UND Tower - 2018 / Marv & ?

[The Peregrine Chick]

https://twitter.com/mbperegrines/status/1028312231933603843

[Alison]

There is great news about one of Terminator and Marv's chicks who was born in 2016. Marilyn, named for columnist Marilyn Hagerty, banded black/red C/82, is alive and well in Manitoba and she has two chicks of her own!

I am sure TPC will have much more information on this. I just happened to come across the article below this evening.

http://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/outdoors/4484264-marilyn-hagerty-namesake-peregrine-produces-two-chicks-manitoba

[burdi]

I wish Brad a happy future; he sure is handsome! Thanks so much for this good news, Alison.

[Alison]

This year's lone chick has fledged. I hope he will continue to fly safely always.

Good news falcon followers, Brad the Grand Forks peregrine chick is flying

By Brad Dokken



Photo of Brad on July 6 by Dave Lambeth

"Brad," the peregrine falcon chick hatched this spring atop the UND water tower and banded in late June, is flying and has completed his maiden flights without incident.

Local birding expert Dave Lambeth has seen the peregrine chick on Hyslop Sports Center, and regional raptor authority Tim Driscoll said he saw Brad flying near Hyslop on Monday.

The successful flights bode well for the young peregrine to survive an especially risky time in his life, Driscoll said.

"That is really good news because he's been up and back, and both adults are attentive," Driscoll said. "I think the worst is over. Let's hope for good things."

Driscoll banded the peregrine chick in late June, dubbing him "Brad" after Herald Outdoors writer Brad Dokken, who has covered the Grand Forks peregrines for the past decade.

http://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/outdoors/4473714-good-news-falcon-followers-brad-grand-forks-peregrine-chick-flying

[Alison]

The lone chick at Grand Forks has now been banded (black/red K/96) and has received his name.

Meet Brad: Another peregrine chick has a Herald namesake

By Brad Dokken Today at 6:29 p.m.

 

Photos by Eric Hylden/Grand Forks Herald

I should have known a scheme was afoot when Tim Driscoll asked me if I wanted to hold the peregrine falcon chick he banded Monday afternoon below the UND water tower.

Little did I know I was about to become part of the story.

As I do every year in late June, I was there to report on the annual banding of peregrine falcon chicks, an event that has become a local favorite in recent years.

So, when Driscoll asked me to hold the chick, which he said was a female, I was admittedly reluctant.

"I'll pass on that," I politely replied, but Driscoll wouldn't take no for an answer.

And so it came to pass that I found myself—with about 50 people watching—holding a none-too-happy screeching ball of fuzz and claws and beak that now carries my name.

Meet Brad the Peregrine.

Turns out Driscoll's line about the chick being a female was a ruse. The 25-day-old peregrine chick is a male. Brad is the 30th peregrine chick to hatch in Grand Forks since nesting first occurred in 2008.

Brad the Peregrine's band number is K96, but Driscoll and other licensed banders say it's easier to remember a name than a band number.

"The reason we said it was a girl is because we wanted to get him to hold it and think it was a girl," Driscoll said to the crowd gathered to watch him band the chick with Erika Kolbow of Turtle River State Park.

I've written a lot of peregrine prose over the years, but the proclamation still caught me by surprise.

It's quite an honor, I must say.

"Most of you are probably here today because you've been reading Brad," Driscoll said. "And look how healthy he is," he joked, a reference to the fact that many of the people with Grand Forks peregrines named after them no are longer with us.

Brad the Peregrine had plenty to say about his new name, and judging by the screeching, he wasn't happy about it. He was more interested in getting back up to his nest box atop the UND water tower, where he safely was returned after Monday's proceedings were complete.

New mom

Brad is the only falcon chick to hatch this spring for Marv, patriarch of Grand Forks peregrines since 2014, and a new unbanded female who showed up this year. The female replaces Terminator, matriarch of Grand Forks peregrine production since local nesting began in 2008.

Terminator's whereabouts are unknown.

"We still have Marv with the nest, but we have a new mom so we'll see how she does if she comes back next year, or how that works out," said Kolbow, who's listed as a sub-permittee on the federal banding permit.

