NY / Rochester - 2008-15

[bev.]

Well, this shows that the young are making it. 
bitter sweet, is it not!!!!!!!

[The Peregrine Chick]

Just a note about injuries - it soulds like Mariah is doing very well regardless of the injuries.  Birds tend to succumb very quickly from stress if they aren't strong enough to tolerate the vet care.  Mariah sounds (so far) like she's doing very well.  Now that is not to say that something couldn't happen, but every day she's still alive is a pretty big deal, even if she has a long way to go before everything is healed up.

[carly]

Oh my god!!  It's Mariah and Kaver's grandson who has taken over her territory...Freedom's son!  The legacy continues...

http://rfalconcam.com/imprints/

[bev.]

like I say, baby steps at a time. That she is letting them feed her is great.

A friend of mine from Rochester,one that does a lot of the photos and observations from the ground, e-mailed me and told me that the wound is very deep and about the size of a dime.
so I guess they want to make sure she is healthier before the operation.

[carly]

Daily update good news on Mariah from Imprints :

We’re happy to report the latest news on Mariah, courtesy of DEC Wildlife Technician Mike Allen:

Received another update this morning, Mariah is being a model patient, standing and eating on her own - the veterinarian is planning to do surgery on the throat wound but not until next week. They wanted to make sure she was stable first and at this point there is no rush. That’s all for now but I thought you would like to know she’s doing well.

Mike

[allikat]

Come on Mariah...we are all pulling for a full recovery!  But...we think you would be a perfect ambassador!

Mariah, you're the queen of the skies...We don't want to see you hurt ever again!  You deserve the best...May your thrown await you!

[carly]

Local Rochester interview with DEC on Mariah and update on her condition:

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wxxi/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1494122&sectionID=1

[carly]

Feisty Mariah arrives safely in Syracuse!!  Hehe..now that sounds like Mariah! 

http://rfalconcam.com/imprints/

Jim update's his blog with details of the weekend:

http://marchlords.com/birdblog/2009/04/was-thursday-end-of-mariahs-reign.html

Has any falcon ever commanded this much attention to detail??!!  Only the Queen!

[bev.]

I think there is too much second guessing and that the important thing is that Mariah get the care she needs.
Often a young falcon will hang out at the beginning of the season around an adult falcon.  Usually they just chase it off as they do not  present any harm.  I am just stating what I have been told over the years.
Last year in Edmonton a young male hung around the transmitter girl for about a week and then was gone.
so I think we all knew that some year this would happen and I am just glad that she is here and not run off where they do not know where she is and that someone was there to save her.

And that there are still 2 nesting falcons in the area that did not know how special Mariah was to us all and they will mate and probably produce young and will need the eyes of Rochester.

No I am not tough. I have had to learn this the hard way.

[carly]

 I hope Zephyr's ok too as he's not even a year old yet... it might be he just hung out there and then moved on..kind of like Tybropa did here with Juliet and Linn as he is kind of young yet to mate..although not unheard of from what people say.  Let's hope he doesn't try to visit what he thinks is his mom again until he's a bit older.

As for the banded vs unbanded..a watcher named Maria's photo of her and Zephyr show her as being banded that is mentioned as a correction in a post below of that date in the comments .  That being said, honestly until Zephyr was spotted - I had never seen anyone mention that site, was it even an established nest site?  perhaps - and this is just my musings - it was more like a safe area outside Mariah's where you wouldn't get your block knocked off by the Queen.  There were so many reports of migrating falcons passing through during the past month and a half, I wonder if it wasn't just a stopover and there were many falcons passing through on any given day..but I leave that to someone with more knowledge of the area, I have zero and admit to it 

[maggieblue]

They also are pretty sure that the intruder girl was the one with Zephyr at Psych centre as Joyce had photographed her:  Obviously Nubo bonded immediately with the winner of the battle...survival instinct I guess.

