Other Peregrine Projects > USA Peregrines
MN / Great Spirit Bluff - 2016-22
GCG:
The banding scheduled for today has been delayed because one of the two remaining chicks is missing from the nest box. They following is from their Facebook timeline :'(
http://www.ustream.tv/greatspiritblufffalcons
Great Spirit Bluff Peregrine Falcons
"As viewers have seen, of our two remaining eyasses at GSB, both have gone out of their nest box again this morning. One has fallen, and we suspect that the parents are trying to locate and care for it as we have seen in the past. The other eyass has escaped a couple of times also and in a remarkable display we have seen Michelle turn into super mom mode, pulling on the chick's wing and leg to pull it back in to safety.
RRP had planned for scheduled banding today and we have a few members of our team on site and others arriving as this is posted. We will keep you informed as more information is received, and would like you all to keep good thoughts for our climbing team and the young eyasses.
Raptor Resource Project is considering all options for the remaining eyases at Great Spirit Bluff now that one has jumped from the box. Our permits do not allow us to preemptively collect young birds from nests; as watchers know, birds face and overcome many dangers in their lives and we simply can't protect them from everything. We have located a potential foster box and are weighing treating the current box over attempting relocation, which comes with its own set of dangers and challenges. We will keep everyone posted. Thank you!"
GCG:
This update was posted on their Facebook page.
"We went to Great Spirit Bluff on May 24 to retrieve the carcasses of two peregrine falcon nestlings that had perished during a black fly swarm. After John retrieved them and sprayed the box with a mixture of essential oils that to repel the flies, we conducted an examination and found:
1: No black flies or signs of black flies (red marks, stings, lesions, body parts) in the falcons’ mouths, nares, or nasal passages. The falcons’ nasal passages did not look swollen or irritated.
2: The falcons had red lesions or bite marks along the edges of their wings, around their eyes, in the skin just above and behind their ceres, and below their crops.
3: Although the falcons were starting to decompose, they appeared to be in good body shape otherwise. They were starting to feather out nicely and their wings, talons, and feet looked great.
The two most likely causes of death are either blocked airways or blood poisoning. In scenario one, black flies swarmed into the nestlings’ nares and mouth and blocked their airways. They suffocated, died, and cooled. Once they reached ambient temperature, the flies left.
In scenario two, the falcons died of blood poisoning. Lori Arent, a veterinarian and clinic manager at the University of Minnesota’s Raptor Center, told us that young raptors are especially susceptible to black fly infestations. A nestling raptor’s immune system is not robust enough to cope with blood parasites transmitted by black fly bites, and these falcons had many black fly bites. The relationship between black fly bites and nestling raptor death has been well-documented in several places. A paper titled “Rapid Nestling Mortality in Arctic Peregrine Falcons Due to the Biting Effects of Black Flies” documented rapid nestling mortality in Arctic peregrine falcons in 2012 and 2013. While their falcons suffered many more bites than ours, the description of the damage and the deaths were very similar.
We captured one black fly for identification. We did not want to disturb the two living falcons – it was cold and getting dark by the time we arrived to remove their siblings – but we will look them over for bites and swelling when we band them on Sunday. We kept one dead falcon and will take it to the University of Minnesota for autopsy." :'(
The Peregrine Chick:
Thankfully black flies are not an issue at our nests!!
GCG:
At this site, four eggs were laid by Michelle. All eggs/chicks hatched but sadly, two have succumbed to airways clogged by insects. This was posted on their Facebook timeline.
Raptor Resource Project
May 23 at 7:49am ·
"We are aware of the two dead eyass falcons at Great Spirit Bluff and are planning a recovery tomorrow, weather permitting. We believe that insects may have clogged their airways, causing them to suffocate, but we can't know for sure unless we recover the carcasses. We will also try to capture some of the insects while we are down there. We've called them black flies and buffalo gnats, but black flies come in roughly 30 species in Minnesota and it would be helpful to know what we are dealing with."
Some information on black flies:
Perdue University: This page includes life cycle information and a broad discussion about black flies - https://extension.entm.purdue.edu/publichea…/…/blackfly.html
University of Minnesota: Black flies in Minnesota - https://www.extension.umn.edu/gar…/insects/find/black-flies/
We've had black fly problems here in the past, although we've never seen this kind of problem this early in the year. For more on that, read this blog: https://raptorresource.blogspot.com/…/black-flies-and-falcons…
They have removed the two little ones and sprayed. As I watch the live cams, the remaining chicks are alone and grooming. :'(
Alison:
Congratulations to Michelle and Newman on their first egg, laid during the night.
The egg this morning:
Video from the site:
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/101487405
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