UND Tower - 2015 / Marv & Terminator

[The Peregrine Chick]

just a bit of info here. I had talked to Gord about another matter on Friday, an d he informed me about the capture of one of our captive bred birds from the Pembina. I was very excited as was ;he. Hacking has been scoffed at by quite a few, but when done properly , it works.  If this one made it that far, I am sure many others did as well.
So Gord was notified and with so much other on his plate, he was just going to be replying to them.

Bev, I am so happy that one of your captive bred peregrines has shown up in Texas. Wonderful news! I am sure there are others out there somewhere. Which year was this peregrine born?

It is a chick of the year (hatched 2015) on his first migration south

[Alison]

just a bit of info here. I had talked to Gord about another matter on Friday, an d he informed me about the capture of one of our captive bred birds from the Pembina. I was very excited as was ;he. Hacking has been scoffed at by quite a few, but when done properly , it works.  If this one made it that far, I am sure many others did as well.
So Gord was notified and with so much other on his plate, he was just going to be replying to them.

Bev, I am so happy that one of your captive bred peregrines has shown up in Texas. Wonderful news! I am sure there are others out there somewhere. Which year was this peregrine born?

[Alison]

I loved the photo of Malala which accompanied the Grand Forks Herald article. She is so beautiful.

Photo: Padre Island Peregrine Falcon Survey.

[The Peregrine Chick]

just a bit of info here. I had talked to Gord about another matter on Friday, an d he informed me about the capture of one of our captive bred birds from the Pembina. I was very excited as was ;he. Hacking has been scoffed at by quite a few, but when done properly , it works.  If this one made it that far, I am sure many others did as well.
So Gord was notified and with so much other on his plate, he was just going to be replying to them.

I'm afraid I'm the one who gave Gord more work to do 
 
The folks from the US know what a band geek I am so when the Banding Office could only tell them the bird was from Canada they asked me and I asked around.

As for hacking, we wouldn't have any peregrines south of the Arctic Circle in North America if it wasn't for hacking, but hacked chicks generally have fewer survivors than chicks that fledge from nestsites.  Could be that nest chicks develop more survival skills faster because of their interaction with their parents and siblings. Or perhaps hack chicks are more adventurous without parents and siblings to act as anchors.  Who knows, but it is nice to have the option to hack chicks safely, particularly if you have a few to hack at the same time!  And every hack site is different and some have much better track rates than others - I suspect Gord has a particularly good site set up so that likely makes all the difference!

[bev.]

just a bit of info here. I had talked to Gord about another matter on Friday, an d he informed me about the capture of one of our captive bred birds from the Pembina. I was very excited as was ;he. Hacking has been scoffed at by quite a few, but when done properly , it works.  If this one made it that far, I am sure many others did as well.
So Gord was notified and with so much other on his plate, he was just going to be replying to them.

[The Peregrine Chick]

Here's a link to the article about Malala in the Grand Forks Herald posted today (29 11 2015)

http://www.grandforksherald.com/outdoors/recreation/3890975-brad-dokken-grand-forks-padre-island

Thanks for posting this RCF.

And for those reading the article - "Marv, a newcomer who showed up in the spring of 2014" is the 2013 son of Annie from West Winnipeg & Miracle in on the Bank of the West in Fargo.

The folks in Texas were talking with Tim about Malala and wondered if he knew anyone in Canada to help with information about another bird they caught about the same time.  Tim contacted me with the band number and we managed to track down that a female, captive-bred chick hack-released at the same location as some of the Edmonton chicks over the last few years.  Interestingly, she had a similar grounding story as Malala - found grounded not long after fledging, taking to a rehabber where she was found to be uninjured and she was re-released from her fledge site and that was last anyone saw of her, until her debut on Padre Island.  Haven't had any reports of Manitoba birds being caught there, but if one does, they are in good company and I will be sure to post the info.

[RCF]

Here's a link to the article about Malala in the Grand Forks Herald posted today (29 11 2015)

http://www.grandforksherald.com/outdoors/recreation/3890975-brad-dokken-grand-forks-padre-island

[The Peregrine Chick]

I just got a call from the folks at Grand Forks who were sharing the same news!  You two are faster than official channels - well done!! 

[Alison]

Thank you for posting this update on Malala, RCF! It is wonderful news that she has been identified on Padre Island, all the more so since back in August she was found unable to fly.

Sadly, along with this good news there is also bad news. Malala's brother Nelson was found dead on November 5; apparently he had been dead for some time. Poor little Nelson.

GF peregrine chick Malala turns up alive and well on Padre Island

“Malala,” a peregrine falcon chick hatched this spring atop the UND water tower and banded in June, has shown up on Padre Island in Texas.

Tim Driscoll, the Grand Forks raptor expert who banded the bird, said he received an email Wednesday afternoon with photos clearly showing the peregrine’s band number and another photo showing the bird being released. Driscoll said he was working to get additional info about the bird and why she was captured, but the band number confirms Malala is alive and well more than 1,700 miles from where she was banded.

There was concern about Malala this summer when a police officer found her grounded Aug. 3 near the new UND Medical School building. She was taken to the Raptor Center in St. Paul, where staff found no sign of injury or disease and dubbed her fit to fly after several days of observation. She was driven back to Grand Forks and released Aug. 12, and Driscoll hadn’t seen or heard any reports of her whereabouts since then.

Until Wednesday, that is.

Driscoll names the birds he bands for convenience, saying it’s easier to remember a name than a band number. He dubbed Malala after Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl who won a Nobel Peace Prize after surviving an assassination attempt aboard a school bus for defying the Taliban’s ban on girls attending school.

The news this week was less favorable for Nelson, Malala’s sibling and another of the four chicks hatched this spring on the UND water tower. Driscoll said he received word Nov. 5 the chick had been found dead on the roof of the UND steam plant, and the band number confirmed the bird’s identity. He suspects the chick, named after South African anti-apartheid activist and politician Nelson Mandela, had been dead since late July, judging by the condition of its body.

Why the chick wasn’t found or reported before now after being dead that long is anyone’s guess, Driscoll said. Another chick, Helen — for Helen Hamilton, the first woman to graduate from the UND School of Law — never fledged and likely died in the nest box, Driscoll said.

