UND Tower - 2017 / Marv & Terminator

[Alison]

News of one of the 2016 juvies from the Grand Forks nest:

Rehabbed Grand Forks peregrine lands permanent home in Winnipeg

By Brad Dokken  Today at 8:23 a.m.

GRAND FORKS, N.D.—A peregrine falcon hatched in 2016 atop the University of North Dakota water tower and named after Grand Forks birding authority Dave Lambeth has a new permanent home.

In Winnipeg.



David, as the peregrine chick was dubbed in June 2016 when he was banded by local raptor expert Tim Driscoll, now is a resident of Parkland Mews Falconry and Bird of Prey Education Centre, a facility on the outskirts of Winnipeg that runs a breeding and education program using birds of prey that recover from injury but can't be released back to the wild.

Webster's New World Dictionary defines a mew as "a cage for hawks, especially when molting."

Driscoll said he spoke in early November with Robert Wheeldon of Parkland Mews about David's condition.

"David has a calcified wrist (the first joint on the wing)," Driscoll said. "He can hunt and catch live prey, but he can't fly well enough to be released."

In a phone interview, Wheeldon said David was found in late September in a residential area of St. Boniface, a Winnipeg suburb near the Red River.

Band numbers quickly traced him back to Driscoll's banding effort in June 2016.

David was taken to Parkland Mews, where Wheeldon determined the bird had an injured right wing and sent him to Wildlife Haven, a Winnipeg wildlife rehab facility, where David spent the next several weeks.

David returned to Parkland Mews on Nov. 7, Wheeldon said, and now is doing "extremely well."

"I've got him flying up vertically," Wheeldon said. "Initially, he could barely hop from a low perch on the ground to a boulder. He's flying up 8 feet to a perch, and he can do that no problem at all. He'll build muscle to compensate for the wing injury."

Uncertain journey

David's flight path to Winnipeg isn't certain, but after leaving Grand Forks in the fall of 2016, he likely migrated to the southern U.S. before heading north this past spring.

Young peregrines tend to return to the area they were hatched, and David likely spent the summer flying and hunting between Grand Forks and Winnipeg before he was injured, according to Tracy Maconachie, project coordinator of Manitoba's Peregrine Falcon Recovery Project.

"He was doing exactly what has happened before" with peregrines from Grand Forks and Fargo, she said.

Most likely, David collided with something while hunting near the river, Maconachie said.

"David went down in a residential area where there are no tall buildings," she said. "We have no idea why he went down. There's no kind of trouble he could get into because there are no buildings to hit.

"He was probably hunting over the river going after ducks or gulls and misjudged the wind. It doesn't take much. They're fragile little things—strong and tough as nails, but fragile nonetheless. There's only so much G-force, so much sheer pressure you can put on a wing."

Favorable outcome

At Parkland Mews, Wheeldon puts out live prey for David and other peregrines to hunt and catch, he said. Because one of David's wings is shorter than the other, he won't have the maneuverability needed to hunt and survive in the wild, Wheeldon said.

"David's well on the way to the best recovery that could be hoped for, and there's anticipation he could be paired for breeding," he said.

If they're compatible, a female onsite named Gracie would be David's mate, Wheeldon said. They would join five other peregrine pairs already breeding at Parkland Mews, he said.

David also has a family connection to Parkland Mews. His great-great grandfather, Caleb, and great-grandfather, Beau, also live at Parkland Mews, Wheeldon said.

"It's interesting that both birds, Beau and David, were wild produced but ended up here by being injured in Winnipeg," Wheeldon said.

For the rest of the article:

http://www.jamestownsun.com/sports/outdoors/4371540-rehabbed-grand-forks-peregrine-lands-permanent-home-winnipeg

[Alison]

Very sad news from the Grand Forks nest today.

Peregrine chick found dead in nest box

By Brad Dokken  on Jul 18, 2017 at 3:56 p.m.

Tim Driscoll suspected something was wrong when the oldest of the three peregrine falcon chicks hatched this spring atop the UND water tower simply disappeared.

