OH / Columbus - Rhodes Tower - 2008-16

[The Peregrine Chick]

I don't know how it works in State government in the U.S., but I would be surprised if fundraising was a part of the equation.  I have never seen any fundraising requests on this site, and when the webcam computer needed to be replaced Donna Daniels talked about the challenges with the government budget.  Private funding didn't appear to be an option. When I worked for a provincial government it was not possible for government departments to accept any funding from individuals or businesses.  It appears to me to be more of a PR event and an attempt to involve the school children. 

I agree, more of a PR event.  Our Project is a registered charity for exactly the reason MaggieBlue states, as a provincial government activity, they couldn't apply for funding for special projects or accept donations.  We can as a charity but there is alot of work involved in running a charity so the trade-off sometimes is surprisingly even.

[Linder]

Hi, missed the banding. Do they have a video of this?

[allikat]

Just a took a look at the nestbox...
Chicks are sleeping at the back of the box.
Mom is keeping a very watchful eye out right now..but all will be calm soon.

[Pchemist]

getting government funds in the US is a matter of fundraising of a different sort.  You build advocacy in a key constituency, those folks lean on their elected officials, and funds flow.

[Pchemist]

I'm still going to leave it to the folks who run the project to decide.  They clearly do this because they love the birds (no one is geting rich or famous here).  Plus, it would be stunningly bad PR to kill the chicks in the process of banding them.

[maggieblue]

It may well be that this is a key item for them in raising funds to keep their project going.  I seriously doubt they would put the chicks in danger, no matter what we may think we see.

I don't know how it works in State government in the U.S., but I would be surprised if fundraising was a part of the equation.  I have never seen any fundraising requests on this site, and when the webcam computer needed to be replaced Donna Daniels talked about the challenges with the government budget.  Private funding didn't appear to be an option. When I worked for a provincial government it was not possible for government departments to accept any funding from individuals or businesses.  It appears to me to be more of a PR event and an attempt to involve the school children.  

[Elaine L]

I suspect this is how they do it at this site and it works for them.  I'm going to defer to the people who run the site on decisions like how long to keep the chicks during banding and how many photos and people to allow.  It may well be that this is a key item for them in raising funds to keep their project going.  I seriously doubt they would put the chicks in danger, no matter what we may think we see.

If you ever have an opportunity to volunteer at a wild bird centre, you will see how stress can kill them - so, for the sake of the birds, there is no talking, and the blood work and inspection are done as quickly as possible.  Of course, all the hoopla surrounding the Ohio banding raises funds, and the kids treating the chicks as pets works for them, but when public relations takes precedence over the welfare of the birds, you have to wonder if the end justifies the means.  

[Pchemist]

I suspect this is how they do it at this site and it works for them.  I'm going to defer to the people who run the site on decisions like how long to keep the chicks during banding and how many photos and people to allow.  It may well be that this is a key item for them in raising funds to keep their project going.  I seriously doubt they would put the chicks in danger, no matter what we may think we see.

[eagle63_1999]

Well that is over and done with, says the kids, now we can be left in peace!

[Elaine L]

The parents are extremely stressed; one keeps flying around, and cannot settle, while the other just does not know what to do.  I don't think these biologists and their entourage should have kept the chicks out of the nest so long.

[maggieblue]

I just caught the end of this with the return to the box.  The chicks look extremely stressed (panting).  Scout and Orville arrived back the second the humans left and must have been pretty stressed at having their chicks gone for an hour.

[carly]

Finally, back home...and not happy campers either    Give em heck!!

Mum and dad both on ledge!

[carly]

Our MNR would freak out at having all these kids stand there and pet the birds..I touched one last year and the woman literally screamed at me.  And they don't stand around with them taking photos and giving interviews for so long...wow...our banding takes like 20 minutes from start to finish, bring em down, weigh them, band them, one quick photo op then back in the bag and back up to mum and dad they go.

Interesting to see the differences, not critizing or anything, just very different. 

[Elaine L]

I wish they would concentrate more on getting the chicks banded quickly, and less on the media and PR; for the chicks, this is a terrifying experience, and all this handling and all these people around them - well, it is taking far too long.

[maggieblue]

The banding is live on the ledgecam right now. And the chicks are noisy and not happy with all the fuss. 
O.K., I know that this process probably won't cause any problems for the chicks but I can't stand to see them so upset so I won't be watcing any more.