The chicks are offspring of Marv and Terminator, whom Driscoll said flew the coop and headed south for the winter in early October.

http://braddokken.areavoices.com/2015/11/19/gf-peregrine-chick-malala-turns-up-alive-and-well-on-padre-island/

[RCF]

This was posted on November 18th 2015 from the Padre Island Peregrine Falcon Survey facebook page. They got the state wrong, it is North Dakota not South Dakota. If you have FB, you will be able to read all the comments. I didn't think I should copy and paste all the comments from there to here.


Here is an update on Malala  

Peregrines banded elsewhere and captured during the survey are prized, as they yield considerable hard-earned information of individual migratory traits. Ruth Mutch captured a color banded Hatch Year falcon. The black over red alpha-numeric band indicates it originated in the Northeastern USA.   


https://www.facebook.com/PadreIslandPeregrines/





Padre Island Peregrine Falcon Survey's photos.

'Ruth sends her on her way!'

[Alison]

Hopefully this will be what happens when/if we get to return Tiggy in the next little while!!

I hope so too. Waiting to hear good news of Tiggy.

[The Peregrine Chick]

Hopefully this will be what happens when/if we get to return Tiggy in the next little while!!

[dupre501]

Thanks for the update Alison! Glad to hear she's doing better.

[Alison]

One more photo of Malala:

[Alison]

Malala is home!

Peregrine chick returns to Grand Forks after rehab

By Brad Dokken

Malala had herself quite a day on Tuesday.

The Grand Forks-hatched peregrine falcon hitched a ride from The Raptor Center in St. Paul Tuesday morning and headed west on Interstate 94 for Alexandria, Minn., the first stop on her return trip to the UND water tower where she was hatched this spring. Malala was sent to the center last week when she was found unable to fly.

Malala's chauffeur, a Raptor Center volunteer, met Grand Forks birding enthusiast Judy Johnson in Alexandria.

Nestled comfortably in a cardboard container, Malala resumed her trek north in the back of Johnson's blue Ford Escape.

She pulled into town early afternoon and was set free before a half-dozen onlookers on the south side of UND's Starcher Hall. First, though, she left a little love mark on the left thumb of Grand Forks raptor expert Tim Driscoll, who had removed Malala from her container for Johnson to release.

Set free, the falcon sailed over the top of Starcher Hall before disappearing around the corner of the building, most likely to join her parents who were nearby on this stifling August afternoon.

And that was that.

 

Left; Tim Driscoll with Malala. Right; Judy Johnson with Malala. Photos from the article.

Mystery malady

No one can explain why Malala couldn't fly after a police officer found her grounded on Aug. 3 near the new UND Medical School building.

Driscoll, who banded Malala and her three siblings in June, can't explain it, nor could Raptor Center staff who examined the peregrine after she was taken to the facility.

Driscoll drove Malala to Alexandria on Aug. 4, where a Raptor Center volunteer picked her up for the rest of the trip to St. Paul.

There was no sign of injury or disease, Driscoll said, and Raptor Center staff dubbed Malala fit and able to fly.

And so she came home, her mystery malady marking the second time in three years Grand Forks-hatched peregrines were found unable to fly for no apparent reason. Two other chicks displayed similar symptoms in 2013.

"They didn't diagnose any blood disease or wing problems," Driscoll said. "We wonder about something internal or something in the blood."

Driscoll said Malala is still hanging out with her parents, who are expected to remain around the UND water tower until October, while she learns to hunt and fend for herself.

"As a young bird, the sooner we can get her back with the adults, the better," Driscoll said. "She's probably hunting on her own, but she still needs the support of her adult parents. So we let her go."

Driscoll said Malala looked much better than the bird he picked up last week and appeared to have gained a few ounces.

"I thought she looked great," he said. "She was frisky, she was feisty, she gave me a little kiss goodbye—and she flew, unlike the last time we had her over here when she was on the ground and didn't want to fly an inch. I guess that's about as good of news as we can hope for."

Driscoll, who names the birds he bands for convenience—it's easier to remember a name than a band number—named Malala after Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl who won a Nobel Peace Prize after surviving an assassination attempt aboard a school bus for defying the Taliban's ban on girls attending school.

http://www.grandforksherald.com/outdoors/wildlife/3816596-peregrine-chick-returns-grand-forks-after-rehab

Many thanks to everyone involved in making sure that Malala received the best of care, and in transporting her back and forth to The Raptor Center.

Northeast Dakota and North Minnesota are now under a severe thunderstorm warning. I hope all peregrines and humans will stay safe.

[Alison]

Malala will be coming home today!



Malala taking a bath on July 5; she is a beauty. photo by Dave Lambeth.

Grounded peregrine chick returning to Grand Forks after visit to Raptor Center

By Brad Dokken

A Grand Forks peregrine chick taken to The Raptor Center in St. Paul last week after being found unable to fly has gotten a clean bill of health and will be returned to Grand Forks on Wednesday to be released near the UND water tower where she was hatched.

Local raptor expert Tim Driscoll on Tuesday said Raptor Center staff ran tests on the young female named Malala and could find no signs of injury or disease. Driscoll, who banded the chick in June, dubbed her after Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl who won a Nobel Peace Prize after surviving an assassination attempt aboard a school bus for defying the Taliban's ban on girls attending school.

Driscoll routinely names the peregrine chicks he bands. The UND water tower has the only peregrine nest in Grand Forks and is one of only two in the state; the other is in Fargo.

Malala was one of four peregrines—two males and two females—hatched this spring atop the UND water tower. Driscoll said she has been flying fine during trials at the Raptor Center.

"They wouldn't let her go if she didn't," Driscoll said. "They are anxious to get her back with her parents. She's not completely independent yet. She's off on her own hunting but probably still being fed by her parents while learning to hunt."

Driscoll said a local birder will meet a volunteer from the Raptor Center this morning in Alexandria, Minn., where Malala will switch vehicles for the remainder of the trip to Grand Forks. If all goes according to plan, she'll be released sometime midafternoon, he said.