A licensed bander and raptor expert, Driscoll, of Grand Forks, banded the peregrine in early June, naming him Carl after Carl Barrentine, an associate professor emeritus of humanities and integrated studies at UND.

The young peregrine was within days of fledging when he disappeared in late June, and a climber who scaled the tower Thursday, July 13, to check the nest box confirmed the worst, Driscoll said.

The peregrine chick was dead, its carcass badly decomposed.

"Based on what we know about when he hatched, he was about 37 days old when he disappeared," Driscoll said.

What isn't known is how the peregrine chick died. It could have eaten poisoned prey, but parents Marv and Terminator appear to be fine, as do Carl's younger siblings, Chan and Julie, Driscoll said; west Nile virus is another possibility.

Driscoll says he usually takes blood samples when he bands the peregrine chicks but decided against it this year because of the large crowd that turned out for the June 12 public banding event.

"Had we taken blood, we would have been testing for west Nile right now," Driscoll said. "He had plumage flies when we banded him, but that is not normally a lethal thing."

Chan and Julie have taken their maiden flights, Driscoll said, adding he saw the chicks and their parents Monday. Chan is named for Chandler Robbins, an influential American ornithologist who died in March at age 98. Julie is named after Julie LeFever, longtime director of North Dakota's geological core library at UND who died in December.

Carl is the second peregrine chick to be found dead in the nest box since Terminator first nested in Grand Forks in 2008. Helen, hatched in 2015 and named for Helen Hamilton, the first woman to graduate from the UND School of Law, met a similar fate.

Like many other banders, Driscoll names the birds he bands because it's easier to remember a name than a band number.

Since 2008, 29 peregrine chicks have hatched in Grand Forks, and Driscoll says he knows of eight casualties, including the two found dead in the nest box. At the same time, three chicks have been confirmed breeders in Winnipeg, St. Paul and most recently Moorhead, where Walsh, hatched in 2012 in Grand Forks, is the tending male of a nest that's new this year, Driscoll said.

In related peregrine news, Rand, the chick from the first-ever nest to be confirmed in Crookston, has been seen flying, Driscoll said. Rand is the first name of noted writer and conservationist Aldo Leopold, who went by his middle name.

http://www.grandforksherald.com/outdoors/4299401-peregrine-chick-found-dead-nest-box

Poor little chick. He did not even have a chance to fledge or to fly with his siblings. 

[The Peregrine Chick]

I cannot access the link posted above in your June 14 post, TPC. I get this instead:

Your connection is not secure

The owner of www.grandforksherald.com has configured their website improperly. To protect your information from being stolen, Firefox has not connected to this website.

Hmmmm, let me see what I did or whatever to get around that 

Sorry Alison, I had no trouble getting to the story and video.
Did a little snooping and here's the video link - https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/dC1YmOsF.mp4 - not sure if there is away to make it bigger, but the sound is good.
Good luck ...

[The Peregrine Chick]

I cannot access the link posted above in your June 14 post, TPC. I get this instead:

Your connection is not secure

The owner of www.grandforksherald.com has configured their website improperly. To protect your information from being stolen, Firefox has not connected to this website.

Hmmmm, let me see what I did or whatever to get around that 

[Alison]

One of this year's Grand Forks chicks, Julie. From the Midwest Peregrine Society website.

Photo by David Lambeth.

[Alison]

However, I found another site with some great photos of the UND banding:

http://www.unheralded.fish/2017/06/13/russ-hons-photo-gallery-peregrine-posturing/

[Alison]

I cannot access the link posted above in your June 14 post, TPC. I get this instead:

Your connection is not secure

The owner of www.grandforksherald.com has configured their website improperly. To protect your information from being stolen, Firefox has not connected to this website.

[The Peregrine Chick]

Make sure to check out the link at the bottom, there is video!


Peregrine banding draws a crowd
By Brad Dokken on Jun 12, 2017 at 5:09 p.m.



It was a falcon frenzy Monday afternoon as an estimated 150 people showed up to watch peregrine chicks being banded below the UND water tower.

Between the three chicks, who loudly voiced their displeasure at being removed from their nest box high atop the tower, and more than 60 kids from various Grand Forks YMCA programs who came to watch, this year's banding effort was even more boisterous than usual.

