PA / Harrisburg - Rachel Carson Building - 2008-21

[Linder]

Some biologists feel the chicks aren't stressed at all and that parents have to deal with intruders all the time so it's not placing an 'undue' stress on them.

That is basically what was said today. They also said not in verbatim if parents are distressed at the nest site that they will abandon it. They justified this by saying they have been nesting here and banding as been going on and the nest has not been abandoned.

They had a set time for the banding and on their web site posted

5/6/2009  ::   Educators and Students Invited to Attend Peregrine Falcon Banding Event on May 27th

On Wednesday, May 27th, the Dept. of Environmental Protection and the Pennsylvania Game Commission will host the annual Peregrine Falcon Banding Event at the Rachel Carson State Office Building in Harrisburg, PA from 12:30 - 2:00 p.m. Teachers and their students, non-formal educators and youth organizations are invited to attend this event. Activities will include the weighing, examination and banding of the nestlings. There is no cost to attend the banding event.

To register for this event, please contact Ann Devine at 717 772-1644 or adevine@state.pa.us.

This doesn't seem like a financial event but a learning one, however, too excessive or not in returning the chicks to the ledge and not having the parents banging at windows.


The Peregrine Chick: just helping out with the quotes & reability, no changes to content.

[carly]

I don't think there is a set time for bandings, TPC?.  The general rule of thumb here in Ontario is get it done as quickly and efficiently as possible to reduce the stress on the chicks and the parents.

There are divided opinions however from what I've read and people I've talked to. Some biologists feel the chicks aren't stressed at all and that parents have to deal with intruders all the time so it's not placing an 'undue' stress on them.  Others feel the opposite way.  We the observers of course stress like crazy because we view their reactions as quite stressful.

I don't think they are taking long on purpose, ours took at least an hour if not more yesterday which is double the usual time.  The reason?  We had government officials there who wanted to make an announcement to support our cause and at the end of the day - when you are in position where you rely on donations and even your own money to support something like helping an endangered or threatened species, you will bend over backwards (within reason) to be able to have the support and funding of the government.  It means you can do things you probably only dreamed of to help the falcons. 

This year alot of the bandings seem to be very 'PR' focused and I think that's because falcons are now making a comeback and we are finally getting publicity.  It's an opportunity to make people aware of the work that has been done and what still has to be done and get the general population to not only donate but to become involved.

Humans tend to be fickle and causes come and go.  Several years ago they used to have 40 people show up to do 'fledge' watch at my site, now we can barely scrape 3 or 4 people together to do it and aside from myself and one other guy, they are all retired.  Not that I'm knocking retirees in any way but it's not always easy on them to stand all day, run down the street, run into traffic from dawn to dusk and yet they do it without complaint.  Would be nice to have some of the younger generation helping out too and you know some of the retirees have been doing this for a decade or two and you learn so much just talking to them.  <<Steps off her soapbox now>>

By the way I think 2 hours is excessive too personally but I'm trying not to be so emotional now and think of it from a more professional point of view now that I'm learning more about the organization and the obstacles they face..not always easy though I admit ... 

 

[Linder]

Anyway my whole reaction on this was if this did take over 2 hrs and I don't know for sure if it did, should it be happening? That is why I asked if anyone had seen anything.

[carly]

They must have known the chicks were inside no doubt.  Apparently peregrines can't count...which is why they can slip an extra chick or two in for them to foster from time to time and the parents will accept them. 

I would find it weird though they wouldn't notice 4 missing out of 5...one or two...maybe but 4 out of 5 is a bit tough to swallow. 

[Linder]

They did explain why there were checking the different body parts, it made sense and I understood as well as the kids in the room. They also said that the reason one chick was banded before was to placate the parents, which I mentioned before, but that when the other 4 were brought back that the parents wouldn't know any better and accept them because they don't know how many they have. Now that sounded weird to me, but maybe they don't. What bothered me was the parents at the window. Was this because they were mad at the window and the chicks were back or mad at the window because their chicks weren't. That site has sound and it was noisy.

[carly]

Wow we don't do all that detailed checking.  They weigh them and then band them and that's it.  I know they used to do blood work years ago but they don't anymore..not sure why, maybe it depends on whether or not they are actively testing for something that may be of concern in the population.  Perhaps that is what drives such extensive testing..I know down in some parts of the US they have the some concerns with the flame retardants that were found in some eggs so perhaps they are looking to see if the chicks are showing any signs of abnormalities as a precaution.