Still a mystery, Driscoll said, is why Malala couldn't fly when she was found Aug. 3 by a police officer near the new UND Medical School building. Two peregrine chicks displayed similar symptoms in 2013, and Raptor Center staff found nothing wrong with either.

"I don't know what to think of that," Driscoll said.

It's possible, he said, that the chicks just became temporarily ill for some reason, similar to when humans catch a flu bug; humans with the flu don't feel much like moving either.

"It's almost like they're saying, 'I'm not going to fly, you can't make me,' " Driscoll said. "The Raptor Center said she is fine, and they're tough down there.

"I just hope we hear about this bird two years from now."

http://www.grandforksherald.com/outdoors/3815599-grounded-peregrine-chick-returning-grand-forks-after-visit-raptor-center

I hope everything will go well for Malala from now on. I also hope that her siblings will turn up.

[The Peregrine Chick]

I will be very surprised if the female chick became a meal for its siblings - not something peregrines typically do - particularly chicks with a parent as experienced as Terminator.  I only know of one report of "cannabalism" by peregrines and it occurred at a nest or a couple of nests along a section of shoreline on the Great Lakes.  They found that because of the lack of prey in the area, nests with more than two chicks were more likely to fail completely but that nests with two chicks could survive.  And in one of those nests, on one occasion, the researchers witnessed the chicks eating another chick.  Or at least that is how I remember the article - I'm going to have to go find it now in my records to be sure.

In any case, I will be very surprised if they find that something similar has happened at the Grand Forks site given the dearth of available prey and two experienced parents, one exceedingly so.

I've contacted Tim in Grand Forks so hopefully I will hear back soon ... or when they get up to the nestbox next ... or when someone spots Helen sitting pretty on a nearby building one morning ...

[Alison]

Just found another article, from August 4, which has some additional information.

Grand Forks peregrine chick taken to Raptor Center

By Brad Dokken

One of the four peregrine chicks hatched this spring atop the UND water tower was on Tuesday taken to the Raptor Center in St. Paul, and a second chick is believed to be dead.

Tim Driscoll, the Grand Forks raptor expert who banded the peregrines in June, said Malala, a female chick, was found Monday by the new UND Medical School building unable to fly, and he picked her up later that afternoon.

Driscoll named the bird after after Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl who won a Nobel Peace Prize after surviving an assassination attempt aboard a school bus for defying the Taliban's ban on girls attending school.

On Tuesday, Driscoll drove Malala to Alexandria, Minn., where another driver picked up the chick for the second leg of the trip to St. Paul. Driscoll said the peregrine appeared to be favoring her right wing but was able to flap it.

She was "really frisky," despite being unable to fly, he said.

"She's aggressive," he said while en route to Alexandria, Minn. "She doesn't like Springsteen music or the Eagles," both of which apparently were playing on Driscoll's car stereo.

"Sometimes they have a strained wing or a bruised wing" and recover in a few days, he said.

Likely casualty

The news was even worse for Helen, the other female peregrine chick. Driscoll said he believes she is dead, because neither he nor other observers saw the chick in the nest box before the birds fledged about 10 days ago.

Helen is named after Helen Hamilton, the first woman to graduate from the UND School of Law.

"We were not seeing four babies in the nest box," Driscoll said. "We saw them eating a carcass that looked like a baby peregrine, so I'm hoping the bands are still in the box."

Driscoll said Helen is the smallest of the four chicks, so something might have gotten her, or she could have been injured in the nest or died from bad food. Being the smallest of the brood, she would be the most likely to succumb to natural hardships, he said.

"Normally, that would be the one that would lose out," Driscoll said.

The other two chicks—males named Lewis and Nelson—haven't been seen since they left the nest. Driscoll, who named the male chicks after Bob Lewis, a birding expert he cites as a mentor, and Nelson Mandela, the South African activist and politician, said it's normal for the chicks to gradually move farther and farther away from their nest.

"They hang out together for awhile and gradually separate," he said. "They're learning how to hunt all on their own, and then they—up and on their own—decide to migrate without their parents. That just amazes me that somehow these birds, without their parents, decide it's time to head south."

Driscoll said the parents, female Terminator and male Marv, will hang around the water tower until about Oct. 1 before migrating. They don't leave at the same time or travel together.

"They find each other at the nest box in the spring" if both survive the migration, he said. "They're hardwired to come back to the UND water tower."

Similar incidents

This isn't the first time a Grand Forks peregrine has made the trip to the Raptor Center. In September 2013, two siblings named Stella and George were taken to the facility just a couple of weeks apart because they were unable to fly. Staff never were able to diagnose an ailment, Driscoll said, but both birds recovered. Stella was returned to Grand Forks and released, and George was released somewhere in the Twin Cities, Driscoll said.

"We haven't heard from either one of them since, so that's not necessarily bad news or good new," he said.

Driscoll's trip to Alexandria took an added twist Tuesday when the Raptor Center called him on the road and asked if he could pick up an injured great horned owl near Fergus Falls, Minn. Driscoll was near Fergus Falls at the time, and so he followed directions to a small lake, where he found the owl perched on a rock along the shoreline.

He scooped it up with a net and hauled the owl to Alexandria with Malala, where it joined the peregrine for the ride to the Raptor Center.

"It was small and I'm guessing a male," Driscoll said. "I'm not sure of the problem, but he was real lethargic."

http://www.grandforksherald.com/outdoors/wildlife/3810960-grand-forks-peregrine-chick-taken-raptor-center

[Alison]

This update, dated August 6, is the first news I have seen for some time about the Grand Forks peregrines.

Mystery: Grand Forks peregrine found unable to fly has no obvious ailments

By Brad Dokken

Malala, the Grand Forks peregrine falcon chick that was taken on Tuesday to the Raptor Center in St. Paul after being found unable to fly, doesn't appear to have anything seriously wrong with her.

Tim Driscoll, the Grand Forks raptor expert who on Tuesday drove Malala to Alexandria, Minn., to meet a volunteer who took the bird to the Raptor Center, said he received word Thursday that Raptor Center staff couldn't find anything wrong with the bird.

