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Alison:
Rare falcon chicks stolen from Chorley nest
Newly-hatched chicks from endangered peregrine falcons have been stolen from a protected nest in Chorley. Bird enthusiast Richard Todd, 36, visits the site in Whittle-le-Woods, on a daily basis to monitor the falcons’ progress. He, along with other spotters and conservationists, had recorded four eggs in a cliff-side nest, which hatched on Friday, May 14. Mr Todd observed the chicks on Sunday evening at around 9pm, but was told early on Monday that there appeared to be nothing left in the nest. He believes the nest was raided by thieves. He said: “I’m disgusted that someone could do this, presumably with the intention of selling the chicks into captivity for breeding. The adult pair have been here for a couple of years and to have four chicks born was exciting. I often bring my five-year-old son Finlay to see the falcons and just can’t bring myself to tell him they’ve gone. I don’t want him to know that there are people who can be so cruel and take these wonderful creatures.”
Mark Thomas, of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds’ investigations unit, said: “If it is a theft of chicks, then they could fetch anything from £300 to £500 for falconry.” Some chicks are even sold abroad as British falcons are believed to be from pure, wild stock. Experts say there is a slim chance that the chicks were targeted by ravens but said theft was more likely. Bird recorder Judith Smith said anyone found guilty of stealing the eggs could be facing a jail sentence because peregrine falcons are a schedule one protected species, along with golden eagles, kingfishers and barn owls.
Ivan Lynas, who runs the Imperial pub on Union Street, Chorley, is a peregrine expert whose passion has taken him and his wife Natasia across the country observing them. He had lent a powerful telescope to Mr Todd to help him monitor the nest at close quarters. Mr Lynas said: “It’s quite rare to have four chicks from one breeding pair and to have them taken is very distressing. These birds need to be out in their natural habitat. I’m appalled that someone could do this.”
Lancashire police confirmed that they had been made aware of the theft and said a specialist wildlife officer had begun an investigation.
Link to story: The Chorley Citizen - Rare Falcon Chicks Stolen from Chorley Nest
Alison:
The three chicks from the Olympia nest have now been banded:
3 baby peregrine falcons taken from Olympia nest for banding
Three baby peregrine falcons hatched on a marine terminal crane at the Port of Olympia were brought down to earth Friday afternoon so identification bands could be attached to their legs.
The hourlong effort involved volunteers and port staff members who climbed the crane, retrieved the falcons – one female and two males – and carried them to the marine terminal so two aluminum bands could be connected to the raptors’ legs. After the bands were affixed, the falcons were returned to their nest.
One band was a federal Fish & Wildlife band and the other was a visual identification band, said Glenn Phillips, a volunteer with the Department of Fish and Wildlife. The bands are used to track the falcons; one falcon that was hatched at the port in 2008 has been tracked to the Ballard Bridge in the Seattle area, he said.
The falcons showed up at the port in about 2003 and nest in a plywood box, said Mike Crawford, marine terminal maintenance foreman for the port. The marine terminal has two cranes, and the falcons have settled in on the crane to the south, near the port’s public plaza.
The baby falcons at the port are 15 to 25 days old and should take flight after about 45 days. In 18 months, they will be considered adults, Phillips said.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/05/22/1196524/3-baby-peregrine-falcons-taken.html
Another article on the Olympia banding has some great photos:
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/05/22/1196502/stay-away-from-my-baby.html
Photos by Tony Overman.
One irate, and fearless, peregrine:
One equally irate chick:
Alison:
3 falcon chicks spotted in nest at city's port
State will put ID tags on birds in 10 days
OLYMPIA — A pair of peregrine falcons is raising three chicks this spring in a nesting box perched high on the railing of a Port of Olympia crane.
It marks the eighth straight year that the pair used the southernmost of the two cranes during nesting season, rearing their young amidst the occasional bustle of marine terminal operations.
The number of chicks successfully hatched each year has ranged from zero in 2003, when they didn’t have a nesting box, to four in 2009.
State Fish and Wildlife biologist Steve Desimone confirmed last week the presence of at least two chicks approximately one week old. Black Hills Audubon member Whittier Johnson spotted three chicks on Wednesday, including one that was somewhat smaller than the other two, suggesting it had hatched later.
Desimone and Johnson used spotting scopes set up in the Olympia Farmers Market to view into the box in the morning when the adults bring food to the chicks.
The chicks are old enough now to hold their heads up and peer over the edge of the nesting box.
If history is any indicator, the chicks will leave the nest in late June. Roughly 30 percent of all peregrine falcons hatch each year survive to age 1, according to state Fish and Wildlife studies.
The department plans to place identification tags on the chicks in about 10 days. The 2009 offspring were banded, but there’s been no sign of their whereabouts, Desimone said. The state is home to about 150 nest sites in rural and urban areas from Bellingham to Olympia. Not all nest sites are occupied each nesting season.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/05/14/1186142/3-falcon-chicks-spotted-in-nest.html
Alison:
Department of Natural Resources is reporting number of nesting peregrines has grown
WQAD TV / 13 May 2010
AMES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is reporting the number of nesting pairs of peregrine falcons has grown to 16.
According to DNR officials, that is the most nesting pairs counted since the department launched its falcon restoration program in 1989.
According to wildlife diversity technician Pat Schlarbaum, there were 13 nesting pairs of peregrines in Iowa last year. The new nesting sites this year are near Lansing and in Clinton and Muscatine.
There were just two nesting pairs of falcons in Iowa a little over 10 years ago. At the time the restoration began, officials said the goal was to establish five nesting pairs in the state.
http://www.wqad.com/news/sns-ap-ia--iowa-peregrinefalcons,0,4815476.story
Alison:
Man in court on rare egg theft charges
Counter-terrorism officers recently arrested a man who has been accused of scaling a mountain and stealing rare bird’s eggs – in the first case of its kind for 20 years. The suspect had been stopped by police at Birmingham International Airport, as he was about to board a plane to Dubai earlier this month. He has been charged with stealing 14 peregrine falcon eggs, from a nest in Rhondda, South Wales. It’s alleged that he’d strapped the eggs to his body, in order to keep them warm. He was arrested at the airport on Bank Holiday Monday.
Last Wednesday (May 5), Jeffrey Lendrum, 48, appeared before Solihull Magistrates. He faces four charges involving the taking of eggs, and hiding them to evade export restrictions. He was remanded in custody, and is due to appear at Warwick Crown Court later this month.Twelve of the 14 eggs are thought to have survived, and have been placed in the care of a local wildlife charity. Before the experts arrived, officers had kept the batch warm by putting them on top of office computers, and turning them regularly.
If they hatch, it’s hoped that the birds-of-prey will eventually be released into the wild. Peregrine falcons (pictured) are a protected species – they were previously culled during World War 2, because they preyed on carrier pigeons. But following a change in the law, the population has recovered, and bred locally. In previous years, the falcons have nested at Fort Dunlop, Erdington, and the Chamberlain Tower at Birmingham University.
It’s thought that this is the first time someone has been charged with attempting to smuggle bird-of-prey eggs out of the UK, since 1990.
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