Better to test now before it becomes a serious issued like DDT did and threatens all our falcons.  I'm just speculating but I"m sure TPC might know why they are so thorough.

[allikat]

Oh I'm not sure...I didn't watch the banding.
I was just kinda asking/commenting on time frames and the stress level of the adults...Carly will most likely know that answer.

[Linder]

Each chick was put in a box with a lid and taken down to auditorium type room. A box was brought in one at a time and the chick was weighted, mouth, eyes, ears, muscle development, tail feather length, feet, don't think I missed any body parts. The first chick brought in did have mites, parasites and they said they were going to dust before putting back on the ledge. Because of this the other 3 brought in would be dusted. The first inside was then tagged, tape put on one tag for identifying in fleding rescue and then put back in it's box. After the first was done it was taken out of the room and the next brought in. This continued until all four had been checked and banded, each chick took approx 5 minutes. This finished about 12:45 or so our time and they said they were going to be taken back to ledge. Then a Q&A happened. This ended around 1:00 and got back on the site webcam about 5 or so minutes later. Watched until 2:00 and only saw the one chick that had been left earlier and two angry parents. If I'm wrong tell me what I missed.

[allikat]

After Ohio's banding and now Harrisburg's...is more than an hour just a ta excessive?  I know they are doing PR and educating the young which is always a great thing...given that there are a important and protected bird!  Just wondering on the stress level of the parents?  Only TPC can answer that one...??

[carly]

I didn't watch this one but interesting about leaving one chick on the ledge to try and calm the parents.

At our banding, the swing stage they use is the length of the ledge the nest is on so it blocks access to the ledge.  The parents of course leave the ledge as soon as they put a toe on the rooftop and start attacking so the stage basically blocks the ledge from their view when it gets up to nest ledge.  The three guys stay on the swing stage or skybox as they call it (partly the name of the company) the entire time of the banding and between them ducking and the the sides of the stage - they can't see the chicks are actually gone.  They put them in a bag and tie to the end of a rope that someone on the roof pulls up with the chicks.  The person on roof takes the chicks inside and goes down the elevator to the banding area.

Meantime mom and dad are so busy defending from the evil humans they don't notice what has happened.  Chicks come back down the same way in the bag and get put back in the exact same location they were when they got there.  Swing stage goes down and mom and dad think they have driven off the evil men and their chicks are still safe on the ledge.

Bandings are never easy to watch from the outside, hard to watch the parents stress so much and they are so aggressive you're scared they are going to hurt themselves.  On the other hand, in the wild they'd have to deal with things alot nastier than a banding - I try to keep that in mind to calm myself because I stress out for them too.

[Linder]

I watched the banding on their webcam. Was quite educational the way they explained everything to the kids. However, the 4 chicks were off the ledge for probably an hour that the banding went on inside. The 5th chick was banded before and left on the ledge to placate the parents as it was explained. Watched after the chicks were supposed to have been put back on the ledge and never caught a glimpse of them for over an hour. Saw parents landing on the ledge and going to the window and making lot's of noise as well as walking/bumping into it. Did anybody else watch this? Just want to know if I missed seeing something. Tks.

[maggieblue]

It seems that the Harrisburg five have recovered from the banding experience today. At the moment they are all down at the far end of the ledge (in front of that sheer drop) and screaming away as an adult attempts to feed them.  Rachel Carson would be proud (the building they are on is named after her).

[maggieblue]

Thanks Tracy, great information as always. 

[The Peregrine Chick]

Anyway, it's a boy, and 4 girls.    And for those of you, unlike me, who have an idea of what this means in relation to other peregrine chicks, the male weighed 635 grams, and the females were 805, 865, 880, and 910.   

All a little on the light side but not unusual at this age.  Adult males are (very generally) 500-800 grams, females 900-1500 grams.  So both sexes of chicks have some growing to do ...

[maggieblue]

The five chicks from Harrisburg were banded today.  At the moment four are lying flat out in the scrape while one is way down the ledge preening, and way to close to the edge for my liking.  These guys have been very mobile for a while, busy exploring that large ledge which has no protective edge and that is why I didn't want to check in on Harrisburg today until the banding was over. A little too nervewracking for me.  Anyway, it's a boy, and 4 girls.    And for those of you, unlike me, who have an idea of what this means in relation to other peregrine chicks, the male weighed 635 grams, and the females were 805, 865, 880, and 910.