"They did not diagnose anything wrong, not even a bruised wing, which is better than I thought," Driscoll said. "She is not eating a whole lot, but that is not unusual. That usually takes a day or so. I think it's about as good as we could have hoped."

This isn't the first time a Grand Forks-hatched peregrine has turned up unable to fly. In September 2013, two chicks were taken to the Raptor Center a couple of weeks apart after displaying similar problems with flying. Both recovered and were released, and no ailments were diagnosed for either bird.

Driscoll named the peregrine after Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl who won a Nobel Peace Prize after surviving an assassination attempt aboard a school bus for defying the Taliban's ban on girls attending school.

Malala is one of four peregrine chicks that were hatched this spring atop the UND water tower. The other female chick, Helen, is believed to be dead, and the two male chicks, Bob and Nelson, haven't been seen since leaving the nest a couple of weeks ago, Driscoll said.

Driscoll, who banded and named the chicks in June, named Helen after Helen Hamilton, the first woman to graduate from the UND School of Law. Bob is named after Bob Lewis, a birding expert Driscoll cites as a mentor, and Nelson is named after Nelson Mandela, the late South African politician and activist.

http://www.grandforksherald.com/outdoors/3812841-mystery-grand-forks-peregrine-found-unable-fly-has-no-obvious-ailments

I hope Malala will be okay. I have not seen any updates on Helen, and did not know that she was believed to be dead. I wonder why they think that is the case. It is also not good news that Bob and Nelson have not been seen for a couple of weeks. I hope they are out there somewhere.  

[Alison]

A very short video of yesterday's banding:

https://www.facebook.com/GrandForksHerald/posts/10153355719710169

[The Peregrine Chick]

I was not asking for this to happen, I just thought it would be nice if people could watch.  

Sorry if I made is sound like you were RCF, it was just the perfect opportunity to explain why we don't and I used McKenzie Seeds as an example as we'll probably be banding them first this year!

Except my work schedule is busier than usual this year, I had thought about pitching the an idea of getting a group together to go down to Grand Forks to watch their banding.  If folks are interested, I can add it to the things we see about arranging for next year.  Particularly if Terminator is back again.

[RCF]

Certainly some locations lend themselves to public bandings - the UND nestsite in Grand Forks where the birds have to come down to be banded is an excellent example.  But most peregrines in North America are banded without spectators or spectacle.

And as much as I can fully appreciate how much everyone would like to see the chicks up close I can't really believe that you would want us to put them through additional stress.  

For example, in Brandon, we band the chicks about 100 feet away from their nestbox.  We retrieve them by ladder from their nestbox which is attached 20 feet up a wall, take them just inside the building so their parents aren't more agitated watching us handle their chicks and the chicks are more agitated responding to their parents' distress.  We band them which takes on average about 20 minutes for 4 chicks and we return them to the roof.  A public banding event would double or triple the time because as there are no working elevators in the building now, we would need to carry them downstairs and then to another venue because access to the building is restricted while waiting for renovations to begin.  So off to another venue, then we'd start the banding, let everyone look and take pictures and all the rest that goes along with any public event.  Then pack them up, back to McKenzie Seeds, back up 7 flights of stairs, then back up another flight to the roof for the release.

Add to this that we are constrained by the limits our our permits - both our provincial and federal permits.  In the US, the peregrine is not an at-risk species at the federal level, here in Canada they are.  Individual states have different regulations re handling, here in Manitoba we have the same and they are a designated endangered species.  And banders are further governed by rules of conduct regarding the handling of the birds they are banding.  The upshot of this, in very simple terms is, "handle with care".

And for all these reasons, the Project does not arrange public banding events.

I was not asking for this to happen, I just thought it would be nice if people could watch. 

[The Peregrine Chick]

Certainly some locations lend themselves to public bandings - the UND nestsite in Grand Forks where the birds have to come down to be banded is an excellent example.  But most peregrines in North America are banded without spectators or spectacle.

And as much as I can fully appreciate how much everyone would like to see the chicks up close I can't really believe that you would want us to put them through additional stress.  

For example, in Brandon, we band the chicks about 100 feet away from their nestbox.  We retrieve them by ladder from their nestbox which is attached 20 feet up a wall, take them just inside the building so their parents aren't more agitated watching us handle their chicks and the chicks are more agitated responding to their parents' distress.  We band them which takes on average about 20 minutes for 4 chicks and we return them to the roof.  A public banding event would double or triple the time because as there are no working elevators in the building now, we would need to carry them downstairs and then to another venue because access to the building is restricted while waiting for renovations to begin.  So off to another venue, then we'd start the banding, let everyone look and take pictures and all the rest that goes along with any public event.  Then pack them up, back to McKenzie Seeds, back up 7 flights of stairs, then back up another flight to the roof for the release.

Add to this that we are constrained by the limits our our permits - both our provincial and federal permits.  In the US, the peregrine is not an at-risk species at the federal level, here in Canada they are.  Individual states have different regulations re handling, here in Manitoba we have the same and they are a designated endangered species.  And banders are further governed by rules of conduct regarding the handling of the birds they are banding.  The upshot of this, in very simple terms is, "handle with care".

And for all these reasons, the Project does not arrange public banding events.

[bccs]

About 70 people gathered to watch regional raptor expert Tim Driscoll of Grand Forks band the four chicks, offspring of Terminator and Marv.

Wouldn't that be great if this could be done here in Manitoba. I bet there are a lot of people who would love to see a falcon up close.  Good exposure usually means more funding for the needs of the peregrines. It seems the more people attend there is a much better chance at getting donations. Also people get educated on these beautiful birds.

What a fabulous idea RCF. Not only are there lots of people that would like to see a peregrine up close, I bet they would pay to be there.
I know I would and what a fantastic way to support the Manitoba project.
Good thinking.

[RCF]

About 70 people gathered to watch regional raptor expert Tim Driscoll of Grand Forks band the four chicks, offspring of Terminator and Marv.

Wouldn't that be great if this could be done here in Manitoba. I bet there are a lot of people who would love to see a falcon up close.  Good exposure usually means more funding for the needs of the peregrines. It seems the more people attend there is a much better chance at getting donations. Also people get educated about these beautiful birds.

