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.