News, Videos & Other Webcams > Birds in the News
News: Peregrines
Alison:
20-year-old falcon reappears injured after yearlong absence - Part 4
More very sad news today. Handsome, the long-time tiercel from the Statler building, has lost his battle to recover. :'(
Sad news, Handsome, the Kiptopeke male who was recently found on a driveway in Amherst badly injured, has lost his fight to live. He survived for over two weeks post-surgery but fell ill and went downhill fast. This wonderful bird was the mate of Beauty at the Statler for many years and they gave us many babies. Beauty died a couple years ago.
I don't know when this happened. I spoke with someone at the Erie County SPCA last Friday and they had two falcons there at that time - Handsome and the Grand Island chick.
Alison:
20-year-old falcon reappears injured after yearlong absence - Part 3
I found an update on Handsome a few minutes ago, and it's good news:
Part of a report by Gina at the SPCA today:
". . . .And on a SECOND falcon note - the story that will be going up on our site tomorrow (or hopefully today, depending on how the day goes!) - the Statler falcon was stabilized enough to undergo surgery yesterday, and so far so good...! He ate very well after surgery, is trying to move around today....things seem great so far, and we're all optimistic. Here are a couple of the post-surgery photos I took yesterday that will be posted."
Photos of Handsome by Gina:
Talons crossed for Handsome to make a complete recovery. He is one of the great falcons.
Alison:
20-year-old falcon reappears injured after yearlong absence - Part 2
Missing Peregrine Falcon found
WIVB TV / June 2009
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - A Peregrine Falcon missing from downtown for weeks has been found. Animal control officers discovered the bird alive but injured in Buffalo.
The SPCA traced its band number and discovered it once lived at the Statler Towers. The 19-year old bird has already outlasted the normal lifespan in the wild. If it recovers, it will remain in captivity.
The link below has a very short video:
http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/local/Missing_Peregrine_Falcon_found_20090610
What a beautiful face:
From TPC: He looks like Trey (seriously)
carly:
20-year-old falcon reappears injured after yearlong absence
The Buffalo News / June 2009
Like the legend of the Phoenix, a peregrine falcon that went missing after nesting for years at the Statler Towers has seemingly risen from the dead. The male bird was found Tuesday crossing a driveway in Amherst.
The 20-year-old male bird, which vanished one year ago, was thought to be dead because he is one of the oldest peregrine falcons ever recorded.
“He just disappeared. Gone without a trace,” said Connie M. Adams, a state Department of Environmental Conservation wildlife biologist. “Instead, we find out that he had been evicted [by another bird].”
The falcon was picked up by Buffalo Animal Control, then passed on to the DEC. Currently, he is at Erie County SPCA headquarters in the Town of Tonawanda, where his health is being evaluated. Joel Thomas, a wildlife administrator for the SPCA, said the bird has been grounded for a few days. Thomas also said the bird has a severe fracture on his left leg and may also have internal injuries.
“We don’t know if he was knocked out of the sky by his competition, but it definitely comes as a surprise that he is still alive,” Thomas said. “If he wound up dead in the cage tomorrow, I wouldn’t be shocked because he’s in real rough shape, beyond being attacked.”
Thomas said once SPCA officials diagnose the bird, they will decide if the falcon can survive surgery. If surgery is performed, it would take about one month for the bird to recover. He also said the bird’s days in the wild are over — that he will probably live the rest of his life in an educational or research institution.
The falcon first appeared in downtown Buffalo in 1996 and began nesting at the Statler Tower in 1998. DEC officials estimate he fathered nearly 40 other falcons with three females in his 12 years on the scene.
“It’s truly amazing,” Adams said. “For him to be alive without a nest for this long is testament to how tough a bird he really is. He is a survivor.”
source: http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/northernsuburbs/story/698572.html
kittenface:
Peregrine Falcon, “James,” Shatters Record for Lifetime Reproductive Success
Like many bird species, peregrine falcons have high mortality in the first year, followed by lower mortality in subsequent years. Median life expectancy of birds that reach their second year of life, is still only between 4 and 5 years. Only 3% are expected to live beyond 10 years. The grand old male peregrine falcon, nicknamed “James” by the public, is still breeding on the James River Bridge at the ripe old age of 19 years old. He is now approaching a longevity record for peregrine falcons in the wild, believed to be 19 years, 3 months.
James was hatched in 1990 on the Leg-Mason building (Baltimore, MD). He was first observed on the James River Bridge in 1992 and first bred there in 1993. In his tenure on the bridge, he has produced a record 48 chicks to banding age. Previous lifetime reproductive success across North America for both males and females range between 22 and 25 chicks. Interestingly, James long time mate nicknamed Virginia was hatched by the same parents on the Leg-Mason building in 1989. Though they were full siblings, they successfully bred at the site from 1994 through 2006. Virginia disappeared in 2006 and was replaced by an unbanded female, dubbed Elizabeth the following year. The story of James continues: on March 9 James and Elizabeth laid their first egg for 2009.
source: http://www.ccb-wm.org/news/2009_JanApr/james_peregrine_nineteen.htm
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version