Manitoba Peregrines > UND, Grand Forks, North Dakota

UND Tower - 2018 / Marv & ?

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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

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