This is all very confusing.  This morning I went back through the Imprints posts.  The March 30th report that mentioned the birds in the suburb of Brighton reported that there was an unbanded female and a couple of males around, one an adult male that disappeared and a sub-adult male that turned out to be Zephyr, Mariah and Kaver's son from last year. 
The April 13th report on the Mariah incident mentioned a BANDED female in the territorial battle.  Perhaps that might have been inaccurate in the heat of the moment, or perhaps this was another female altogether.  I am sure that there are probably people out in Rochester and vicinity with scopes as I write.  The only thing that I really want to know at the moment is how is Mariah and is Zephyr O.K.? or was he caught up in all this drama too.  Let's hope that the folks on the ground can give everyone some answers in the coming days.

[carly]

Jim has now posted on yahoo..to clear up the confusion and he confirms that it is definitely Mariah in his pictures on Friday.  He also mentions seeing a 3rd falcon on Thursday that Mariah drove off...so that may have been the start of it..but as far as Friday, Nubo and Mariah were still a couple and were mating up a storm.  He figures that the intruder female may have displace Mariah Friday late afternoon after they had left their watch.  Saturday, they noticed that the female seemed darker than Mariah but attributed it to lighting - so it could have been intruder girl and then they figure Sunday Mariah attempted to retake her territory and that's when Nubo joined in and helped his new mate.  They have his band number and are working on getting an ID.

Here is his post in his own words:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/kfalconcam/message/96591

Also another post on confirmation that it's definitely Nubo and that he warned his new mate that Mariah was coming in:  by Joyce another watcher:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/kfalconcam/message/96592

They also are pretty sure that the intruder girl was the one with Zephyr at Psych centre as Joyce had photographed her:  Obviously Nubo bonded immediately with the winner of the battle...survival instinct I guess.

[carly]

I have looked at some pictures too and read Jim's (one of the ultimate rescuers) report from Friday and he had a powerful scope with him and not only was he able to get the band ID off the male but he identified Mariah.  If this new female swooped in, it must have been later as she looks good in these shots and no one witnessed another falcon or any attacks unless they aren't saying at this point.  But in comparing one of the shots from Friday taken of Mariah on this site with an older shot of her, it sure looks like her, even the 'v' depth on her breast is the same as well as her cap -unless new girl looks alot like her!  And they were definitely mating.

http://marchlords.com/birdblog/2009/04/new-home-for-falcons-at-midtown-tower.html

Sounds to me like people are upset and confused and maybe now starting to question what they may have seen. 

[bev.]

I heard back form Jess at Rochester site and I think if eggs are laid they are going to incubate them. Now that was yesterday. I will look for my message.
they believe that the the mate of the attacking female was Mariahs mate. they think the situation changed around Friday.   when they looked back at pictures, they think that the male was mating with a new  female(from PSch sire) and not  Mariah on Friday.  I am going back to look at the pictures, because I called my husband and said , is there not 3 falcons in that picture. i was confused then. The main thing is that Mariah gets the best care possible. she is worthy of it. Not that they all aren't but she is the real deal. and from the looks of it she is going to get the best.

this was the message I got form Jess.
@bev - If Mariah lays any eggs they could be collected and fostered or incubated. We’re already working with the DEC and the vets on that issue.

[The Peregrine Chick]

They confirmed that both attacked her TPC, in fact the 2 watchers saved her life after the second fall and stood between Mariah and the 2 attacking falcons as they would not cease their attack of her. 

Actually, I meant are they sure it was Mariah's mate rather than the mate of the attacking female?  They all look alike when they are flying at 115 km/h (70 mph) in pursuit.

She is standing on her own they said and they are also treating her with antibiotics for something called 'bumblefoot'.

Bumblefoot is a bacterial infection/inflammatory response on birds' feet.  It can be relatively mild - irritation like, usually from perching too long or on a poor surface and usually clears up with a topical antibacterial product; more serious it occurs when the skin has been broken and there is more infection - topical antibacterial product and usually antibiotics as well; severe results/presents with noticeable distortions in the foot and impaired operation/locomotion - can cause real damage to the foot.  I don't see it much in our wild-birds, do know of birds in captivity/rehab that acquire it but it is usually quickly taken care of because it is noticed by the rehabbers and vet care is close by.