[The Peregrine Chick]

Beautiful chicks; the first photo is of Lewis.

Come from good stock 

[Alison]

An article friom the Grand Forks Herald about yesterday's banding:

Falcon chicks take center stage during Wednesday banding effort

By Brad Dokken

Four peregrine falcon chicks drew quite a crowd Wednesday afternoon below the UND water tower.

About 70 people gathered to watch regional raptor expert Tim Driscoll of Grand Forks band the four chicks, offspring of Terminator and Marv.

Terminator, a female hatched in 2006 in Brandon, Man., has been nesting in Grand Forks since 2008, the first two years on the Smiley water tower and since 2010 on the UND water tower. This year, she produced four chicks with Marv, a newcomer who first showed up on the local peregrine scene last year.

Four is a record hatch for Terminator, whose previous best was three, Driscoll said.

The four chicks—two males and two females—hitched a ride from their nest box high atop the UND water tower courtesy of climbers Cory Floden and Nate Reitan, who ascended the tower and carefully placed the birds in a pet carrier, which they lowered to the ground by rope.

Terminator, meanwhile, circled the 150-foot water tower none too happy about the disturbance, judging by her constant shrieks. Marv also showed up later after a midday hunting foray.

"She's done this eight times before," Driscoll said. "She started squawking the second we put the ladder on the tower."

Show and tell

Driscoll, along with Laura Bell of the University of Minnesota-Crookston and her husband, Jeff Bell, a UND graduate student, banded the four chicks—in the process delivering one of the coolest show-and-tell sessions any of the spectators are likely to see anytime soon.

Also helping was UMC student Tiffany Muellner.

Gerry Nies and his wife, Patsy, of Grand Forks, were among the crowd who gathered to watch the banding and pet the downy chicks. Patsy Nies said she's attended more than half a dozen previous banding events, while Gerry Nies was watching for the second time.

"It's absolutely fascinating to think they've come back from virtual extinction," he said.

Besides banding the chicks with bands on each leg, the crew took blood samples for genetic testing and avian malaria before returning the birds to the pet carrier and their rope-drawn ascent back to the nest box.

Driscoll said the chicks are about 22 days old and will remain in the nest another 20 days or so.

This year's names

In keeping with tradition, Driscoll also named the chicks, dubbing the females "Malala" after Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl who won a Nobel Peace Prize after surviving an assassination attempt aboard a school bus for defying the Taliban's ban on girls attending school; and "Helen" for Helen Hamilton, the first woman to graduate from the UND School of Law.

The males he named "Lewis" after Bob Lewis, a birding expert Driscoll cites as a mentor; and "Nelson" after Nelson Mandela, the South African anti-apartheid activist and politician.

This year's Grand Forks peregrine hatch marks another positive step in the successful recovery of a species that was on the brink of extinction by the early 1970s. The banning of DDT and an effort to restore the species by raising captive birds and building nesting boxes paved the way for a recovery that culminated with the falcons' removal from the endangered species list in 1999.

Grand Forks and Fargo have the only two known nesting pairs of peregrine falcons in North Dakota. According to the Midwest Peregrine Society, Minnesota has more than 60 nests, mostly along the North Shore, the Twin Cities metro area and the Mississippi River bluffs in the southeast part of the state.

Driscoll says he's not surprised by the local interest in Grand Forks' nesting peregrines.

"Peregrines, they're the king," he said. "They fly fast, they get all the press—they're just cool. And they're right here in River City.

"If I'd have been an 8-year-old kid and they told me I could stand 5 feet away from a peregrine falcon, I'd have said, 'No way.'"

These days, it's an annual occurrence.

Photos by Eric Hylden. Beautiful chicks; the first photo is of Lewis.

 

http://www.grandforksherald.com/outdoors/wildlife/3768645-falcon-chicks-take-center-stage-during-wednesday-banding-effort

[Alison]

From the Grand Forks Herald:

Wednesday: Public peregrine falcon banding event, 1 p.m., UND water tower.

Looking forward to seeing photos.

[The Peregrine Chick]

Got an email from Tim today and they will be banding Terminator's and Marv's chicks on June 17th.  I've asked them to send us photos (or links to a gallery) and/or any news stories on the banding.

[RCF]

Grand Forks peregrine nest has four chicks

Local bander and raptor expert Tim Driscoll said he has verified four peregrine chicks in the nest atop the UND water tower.


http://www.grandforksherald.com/outdoors/wildlife/3760677-grand-forks-peregrine-nest-has-four-chicks

[The Peregrine Chick]

I have a photo of Marv as an adult somewhere I think, will check when I'm home this evening.

[Alison]

I hope that someone will be able to take photos of Marv this year in his adult plumage.

He was a handsome juvie, and I'm sure he is a very handsome tiercel.

Photo of Marv in 2014 by Dave Lambeth.

[Alison]

Part IV

Peregrine Falcon Facts

Other amazing information about peregrine falcons:

• Peregrines are among the fastest creatures alive. They are capable of sustained flight of 50 to 60 mph. In short bursts, they can reach more than 80 mph, and in hunting dives, they've been timed at more than 200 mph.

• Peregrines are the most cosmopolitan of all birds. They occur on every continent except Antarctica and on every other substantial land mass except New Zealand and Antarctica.

• Peregrine falcons do not build nests. Rather, they use scrapes or ledges on cliffs, or in Grand Forks and other cities, nest boxes placed by humans.

• Peregrines that nest in the Arctic typically migrate, sometimes as far as southern South America and southern Africa. Yet other peregrines are essentially sedentary. Peregrines in coastal California are so regular that birders are pretty much certain to see them any day of the year. Falcons that breed in Britain seldom leave the islands, but Scandinavian falcons spend winters in southeastern Britain.

• Generations of falcon families use the same nesting site, called an eyrie. One such site in Scotland has been occupied continuously since the 13th century.

• There are about 20 subspecies of peregrines, but blood lines have become mixed during the recovery effort, when Arctic birds were bred to other subspecies from around the world.