According to Driscoll, the new female likely is a first-time mom, which could explain the two unhatched eggs climbers found in the nest when they scaled the tower to retrieve Brad the Peregrine from the nest box.

Over the years, there've been about 10 eggs that didn't hatch in Grand Forks, Driscoll said.

"My experience is that's not that uncommon with a new female," Driscoll said. "I don't know for sure because we don't know her origin, but it's a pretty safe assumption that this is her first nesting attempt, so she's a rookie and everything is new for her.

"Was she not so great at incubation? Did she not cover them on a cold day? Was there a hole in the eggs or were they just flat-out infertile? It's hard to say, there are a lot of possibilities."

Most banding events feature two or three chicks, but the fact only one chick hatched this year didn't dampen the enthusiasm for those who showed up Monday below the water tower. Among them was Nikijo Hull of Grand Forks, who was attending her first peregrine-banding event with sons Owen, 11, and Colin, 9.

Peregrines are one of his favorite birds, Owen said.

"We like to walk 'Wild Kratts' on PBS, and they had a big thing about peregrines and how fast they dive and are the fastest animal in the world, and so we've been in love with them since then," Nikijo Hull said. "They're beautiful, and we're so lucky to have them right here."

Brad is the second peregrine to be named after a Herald reporter; Driscoll named a peregrine after longtime Herald columnist Marilyn Hagerty in 2016.

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/outdoors/4464878-meet-brad-another-peregrine-chick-has-herald-namesake

[Alison]

The lone peregrine chick will be banded on Monday, June 25.

Peregrine banding set for Monday near UND water tower

By Brad Dokken on Jun 19, 2018 at 4:57 p.m.

It has become a popular attraction in recent years, and the annual banding of peregrine falcon chicks is set for 1 p.m. Monday below the UND water tower adjacent to Starcher Hall, 10 Cornell St.

There appears to be only a single peregrine chick this year, said Tim Driscoll, local raptor expert and licensed bander.

During Monday's event, a climber will scale the water tower and carry the chick to the ground for Driscoll and Erika Kolbow of Turtle River State Park to band. The chick, which is about 20 days old, give or take, then will be returned to the nest box.

Monday's event is open to the public. For more information, contact Driscoll at (701) 772-1222.

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/outdoors/4462419-peregrine-banding-set-monday-near-und-water-tower

[Alison]

An update on the Grand Forks nest this afternoon:

Only one peregrine hatches in Grand Forks this spring

By Brad Dokken Today at 4:05 p.m.

There could be more, but by all indications, only one peregrine falcon chick hatched in the nest box atop the UND water tower, where patriarch Marv and a new female of unknown origin set up shop this spring.

"The good news is we have one baby; the bad news is we only have one baby," local raptor expert and licensed bander Tim Driscoll said Thursday.

Terminator, the longtime matriarch of Grand Forks' contribution to the peregrine recovery, didn't show up this spring, and the speculation is she died. Hatched in 2006 in Brandon, Man., where she was banded, Terminator before this year produced every Grand Forks peregrine chick since 2008, when peregrines first nested locally. Marv has been the male breeder in Grand Forks since 2014.

The new female, who isn't banded, could be a first-year breeder, which might explain the scarcity of chicks this year, Driscoll said.

"I don't know how old she is, but I'm guessing this is her first go-round at incubation," Driscoll said. "I'm a lot happier with one than none."

Poor production isn't unprecedented among new breeders. Last year, a female who laid four eggs in Crookston only hatched one chick, Driscoll said, and only two of four eggs hatched last year in a Moorhead nest.

The Grand Forks chick likely is 10 or 11 days old, Driscoll said.

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/outdoors/4460582-only-one-peregrine-hatches-grand-forks-spring

[Alison]

Finally, there is an update on the Grand Forks nest, posted today.

