Manitoba Peregrines > UND, Grand Forks, North Dakota

UND Tower - 2018 / Marv & ?

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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

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