UND Tower - 2016 / Marv & Terminator

[carly]

We know who the new female is ... she is the first of our 2014 chicks to have been known to survive.  She is Bristol from West Winnipeg.  One of two female chicks from Beau's last and Beatrix's first nest and their only nest together.

Link to 2014 West Winnipeg board

Link to how Bristol got her name

Terminator usually arrives in the first week of April - will be interesting to see if a) T2 returns, b) Bristol hangs around and c) Marv and Bristol are compatible enough to decide to nest together.

Our first surprise of 2016 and it is a very nice surprise!


(I've put a question mark in the subject line until we know for sure who will be this year's resident female in Grand Forks)

Bittersweet after we lost Beau back to captivity.  I'm happy one of his offspring is now carrying on his genes.  Stay safe little girl 

[The Peregrine Chick]

We know who the new female is ... she is the first of our 2014 chicks to have been known to survive.  She is Bristol from West Winnipeg.  One of two female chicks from Beau's last and Beatrix's first nest and their only nest together.

Link to 2014 West Winnipeg board

Link to how Bristol got her name

Terminator usually arrives in the first week of April - will be interesting to see if a) T2 returns, b) Bristol hangs around and c) Marv and Bristol are compatible enough to decide to nest together.

Our first surprise of 2016 and it is a very nice surprise!


(I've put a question mark in the subject line until we know for sure who will be this year's resident female in Grand Forks)

[Alison]

There is an article in the Bismarck Tribune in North Dakota today on Marv's return and the new female at the nest.

http://archynewsy.com/und-water-tower-welcomes-new-peregrine-north-dakota-news-bismarck-tribune/

[Alison]

From the Grand Forks Herald today:

New female falcon in town may mean a Terminator turf war over Marv and the nest box

By Brad Dokken



The new female, above, and Marv, below. Photo by Dave Lambeth.

In a sure sign of spring, a male and female peregrine falcon have converged at a nest box on the UND water tower, but the female's identity is a mystery, and her presence could result in a turf war when and if Terminator—the female peregrine who has nested in Grand Forks since 2008—returns to the site.

Grand Forks raptor expert and licensed bander Tim Driscoll said the male is Marv, which he confirmed by the band number on the bird's leg. This will be Marv's third season of mating in Grand Forks.

Driscoll names the peregrines he bands, saying it's easier to remember the birds by name than by a band number. Grand Forks and Fargo have the only two confirmed peregrine nests in North Dakota.

Driscoll said the new female has a black-colored band on her leg, but he hasn't been able to get a get a look at the band number to learn more about her past. She may have been produced in Winnipeg, he said, because banders in the Manitoba capital traditionally use black leg bands.

Driscoll, by comparison, uses bands that are black and red.

Female peregrines are larger than males, he said, and the birds don't travel together during migration.

Marv returned on Monday to Grand Forks, Driscoll said—two days earlier than last year. In 2014, his first year in Grand Forks, Marv flew April 21 into town. Terminator, who was hatched in 2006 in Manitoba, traditionally hasn't shown up in Grand Forks until late March or early April, Driscoll said.

Feathers could fly

This will be Terminator's ninth year of nesting in Grand Forks if she returns, Driscoll said. And if she returns and the mysterious female still is here, feathers might fly—both figuratively and literally.

The anticipation of the drama that could unfold is part of the fascination, Driscoll said.

"We don't know if Terminator comes back, but if she does, the basic assumption would be there'd be a bit of a territorial fight," Driscoll said. "The assumption would be (Terminator) would win because she has more at stake because it's her nest box."

That's not a given, though, he conceded.

"To make it more complicated, she's got Marv, and maybe he won't take to this new lady," Driscoll said. "He's letting her sit in the box, but that doesn't mean he will mate with her. It's never this simple, but generally speaking, when there are territorial disputes, it's female-on-female and male-on-male."

In the meantime, Driscoll said he's going to keep trying to get a better look at the number on the new female's leg band, which is easier said than done.

Worst-case scenario, a new female is better than no female, he said, but Terminator is his sentimental favorite.

"It's better to have her here than no Terminator, but she's not even late yet, so I'm not too worried about that," Driscoll said. "If things hold, we expect her to show up in a couple of weeks.

"I hope we have a few more years of Terminator left."

http://www.grandforksherald.com/outdoors/wildlife/3982973-new-female-falcon-town-may-mean-terminator-turf-war-over-marv-and-nest-box

[Alison]

Thank you so much for the update, TPC! It is all very interesting information. I do hope someone will be able to read the new bird's band number. I also hope that Terminator will come home.

[The Peregrine Chick]

Was just talking to Tim down in Grand Forks about the "new" bird.  Thought is it is one of ours and likely a younger female as her feathers still show a bit brown - maybe old enough to breed, maybe not.  Not sure if she is passing through or likes the look of the place.  She and Marv had some interaction in the nestbox and overhead but "hi, who are you" kind of interactions rather than "hey sailor, got a light" kind of interactions.  Terminator doesn't usually return until the beginning of April according to Tim, so even if this female hangs out, she may get a rude greeting from T2 when/if she returns home.  Tim wasn't sure she was still around this morning ... he'll let us know if she is though.

Note, Marv and Smiley are related and Smiley is more than a little bit of a flirt, but when Princess returns, he stops flirting with other women immediately.  Maybe Marv is/will be the same way ... only time will tell.

And yes, I'm watching our cams in case the Grand Forks female is actually on her way here.  Not the first time we have had a Manitoba bird stop-over - Hurricane did the same thing first year she returned (2009) - hung out at the Smiley Tower (when it was still standing) with Roosevelt I believe for a day, maybe two, then a week later she was in Brandon with Zeus at the nestbox.  Juliet from West Winnipeg spent a summer west of Grand Forks at a large wetland complex and was photographed by Dave then too.  Dave is checking his photos for band numbers - new female has a black band but on the opposite leg from T2 so a) likely one of ours and b) easier to identify when/if T2 does return.  And Tim is keeping an eye on the nestbox to see if T2 should turn up or if new female gets comfy.

If I had to speculate wildly based on not much information, I'd wonder if this newcomer, if she is one of ours, is one of our West Winnipeg chicks just because neither Tim nor Dave remarked that the bird looked noticeably smaller than Terminator who is a large female.  Now that could just be that they didn't get a great look at her but she was in and out of the nestbox and they both know T2 rather well.  Our West Winnipeg chicks are just a bit bigger than the majority of our other chicks so that might be the reason it wasn't noticed.  Or not ...

Going to keep my fingers crossed that someone manages to get even a lousy photo of a band number ...

[GCG]

Thanks for sharing, Alison! Spring has sprung!

[Alison]

It seems that Marv has already arrived home in Grand Forks, his earliest return ever.

From Dave Lambeth on a birding list, post dated March 7, 2016:

Also earliest ever by at least 10 days: Marv, the male Peregrine Falcon was at the UND water tower. A female was also present, but it is not Terminator!

It is still very early, so there is plenty of time for Terminator to return home.