With every passing day, the likelihood that Terminator would return has become even more faint, but I still had hope that perhaps she was injured somewhere and was delayed while she recovered. If she is truly gone, it is a huge loss. Terminator is one of the greatest peregrines of all time, in addition to being an exceptionally beautiful falcon.  As the only matriarch at the Grand Forks nest until now, she has made an incalculable contribution to the restoration of peregrines in North Dakota and farther afield. She is one of a kind, and without her Grand Forks will never be the same. 

At least one peregrine hatches at UND water tower

By Brad Dokken

How many remains to be seen, but the peregrine falcons nesting atop the UND water tower appear to have at least one baby, observers say.

Parents are Marv, the patriarch of Grand Forks peregrines since 2014, and an unbanded female that showed up this spring in place of Terminator, who had produced every peregrine chick since 2008 when she first nested in Grand Forks.

Terminator didn't return to the nest box this year, so the speculation is she died. Local raptor expert and licensed bander Tim Driscoll banded Marv, named after the late Fargo TV personality Marv Bossart, in 2013 in Fargo.

Terminator hatched in 2006 in Brandon, Man., where she also was banded.

Driscoll, who keeps close watch on the local peregrines, said the female is sitting higher in the nest box, a subtle change in body language that suggests she has at least one chick. Marv also is providing prey and sits closer to her when he's at the tower, Driscoll said.

The female also has been observed feeding a baby or babies in the nest box, he said.

"It's too soon to tell" how many babies are in the nest box, Driscoll said."They need to get bigger so their heads go up over the rail."

As much as he misses Terminator, Driscoll said he's glad a new female flew in this spring to take her place. Peregrine pairs don't migrate together but return to the same nesting site every spring.

"We're lucky—we've got (nesting peregrines) 11 years in a row," he said.

Figuring the hatch occurred May 31 or June 1, Driscoll said he tentatively will plan to band the chick—or chicks—sometime around June 20, give or take a few days.

"I haven't set the date yet," he said. "I like to get them when they're 20 days old."

Through extensive recovery efforts and the banning of DDT and related chemicals, peregrine falcons have recovered from widespread population declines that led to their listing under the Endangered Species Act in 1970. They were removed from federal protection in 1999. Grand Forks and Fargo have the only known nesting sites in North Dakota, Driscoll said, while Minnesota now has more than 70 nesting pairs, according to the Department of Natural Resources.

http://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/outdoors/4456056-least-one-peregrine-hatches-und-water-tower

[The Peregrine Chick]

Terminator may or may not return home - she's the same age as Radisson (12 years old) and a couple of years younger than Alley.  Alley is back in Nebraska and Radisson we know was fine as recently as a couple of months ago, so it may just mean they are taking their time.  By this time last year, all 16 of our adult birds were back in Manitoba and on their territories.  Yesterday we only had four birds in the province.  Today we have six that we know about.  Tomorrow may be T2's homecoming and Radisson's the day after!!

[Alison]

Terminator has still not returned to Grand Forks. 

Terminator the peregrine still missing in action in Grand Forks

By Brad Dokken

Today at 4:31 p.m.



Photo of Terminator in March 2017 by Tim Driscoll.

Terminator, the matriarch of Grand Forks' contribution to North America's peregrine falcon recovery, appears to be terminally missing in action, and an identified female who first showed up more than a week ago continues to occupy the nest box atop the UND water tower with Marv, the peregrine patriarch for the past five years.

Hatched in 2006 in Brandon, Man., where she was banded, Terminator has produced every peregrine chick in Grand Forks since nesting first was documented in 2008.

Now, that streak appears to be in serious jeopardy, and her whereabouts are unknown, said Tim Driscoll, local raptor expert and licensed bander who follows the comings and goings of Grand Forks peregrines. Terminator has never shown up later than April 10, Driscoll said.

"This is as late as I remember Terminator coming in," he said Tuesday. "It's been a slow, late spring, so I haven't totally given up hope, but she should have been here by now."

If she doesn't show up within the next week, Terminator could be dead, Driscoll said. On the upside, the new female, first spotted March 28, appears to be setting up territory and sitting on the nest box, which Driscoll calls a "step up" in the courting process with Marv, who Driscoll banded in 2013 in Fargo.