• The peregrine and its close relatives were regarded as manifestations of divinity in ancient Egypt, and the pharaoh was closely identified with the figure of a falcon and with the falcon-headed god named Horus.

• In the current bestselling book "H is for Hawk," Helen Macdonald writes, "In ancient shamanic traditions right across Eurasia hawks and falcons were seen as messengers between this world and the next." The role of hawks and falcons in Celtic myth and in British history, is a subtext of her book.

• The peregrine falcon has been a favorite of falconers for millennia, probably beginning in Mesopotamia and China. In Europe, Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, king of Germany, Sicily and Italy and Holy Roman emperor, thought highly of the falcon and devoted much of his treatise "On the Art of Falconry" to peregrines. It was written before 1248.

Peregrine names

Not everyone thinks wild creatures should have names—but naming them makes them easier to keep track of, and tracking peregrines is an important part of understanding how they behave.

The falcons also are banded—twice. One is a silver band issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This bears a number, but it's not visible at a distance, so a second, colored band is added. Lettering and the color pattern are unique to each bird and allow it to be identified.

The names make it easier to remember the birds, an essential part of keeping track of them.

Names are arbitrary, but Tim Driscoll, responsible for banding the Grand Forks falcons, has adopted a naming protocol. He chooses names that have local significance.

For example, falcons have been named for outdoor enthusiasts such as state Sen. Stella Fritzell, a prominent conservation advocate, Frances Kannowski, longtime director of the Grand Forks Park Board, and Eve Freeberg, an enthusiastic local birder. Some are named for historical characters, such as Alexander, for Alexander Griggs, founder of the city, and Anson, for Anson Northrup, pioneer of steam boating on the Red River. Since the move to the UND campus, names from its history have been chosen, George for George Starcher, longtime UND president, and Lux and Lex for the twin virtues celebrated in the university's motto. Some names are whimsical, such as Smiley, named for the water tower where he was born, and some are personal, including Ansel, whom Driscoll named for his father.

Marv, the male of the current pair, was fledged in Fargo and named for a local broadcasting personality.

Terminator, raised in Brandon, Man., was named, presumably, for the peregrine's legendary hunting prowess.

http://www.grandforksherald.com/outdoors/3715273-always-season-peregrines-grand-forks-belong-amazing-story-recovery

[dupre501]

What a thorough article. Thanks for sharing that one Alison.
And a nice photo of Smiley as a juvenile.

[Alison]

Part III

Grand Forks Peregrine Timeline

Here is a look at the history of peregrines in Grand Forks, based on information from local raptor expert Tim Driscoll:

• 2005: An adult male spent the summer on the Smiley water tower. A box was placed on the east walkway of the tower in September.

• 2007: Bear, a male raised in Fargo, attempted to attract a mate. A female spent time at the tower, but no mating occurred.

• 2008: Bear and Terminator nested on the tower. Their only fledgling, Ozzie, was electrocuted on July 18.

• 2009: Bear didn't return, but another Fargo-raised male, Roosevelt, mated with Terminator. They fledged three young: Smiley, a male, and females named Alice and Ethel. Ethel was found dead on July 26. Alice was seen attempting to breed in Brandon, Man., in 2010 and 2011. In 2012, Smiley mated with a female named Princess. They raised two females on the Radisson Hotel in downtown Winnipeg. Smiley returned to the hotel earlier this year. In Grand Forks, the water tower called "Smiley" was demolished in the fall of 2009. The nest box was moved to UND's water tower about a mile farther west and on the north side of the BNSF tracks.

• 2010: Terminator and Roosevelt showed up at the new location where they raised three young—a male named Clifford and females named Lux and Lex. Their fates are not known.

• 2011: Terminator and Roosevelt came back for a third year together and fledged three young—a male named Ansel and females named Eve and Beverley. Eve was hurt in a fight over territory in St. Paul, received treatment at The Raptor Center there, and was released in Alexandria, Minn., in 2013. In 2014, she raised four young in Minneapolis.

• 2012: Terminator and Roosevelt were back and raised three young—males named Walsh and Alexander, and a female named Frances. Frances was found dead on Aug. 20. Walsh was seen in Sioux Falls, S.D., on April 20, 2014.

• 2013: Terminator showed up, but Roosevelt did not return. Instead, Terminator mated with an unbanded male, and they fledged three young—males named George and Anson and a female named Stella. Stella was found on the UND campus unable to fly. Later, George was found flightless near the city lagoon northwest of town. Both were treated at The Raptor Center, recovered and were released into the wild.

• 2014: Terminator returned—but she had to wait until late April for a mate, Marv, her fourth. He was a youngster, fledged in Fargo in 2013. Mating so young is unusual. Despite his youth and their late start, Terminator and Marv raised two young, females named Maya and Myra.

• 2015: Marv returned on March 9, Terminator on March 29. All indications are that they intend to raise another family in Grand Forks.

In total, peregrines have nested seven years in Grand Forks, laid 24 eggs and fledged 18 young. Three are known to be dead—Ozzie, Ethel and Frances. That means 15 peregrines fledged in Grand Forks may be living in the wild. Eight are females and seven are males. At least two of them have been seen attempting to attract mates, one in Brandon, Man., and one in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Two of the Grand Forks fledglings are known to be parents. Eve raised four young in Minneapolis, and Smiley raised two young in Winnipeg, both in 2014.

Of interest: Bear and Roosevelt, successive mates of Terminator, were brothers but not nest mates. They were sons of the same parents, named Dakota Ace and Frieda, but they were born in different years.

Grand Forks peregrines are migratory, usually arriving in March or early April and leaving in mid-September. It's not known exactly where they spend the winter. Peregrines from Fargo have been seen on the Gulf Coast of Texas.

[Alison]

Part II

GF joins effort

Grand Forks was a latecomer to this trend, partly because falcons here seemed such an unlikely prospect. The success of nesting falcons in Winnipeg stirred interest. So did news of falcons nesting in Fargo.

In 2005, an adult male peregrine showed up in Grand Forks. He hung around a water tower in the railroad yard near the intersection of Washington Street and DeMers Avenue, about as close as you can get to the heart of Grand Forks.