"They're just absolutely loving it—it's very exciting," Sam Olson, a counselor for the Y's Adventure Camp, said of the kids who watched the banding.

Peregrine parents Terminator and Marv weren't exactly quiet, either, as they circled above the throng until the banding was finished and the chicks were returned to the nest box.

As he's done every year since 2008, when peregrines first nested in Grand Forks, licensed bander and raptor expert Tim Driscoll banded the three chicks. Assisting him was Erika Kolbow, an interpreter at Turtle River State Park.

"I couldn't hear anything," Driscoll said. "We had to do sign language back and forth, but it's OK."

Seeing the peregrine chicks might spark one of the kids to be the next great scientist, nature writer, wildlife person, game warden or biology professor or conservationist, Driscoll said.

"Every one of (the kids) wanted to touch the birds, see the birds," he said.

Driscoll, who names the peregrine chicks because it's easier to remember a name than a band number, named this year's chicks Chan, for Chandler Robbins, an influential American ornithologist who died in March at age 98; Julie, in honor of Julie LeFever, longtime director of North Dakota's geological core library at UND who died in December; and Carl, after Carl Barrentine, an associate professor emeritus of humanities and integrated studies at UND.

This year's chicks were the 29th Driscoll has banded in Grand Forks. Terminator has hatched every chick, while this is Marv's third year as a local peregrine papa.

Scaling the 125-foot tower and contending with swooping peregrines to retrieve and return the chicks isn't for the faint of heart, and Rosa Grijalva of Grand Forks was among the trio climbing Monday.

Her dad, Jim, was a climber in 2008, the first year peregrines nested in Grand Forks, and he watched Monday as Rosa climbed the tower.

"It's more of a tradition—he let me do this," said Rosa, 18, a recent Central High School graduate. "It was really a cool experience. I hope I can do it again."

Grand Forks and Fargo have the only known nesting peregrines in North Dakota. Earlier Monday, Driscoll banded the first peregrine hatched in Crookston, a single male. A pair also is nesting this year in Moorhead, he said.


Source: https://www.grandforksherald.com/outdoors/wildlife/4282308-peregrine-banding-draws-crowd

[The Peregrine Chick]

https://twitter.com/mbperegrines/status/874289123842043904

[Alison]

I hope that Terminator and Marv will have another very successful year.

Band confirms it: Terminator's back in town

By Brad Dokken Today at 3:52 p.m.

Just like the infamous "I'll be back" line from the "Terminator" movies, the female peregrine by the same name is back in Grand Forks for another nesting season.

Grand Forks birding authority and avid photographer Dave Lambeth got a confirmation on Terminator's band number Friday. The photos weren't clear enough to run in print, Lambeth said, but they clearly show the "T over 2" band number that confirms her identity.

Terminator, first spotted Thursday by the UND water tower, has been the matriarch of Grand Forks' peregrine clan since 2008. This will be her 10th nesting season in Grand Forks. She nested the first couple of years atop the old Smiley water tower but moved to the UND water tower after Smiley came down, and the nest box was moved.

This year's return was Terminator's earliest to date, said Tim Driscoll, local raptor expert and licensed bander who keeps track of such things. Last year, Terminator returned March 24, a day later than this year, he said.

Marv, the female's mate since 2014, returned a few days earlier. Peregrines don't migrate together but return to the same mating sites each spring.

Driscoll said he saw the pair copulating Sunday.

"I'm thrilled," he said. "This is year No. 10. He's back, she's back and they both know the drill."

Hatched in 2006 in Brandon, Man., Terminator got her name from the "T2" band number. The movie "Terminator 2" widely was known as "T2," for short.

Terminator has had four chicks each of the past two years.

"She's fine, and she looks healthy," Driscoll said.

Hatched in 2013 in Fargo, Marv is named after Fargo TV personality Marv Bossart, who died that same year.

http://www.grandforksherald.com/outdoors/4241312-band-confirms-it-terminators-back-town

[Alison]

Got a call from the folks down in Grand Forks and they have confirmed that Terminator is back as of yesterday!

