.”

“Honor” and “Patience,” the two female chicks, and “Sergeant,” the lone male, appeared older than Norris had expected. Originally estimated at three weeks old, Norris said they look closer to 24 days old.  Norris said the banding is safe for the chicks because their legs grow in length, but not in diameter. The leg size is also the way to tell the sex of the chick, as the female’s leg diameter will be larger than the male’s. In addition to the banding, Norris also did blood work on the chicks.

“We take blood samples so that if a bird becomes sick, we can determine potential causes,” Norris said.  After the work was finished on the chicks, they were returned to their nest where they are expected to stay for about four more weeks.  “They’ll fledge in about a month,” said Chris Smith, ODNR wildlife area supervisor. “Typically it’s at eight weeks.”

Denise Fraley, language arts teacher at Rock Hill Middle School, brought 11 students to watch the event. She has attended this event with students for the past four years. Fraley said this year it almost didn’t happen.  “I didn’t think I could do it because of the way the classes are scheduled this year,” Fraley said. “The students came to me. It’s because of their desire that we’re here in the first place.”  For Fraley’s class to attend the event, they did reports, reading and observed nests from a live webcam to learn more about the birds before they went, all in addition to regular school work.  Fraley said they enjoyed watching the webcam the most because they can observe anything from the eggs hatching, watching them eat, and anything else that happens.

“We can even watch them poop,” said Allison Schwab, eighth grade Rock Hill Middle School student. “I liked watching them on the camera.”  Jack Goodwin, also an eighth grade student in Fraley’s class, said he is surprised by how they look. “They’re bigger than what I expected,” Goodwin said. “I’ve seen pictures, but never up close. They look different from the way their parents look.”

Auretta Hensley, 43, of Ironton, took her three children to the event. As part of their home-school studies, the children have been learning about birds. Hensley said the peregrine falcon is the favorite of her son Seth, 11.  “I like the way their heads are shaped and their beaks,” Seth said. “I like that they can go really fast.”

Steve and Sharon Sweeney from Ashland, Ky., are fans of the peregrine falcon.  “We’re birders,” Steve Sweeney said. “I’ve seen them before. They look so elegant and ferocious. We’ve been birding since 1989,” Sweeney said. “You almost have to have someone introduce you to it. You see them and you get hooked.”

http://www.irontontribune.com/news/2010/may/21/peregrine-falcons-banded-and-named/

 

[bev.]

2005 NESTING SEASON

Birds to get nest on new bridge
By BEN FIELDS - The Daily Independent
2 June 2005

RUSSELL - It's up to them whether they use it or not, but a pair of peregrine falcons that have nested on the Ironton-Russell Bridge for at least the past five years will have a new nest once the span is destroyed.  The 83-year-old bridge has been slated for replacement for some time, and construction of a new span is scheduled to begin next year.

A peregrine born in a Toronto nest and known as Lucy has been nesting with an unidentified mate in a crawl space beneath the bridge's surface since at least 2000, and possibly before.  The pair have produced up to four chicks at the nest each year since 2001. However, the span that contains their home will eventually be dismantled - probably sometime after 2008, when the new bridge is expected to be completed.

Dave Scott, who has made a trip to Russell once a year since 2001 to retrieve falcon chicks from the nest and band them for tracking purposes, said he has been working with the Ohio Department of Transportation to make sure the falcons have the option of nesting on the new bridge.  Scott, who heads up the Olentangy Research Unit of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, said ODOT has kept him up to date on plans for the bridge and construction schedules. "ODOT has been very cooperative," Scott said. "We will provide the birds with a suitable structure for a nest on the new bridge."

ODOT spokeswoman Kathleen Fuller said the transportation department came up with the plan for a new nest while conducting the necessary environmental impact studies to build a new bridge. "We're going to have to have a new habitat for them since we'll be dismantling the old bridge," Fuller said. "The residents will get a new bridge and the birds will get a new nest."

Though peregrine falcons were removed from the list of federally protected species in 1999, the bird is still endangered in Ohio, where there are 22 known nests. There are now more than 2,000 peregrine nests across the country, up from just more than three dozen in 1970.  The decline of the species was largely attributed to the harsh pesticide DDT, which was outlawed in 1972. It was believed the chemical caused thinning in falcon egg shells.