The water tower had a conical top, resembling a shortened dunce cap. A big smile and a winking eye were painted on the tower. It became a local landmark, known as "Smiley."

That fall, Tim Driscoll, who since has earned a reputation as a regional raptor expert, placed a nest box on the water tower. It wasn't occupied until 2007. An adult male reared in Fargo tried to attract a mate that summer. An unbanded female hung around, but no nesting occurred.

The male, named Bear, was luckier the next year, 2008. He attracted an adult female raised in Brandon, Man. Her name was Terminator.

The pair fledged one young bird, named Ozzie. Ozzie flew into a power line near the water tower and died.

Bear didn't show up in 2009, but Terminator attracted another male from Fargo. His name was Roosevelt. Three young were fledged that year, the last at that nest site.

Young peregrines have been fledged in Grand Forks every year since.

Smiley the water tower was demolished in the fall of 2009, and Driscoll moved the nest box to the UND tower.

Roosevelt and Terminator showed up there in 2011. Their ready acceptance of the new location was a bit of a surprise—a "neat trick," a raptor expert from the Twin Cities declared.

The pair had been seen on the tower the previous year though, and so it seemed worth the effort to move the box.

For falcons and falcon fanciers, it was the right thing to do.

Back again

This will be Terminator's eighth year in Grand Forks. Her current mate, Marv, is her fourth.

All in an unlikely place.

Terminator is old for a peregrine.

Her behavior is expected, though. Peregrines are more loyal to place than to partner, so it is not surprising she has accepted four different males in her parenting career.

Nor is her continued preference for an urban location a surprise. Peregrines habitually return to sites similar to those that produced them.

Once scientists established urban populations, they began to grow—and probably will continue to grow.

Likely there are other potential nesting sites in the Red River Valley. All peregrines really need is a site with a view and plenty of food. For peregrines, food is almost exclusively birds, ranging in size from starlings to ducks. Pigeons seem to be a staple; Driscoll has collected peregrine kills, and pigeon remains make up about a fourth of the sample size.

Grand Forks isn't short of pigeons—at least not yet.

Driscoll wonders if the city could support a second pair of peregrines, and he's considered putting up another nest box—probably in East Grand Forks, his home town.

In Minnesota, Crookston might also support a pair of peregrines. Thief River Falls is another possibility.

Devils Lake is still another potential peregrine town. Minot, as well. Perhaps a pair could be induced to nest on the state Capitol tower, the tallest building in the state.

The falcon rescue effort led to reclassifying the peregrine. It had been considered endangered. In 1999, it was removed from the endangered species list.

The successful recovery of the peregrine was a conservation triumph, and the bird has become a symbol of conservation efforts worldwide.

The recovery effort brought peregrines into our lives right here in River City.

[Alison]

There is a new article about the Grand Forks peregrines in the Grand Forks Herald today.

Part I

Always in Season: Peregrines in Grand Forks belong to an amazing story of recovery

By Mike Jacobs


Smiley perched on top of the Xcel Energy Building in Grand Forks, 2009.
Photo by Dave Lambeth.

Peregrine falcons are amazing birds, and perhaps the most amazing thing about them is they nest right here in River City, Grand Forks, N.D., U.S.A.

In Fargo, U.S.A., too.

Also in Winnipeg in Canada.

These places had not been considered prime peregrine habitat.

In fact, there are only a few nesting records for North Dakota, and all of them are from the western part of the state.

In Minnesota, peregrines historically nested along the Mississippi River bluffs and the cliffs of Lake Superior.

In Manitoba, they were found along the north end of Lake Winnipeg and Hudson Bay.

All of these places are quite far from the Red River Valley.

Peregrines didn't nest in the valley for a very good reason. They are cliff dwellers, and except for an occasional mud bank along the Red River itself, the valley doesn't have any naturally occurring cliffs.

Lately, it has acquired some artificial cliffs, of sorts, on high-rise buildings and other manmade structures.

In Winnipeg, peregrines nest on the Radisson Hotel tower downtown, among other places, and in Fargo, they nest on an office building.

Their Grand Forks nest sites have been on water towers.

Fantastic story

How the peregrines got here is a fantastic story, which has a beginning as improbable as its current chapter.

It begins with an insecticide.

In 1939, a Swiss chemist discovered that DDT could kill insects. So effective was the chemical that the chemist won the Nobel Prize in 1948. Just 14 years later, Rachel Carson published "Silent Spring." DDT, Carson surmised, killed wild birds, including falcons and eagles.

She was right.

The chemical accumulated in the environment. Apex predators were especially vulnerable because they took in large amounts of the chemical in the prey they ate.

Chemicals in DDT caused thinning of egg shells. The eggs didn't hatch. By 1970, peregrine falcons had disappeared from the eastern United States. A few pairs survived in the West.

The Arctic population remained fairly stable, but even there, birds were contaminated by food they picked up on their winter ranges.

DDT was banned in the United States in 1972.

The Endangered Species Act was passed in 1973, and the peregrine was added to the list of species at risk of extinction.

Scientists and falcon fanciers launched an effort to save the peregrines.

This involved capturing wild birds, stealing and fostering falcon eggs, milking males for semen, artificially inseminating females, raising captive birds and a process adopted from falconry called "hacking." Essentially, peregrine chicks were reared in boxes, then guided to life as wild birds.

Eventually, peregrines were returned to nests in the wild.

They also were encouraged to nest in cities.

Urban falcons were not entirely unknown. Wintering falcons sometimes showed up in East Coast cities, including Boston, New York and Philadelphia. During World War II, a pair nested in Montreal.

But urban nests were certainly exceptions.

Falcon enthusiasts considered the idea worth trying though, and by 1980, nest boxes were in place in cities along the East Coast. Minneapolis wasn't far behind.

[Kinderchick]

She is, indeed, a beauty!

[Alison]

From the article posted above from the Grand Forks Herald, this is the great photograph of Terminator taken by Tim Driscoll.

She is a beauty:

[The Peregrine Chick]

So North Dakota has one of our Manitoba birds and we have one of theirs.  Cool.