"We've got a peregrine female who looks pretty healthy, and she's huge and Marv is feeding her, and they're on their way," he said.

If all goes according to plan, the mystery female should lay eggs and begin incubating April 22 or thereabouts, Driscoll said. Terminator last year began laying eggs about April 15.

"I don't think she's quite ready to incubate yet," he said. "I suspect they're holding it off as much as they can because of the cold temperatures. All that said, I'm guessing we're not too far away."

In related news, Walsh, a UND-hatched peregrine, is back in Moorhead for another breeding season, this time with a new mate, a female named Susan who was banded in 2015 in Winona, Minn., Driscoll said.

Grand Forks and Fargo have the only two peregrine nests in North Dakota. The falcons, which nest on cliffs and high structures such as water towers and tall buildings, often are mistaken for merlins and Cooper's hawks. Relatively abundant in Grand Forks, merlins and Cooper's hawks commonly nest in trees, which peregrines wouldn't do, Driscoll said.

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/outdoors/4429821-terminator-peregrine-still-missing-action-grand-forks

[Alison]

Another update:

Female peregrine in town isn't Terminator

By Brad Dokken, Mar 28, 2018

There's a new female peregrine in town—possibly the second to show up at the UND water tower since Sunday—vying for the affections of Marv the male, but she's not Terminator, the matriarch of local peregrines since 2008 when nesting first was documented in Grand Forks.

Peregrine pairs don't migrate together but return to the same nest site every spring. Females typically show up later, so if Terminator flies into town in the next few days, a peregrine love triangle could be in the works, Grand Forks raptor expert Tim Driscoll said Wednesday.

Since 2008, Terminator has showed up in Grand Forks as early as March 23 and as late as April 10.

"I've got the feeling it's about to get complicated" if Terminator returns, Driscoll said.

Hatched in 2006 in Brandon, Man., where she also was banded, Terminator has produced 29 chicks in Grand Forks, including two that died in the nest. Marv, who has fathered 13 chicks, was banded in 2013 in Fargo and returned for his fifth breeding season March 17.

The new girl in town, first spotted Wednesday morning by local birder Dave Lambeth, isn't banded, Driscoll said, nor was a female Lambeth photographed Sunday at the water tower.

That female hadn't been seen since Sunday, and Driscoll said he's "very sure" they're different birds because Wednesday's female isn't as colorful.

Like Terminator, the new female also is very large, Driscoll said.

"I was sure it was Terminator, but I saw her legs three or four times, and there's no band on either leg," Driscoll said. "She just dwarfs Marv."

Besides aerial courtship displays, the peregrines were witnessed mating Wednesday, Driscoll said.

"If it's not Terminator, I'm glad it's this girl," he said. "It certainly didn't them long to get down to business."

This isn't the first time a possible peregrine love triangle has brewed in Grand Forks. In 2016, a banded female named Bristol hatched the previous year in Winnipeg showed up in town to flirt with Marv.

But then Terminator flew into town and put an end to that. Within days, Bristol had skipped the country and was documented with a new male in Winnipeg.

Like sands through the hourglass, these are the days of our peregrine lives.

"The fireworks I'm wondering about are if Terminator shows up in the next day or two," Driscoll said. "Too bad this girl is not banded; then we could find out who she is or if she's shown up anywhere else."

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/outdoors/4424120-female-peregrine-town-isnt-terminator

[Alison]

No sign of Terminator in Grand Forks so far

The Wait For Terminator The Female Peregrine Continues At The UND Water Tower

By Brad Dokken, March 28, 2018

The wait for Terminator, the female half of Grand Forks’ peregrine pairing, continues at the UND water tower.

Hatched in 2006 in Brandon, Man., where she also was banded, Terminator has produced every falcon chick in Grand Forks since 2008, when nesting peregrines first were documented in Grand Forks.

According to Grand Forks raptor expert Tim Driscoll, a female peregrine was spotted at the UND water tower March 25 but wasn’t banded. Marv, the male peregrine, was seen by the tower for the first time this year Saturday, March 17.