Thank you for the confirmation, TPC! Glad to know Terminator is back for her tenth year in Grand Forks.

[dupre501]

 

[The Peregrine Chick]

Got a call from the folks down in Grand Forks and they have confirmed that Terminator is back as of yesterday!

[Alison]

Another peregrine has arrived back in Grand Forks, and it may be Terminator.

Female falcon is latest peregrine to fly into Grand Forks

Pretty much right on schedule, there's a female peregrine falcon back in town vying for the affections of Marv, the male peregrine who returned to his love nest atop the UND water tower last week.

Tim Driscoll, the Grand Forks raptor expert and licensed bander who follows the annual comings and goings of the local peregrines closer than anyone, said he got a call Thursday morning from a UND employee who'd seen a smaller falcon fly into the nest box, followed by a larger bird that landed on the tower railing.

Female peregrines are larger than their male counterparts.

"I said, 'I'm on my way,' " Driscoll said.

Peregrine pairs don't migrate together but return to the same mating sites each spring.

Driscoll said it's too soon to say for sure whether the female is Terminator, the matriarch of the local peregrine clan since 2008 when falcons nested in Grand Forks for the first time. But he doesn't think it's Bristol, the female who last year flew into town before Terminator, fueling speculation of a love triangle in the making.

That possibility ended a few days later when Terminator returned. Within two days, Bristol was confirmed in downtown Winnipeg, where she hatched in 2015.

"I don't think it's Bristol because she was more cream-colored," Driscoll said. "I don't have a positive on the band yet, but she looks really comfortable and she's sitting on the railing, and Marv's in the nest box, and they seem to be fine with each other.

"I think it's Terminator, but I'm not as sure as I was about Marv," he added.

Driscoll confirmed Marv's identity earlier this week after local birder Dave Lambeth got a clear photograph of the leg bands. This will be the fourth breeding season for Marv, hatched in 2013 in Fargo and named after Fargo TV personality Marv Bossart, who died that spring.

Driscoll, who banded Marv, names the falcons he bands, saying it's easier to remember a name than a band number.

Thursday's gray, rainy conditions weren't conducive to getting clear photos, Driscoll said, but if his speculation is correct, Terminator's return would be her earliest ever.

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, 2012; March 26, 2012; March 26, 2013; April 6, 2014; March 29, 2015; and March 24, 2016.

"I really wish it would be Terminator, but if it's not Terminator, better somebody else than nobody," Driscoll said, adding he'll get a band number in the next day or so. "Females are larger, and there's no question this is a female. Terminator is large for a peregrine."

https://www.grandforksherald.com/outdoors/4239416-female-falcon-latest-peregrine-fly-grand-forks

I hope it's her, I hope it's her.

[Alison]

Thank you for the reply, TPC!

Today there is confirmation that Marv has indeed returned to the Grand Forks nest box.

It’s official: The peregrine falcon that flew into town last week is Marv, the patriarch of Grand Forks’ peregrine clan the past couple of years.

Named after Marv Bossart, a Fargo TV personality who died in 2013, Marv was hatched that same year in Fargo and showed up in Grand Forks to mate the next spring.

Tim Driscoll, Grand Forks raptor expert and licensed bander, said avid birder Dave Lambeth got a photo of the peregrine perched on the UND water tower. The photo shows the bird’s leg bands, Driscoll said: black over red, and H over 72.



Photo by Dave Lambeth.

That’s Marv, alright. Driscoll banded and named Marv in 2013.

“It always takes a day or two” to confirm, Driscoll said. “Now we know for sure what we knew for sure.”

With Marv back in town, the wait for a mate resumes, Driscoll said. That could be Terminator, the first and only female to nest in Grand Forks since the inaugural hatch in 2008, or Bristol, a young female hatched in 2015 in Winnipeg who caused a bit of a stir last spring when she showed up in Grand Forks vying for Marv’s affections.

That didn’t sit well with Terminator when she returned, and Bristol within a day or two was reported back in Winnipeg.

“We’ll see what happens,” Driscoll said.

https://www.grandforksherald.com/outdoors/wildlife/4238748-marv-peregrine-back-grand-forks