We also have a Minneapolis bird (Princess) and they have a Manitoba bird (Juliet).  Or at least they did last year but I haven't heard if she has returned this year.

And of course, Annie from West Winnipeg is in Fargo and we have Jolicoeur who is the daughter of Annie's predecessor Dakota Ace.

[dupre501]

Since Smiley is one of Terminator's kids, and Terminator is Manitoba born, I would say that Smiley is just returning to his roots.

[Jazzerkins]

So North Dakota has one of our Manitoba birds and we have one of theirs.  Cool.

[Alison]

From the Grand Forks Herald today:

Grand Forks peregrines gear up to mate

By Brad Dokken

Life atop the UND water tower is back in the spring swing with the return of a peregrine falcon pair that is getting ready to mate in a nesting box on the structure.

Grand Forks raptor expert Tim Driscoll said Marv, a 2-year-old male, returned March 9, and had been hanging out waiting for his much-older partner, Terminator, to fly into town.

Driscoll and Grand Forks birding authority Dave Lambeth both spotted the female Sunday morning. The bands on the falcons' legs confirm their identities, Driscoll said.

Terminator was hatched in 2006 in Brandon, Man., and has been nesting on Grand Forks water towers since 2008. Driscoll banded Marv in June 2013 in Fargo when the falcon was just a fledgling.

It's unusual for male falcons to mate as 1 year olds, which Marv did last year, Driscoll said, but Terminator's mate in 2013 never returned last spring, and that created an opening.

Peregrines go their separate ways during migration but tend to return to the same nesting sites every year.

"It's tough for them to pull it off that first year," Driscoll said. "They're just figuring out their way, and they've got stiff competition from older, more savvy, more experienced males, so they're looking for an opening like a death, which I think is what happened with Marv."

Named after Fargo TV anchor Marv Bossart, who died in 2013, Marv is Terminator's fourth mate. Her previous mate wasn't banded, Driscoll said, and he never returned last spring.

Early start

Driscoll said the peregrines are ahead of schedule — especially compared with last year, when Terminator didn't arrive until April 6, and Marv first made his bid for her affections April 21.

"This is great — they're early," Driscoll said. "You can tell they've both been in that tower. They're settled in. I'm thrilled with the fact. They're easily three weeks earlier than last year."

By comparison, Terminator first was sighted in Grand Forks April 9, 2008, with subsequent first sightings April 10, 2009; March 27, 2010; April 7 or 8, 2012: March 26, 2012; March 26, 2013; and April 6, 2014.

Typically, Driscoll said, peregrines begin laying eggs the first week in May and produce three young. Despite last year's late start, Driscoll said Terminator was laying eggs about May 5.

Marv and Terminator only had two chicks last year because one egg didn't hatch.

Driscoll said the peregrines were engaging in obvious courtship displays Sunday.

"He was pretty excited," Driscoll said of Marv's reaction to Terminator's arrival. "He was antsy as heck.

"Maybe they'll just hang out for a week or so; time will tell. I'd be stunned they haven't laid eggs by the first of May."

Canada connection

In related peregrine news, Driscoll said he learned last week that Smiley, a male peregrine hatched in 2009 in Grand Forks and named after the Smiley water tower torn down in 2009, has been mating in Winnipeg and last year fathered two chicks hatched atop the Radisson Hotel on Portage Avenue downtown. His mate, Princess, is four years older, and was hatched in Minneapolis.

Both birds have leg bands to confirm their identities.

According to the Midwest Peregrine Falcon Restoration Project's website, peregrines have been on the rebound since the 1980s after being decimated by pesticide use in the 1950s and 1960s. The first Midwest release was in 1982, and Grand Forks and Fargo have the only known nesting peregrines in North Dakota. Minnesota has more than 50 nesting sites across the state, the Department of Natural Resources said.

http://www.grandforksherald.com/outdoors/3711215-grand-forks-peregrines-gear-mate

The article also has a new photo of Terminator.

[The Peregrine Chick]

Went to read the article but can't read it without a subscription to the paper. 

More and more newspapers are starting to do this - even our Winnipeg Free Press with some of their stories.  I'm trying to get copies of stories when I can and will be saving copies as pdfs and will make the links available.  I've got a call into the folks at the Grand Forks Herald about a couple of other stories from last year - will let you know how successful I am.  Hate to have to spend about $10USD (with the current exchange rate) for one month access to get the stories but it may come to that.

[Alison]

Apparently there will be a news story about the peregrines in Grand Forks in the next couple of weeks, so I went snooping to see what else I could find that I might have missed at the end of last year ... and I found this

http://www.grandforksherald.com/content/video-high-altitude-housecleaning-atop-und-water-tower

Went to read the article but can't read it without a subscription to the paper. 

[Jazzerkins]

I remember watching this video when it came out at the end of 2013.  Not a job I would want as I do not do well with heights.

[The Peregrine Chick]

Apparently there will be a news story about the peregrines in Grand Forks in the next couple of weeks, so I went snooping to see what else I could find that I might have missed at the end of last year ... and I found this

http://www.grandforksherald.com/content/video-high-altitude-housecleaning-atop-und-water-tower

[The Peregrine Chick]

This is the bird that successfully paired and nested in Grand Forks last year.  

Just as a note, last year's Grand Forks bird is "Marv" and he was paired with Terminator from Brandon.
Marv is the offspring of Annie from West Winnipeg and his mate Miracle in Fargo.

[Alison]

I think that Marv may already have returned to Grand Forks.

From the Fargo blog on March 17:

. . . We wanted to give you a quick update of the season so far:  On 8 March, local bird watchers reported seeing a falcon flying around the Bank of the West building and the nest box.  On 9 March, bird watchers in Grand Forks, ND reported that the male who hatched in Fargo several years ago showed up there at the UND water tower.  This is the bird that successfully paired and nested in Grand Forks last year.  On 10 March, we began the process of setting up our camera in Fargo.  If the falcons are present while we are doing this work, they make their presence known by swooping overhead and screaming loudly.  This did not happen, so we are confident in saying that the bird that was sighted on the 8th was likely the bird who showed up in Grand Forks on the 9th.

http://www.fargofalcons.com/latest-news-blog