Dave Lambeth, often called “the dean of Grand Forks birders,” saw the unbanded female at the tower with Marv, but she since has left the area, Driscoll said.

“I went over and didn’t find her, and no one has seen her since,” Driscoll said. “As far as we know, she’s gone. Marv is still there.”

If a mate shows up, this will be Marv’s fifth year of producing offspring in Grand Forks.

Because female peregrines typically return to the nest site later than the males, Driscoll says he’s not too concerned about not yet seeing Terminator at the tower. Peregrines don’t migrate together, but by some spectacular instinct return to the same nesting site every year.

Terminator first showed up in Grand Forks on April 9, 2008, with subsequent first sightings April 10, 2009; March 27, 2010; April 7 or 8, 2011; March 26, 2012; March 26, 2013; April 6, 2014; March 29, 2015; March 24, 2016; and March 23, 2017 — her earliest return to date.

“I don’t really worry about Terminator until about the first of April,” Driscoll said.

Terminator has produced 29 chicks, including two that died in the nest, since 2008, and 13 of those chicks have been fathered by Marv, Driscoll said.

In related peregrine news, single peregrines also have been documented in Crookston and Moorhead in the past week, Driscoll said. The bird in Moorhead is a male with a black-over-red leg band that is consistent with Walsh, a Grand Forks peregrine hatched  in 2012 who last year tended a new nest in Moorhead.

I hope Terminator will show up very soon. She is one of the great falcons.

http://braddokken.areavoices.com/2018/03/28/the-wait-for-terminator-the-female-peregrine-continues-at-the-und-water-tower/

[The Peregrine Chick]

Apologies forgot to copy my tweet from March 17th

https://twitter.com/mbperegrines/status/975080545150537728

[carly]

Welcome back Marv!
Brad Dokken / 19 Mar 2018 / Grand Forks Herald

The potential for wintry weather lingers, but a sure sign of spring flew back into town late last week when Marv the peregrine showed up at his usual perch atop the UND water tower, where he awaits a mate.

If all goes according to plan, this will be Marv's fifth season of producing offspring in Grand Forks, local raptor expert Tim Driscoll said Monday. Terminator, the matriarch of Grand Forks' contribution to the species' ongoing recovery, has produced every offspring in the city since 2008, Driscoll said.

Peregrine pairs don't migrate together but tend to return to the same nest site every spring, with the males typically arriving first.

Last year, Marv was confirmed in Grand Forks on March 15, Driscoll said.  "The good news is Marv is back," he said. "We knew he was close, so we've been checking."

Driscoll said he got a call about 9 a.m. Saturday from local birder and falcon follower Dave Lambeth that a peregrine appearing to be Marv was perched near the nest box on the water tower.

Lambeth said he didn't get a clear photo of the falcon, but he was able take and piece together enough photos to confirm the numbers on the peregrine's right leg band indeed were a match with Marv.

Driscoll, who is a licensed bander, banded Marv in 2013 in Fargo, naming the peregrine after Fargo TV personality Marv Bossart, who died in April 2013.

With one peregrine parent back in town, it now is a waiting game until Terminator returns or another female arrives to take her place. Banded in 2006 in Brandon, Man., Terminator has produced 29 falcon chicks, including two that died in the nest, since her first year in 2008, Driscoll said.

Marv has fathered 13 of those chicks since 2014, his first year as the patriarchal peregrine, Driscoll said.

Providing she survived another migration, Terminator conceivably could fly back into town later this week, Driscoll said. She first showed up in Grand Forks on April 9, 2008, with subsequent first sightings April 10, 2009; March 27, 2010; April 7 or 8, 2011; March 26, 2012; March 26, 2013; April 6, 2014; March 29, 2015; March 24, 2016; and March 23, 2017—her earliest return to date.

"It seems to me that Terminator is coming earlier" every year, Driscoll said.

Grand Forks and Fargo have the only known peregrine nesting sites in North Dakota, while Crookston had its first successful peregrine production in 2017. Minnesota has more than 50 nesting sites across the state, the Department of Natural Resources says.

http://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/outdoors/4419704-peregrines-return-marks-sign-spring