Tuesday, June 28, 2011

June 28,2011 - Games Birds Play

Our feathered friends development continues, as evidenced by their aerial displays of combat. These mock "wars" are how the young peregrine gains and hones the ability to stealthily pursue prey via a level flying plane, or the skills to dive at 200+ miles per hour in what is called a stoop.  Their play includes chasing each other's tails, throwing out their talons in front of them while in flight, and rolling as they would to capture their prey.  They practice catching their first prey by bugging, or extending their feet while in flight and snatching a bug in mid air. All these maneuvers increase their confidence and ability to catch their preferred dietary choice of other birds such as pigeons or song birds, to quickly change direction in flight, and to capture prey for their next meal. Best viewing time seems to be 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM when the temperatures are cooler.  With three additional birds scheduled for release on Thursday, there should be plenty of opportunities to see these falcons on their favorite perches or flying.

We're happy that the released peregrines have established their own "Indy" track that allows them to feel safe while practicing the skills key to their survival. All can be seen flying between the eastern point on Alex Johnson Hotel, the cell tower north of the Assurant building, and the many ledges of the Assurant rooftop.  As they gain more confidence their fly zone will increase and they will disperse into a wider area of Rapid City before migrating this fall.

These young birds are still considered babies, even though their natal down feathers are almost all gone. Viewing them on the webcam shows only a few white downy feathers remaining on the tops of their heads. At night, they primarily return to the Assurant rooftop where they know there is food, water, and a safe place to belly down and sleep. During the day, our yellow-painted releases return for short naps, feeding, and water. All these activities indicate our Rapid City Peregrines are imprinting successfully and increasing the chances of a future return.

As the weeks progress, the readily supplied quail at the hack site will be reduced, encouraging the birds to hunt on their own.  This is also the time the young birds are more apt to get into trouble. Please call Janie Fink at 208-582-0797 to report any bird that may look like he or she is in trouble.  

Monday, June 27, 2011

June 27, 2011 - Up, Up and Away!

Saturday was release day for five of our eight young birds, and despite tense moments from a serious storm, our little friends fared well over the weekend.

Four males and 1 female joined the other three who are actively flying around downtown Rapid City. This latest release group are sporting yellow wing spots. The different colors identify which release the birds were a part of while we track their first flights and development once they are airborne. 

A healthy supply of quail and water was placed on the opened hack door to assist in feeding the released birds, and a check of the site via the streaming video (see link above) through the weekend showed the birds had been eating quite well since their release. We are always stringent on any human presence near the hack site, but especially avoid being anywhere on the roof when we have birds that have been released, feeding or resting anywhere on the top. 

Saturday also brought a loud, boisterous evening and some anxious moments for our interns and biologist. Like much of the midwest, a series of severe thunderstorms rolled through the area, bringing heavy rains, hail, high winds, dangerous lightening and loud thunder. A formidable place atop a seven story building! We're pleased all five waited through the storm unscathed, and have been actively leaving and returning to the Assurant rooftop. It's good to know nature's fury and the sights and sounds of the city do not appear to negatively spook our young charges.

Names of the group with their corresponding tag numbers are Delta (03), Vito (04), Roxane (27), Lucky Linde (07), and Elsu (08).

If you see any of these falcons on the ground or in any kind of trouble, please call the South Dakota Game Fish and Parks to report the situation immediately. Remember they are identifiable by the bright colored wing paint (orange or yellow) and red bands around their right legs.

The remaining three birds, 1 male and 2 female, will be released midweek. Our final group  is due to arrive about July 2 and be released mid month. 

Friday, June 24, 2011

June 24, 2011 - What a Difference A Week Makes!

Our brood is growing like crazy since their arrivals last week. The fluffy down that covered their little bodies now covers the hack floor or is blowing in the wind, blending in with the plentiful cottonwood seedlings filling the air this time of year.  They are actively flapping and eating and flying perch to perch in the safety of their roomy enclosure. 
Today is another big day with a planned release of five tiercels, or male peregrines. Technically, only the female peregrine is called a falcon.  In raptors, a biological condition called reverse sexual dimorphism means the tiercel is about 1/3 the size of the female falcon. The male develops and flies faster, yet the female can capture larger prey for feeding the young, and keeping her clutch or group of eggs incubated.

Thus concludes our Friday vocabulary lesson.  Let’s get back to our birds. The five males will be sporting yellow wing paint for identification. These boys were named Vito, Delta, Tomahawk, Lucky Linde, and Elsu.  We purposefully have a higher number of males than females in our project.  It is believed that the males return closer to the site from where they took their first flights than the females do.  Hence, these boys are important in our reintroduction effort to help reestablish breeding pairs that will return and nest in or close to Rapid City.

The release is always a challenge in terms of tracking where each bird heads when they fly from the rooftop. This is the time for any folks wanting to volunteer with binoculars and help to track the birds from the ground to call Ashley at (605) 209 4260. These birds are beautiful fliers, but they are clumsy and inexperienced at landing. They can end up in some precarious places until they learn the intricacies of aerodynamics. There are man-made dangers like electrical lines and guy wires that can ground these young birds. Spotters help our trained staff respond quickly if one of these youngsters gets into trouble.

An update on our previous releases:   Kanoa and Flash have both successfully flown and returned to the Assurant rooftop to feed and perch on the ledge of the building. Calamity Jane, a more mature female falcon, was  dive-bombing the staff yesterday as they cleaned the release sight water baths. She clearly is defending her turf and knows that Rapid City is her home!  As previously reported, the other mature female, Weaver, was observed chasing pigeons and is believed to be hunting on her own and expanding her home range. The 3 remaining females named Roxanne, Hope, and Sky, are slower to develop and will be released next week sometime. They remain visible on the webcam in their release box. “Penny” the little falcon who has been under staff care due to delayed development is slowly improving and will likely make a trip to the vet for an x-ray to rule out any unforeseen complications. We remain optimistic about her future.

We are fortunate to have exceptionally dedicated interns on our project.  Ashley Hrabe, a junior at South Dakota State University is from Rapid City and majoring in wildlife and fisheries sciences. She is proving to be invaluable to the staff as she hones her observational skills and uses her knowledge of the area to help us track our young fliers. She is learning the facets of raptor reintroduction efforts and is a delight to work with! Blake Schioberg, a senior at the University of Idaho majoring in wildlife biology is a returning veteran, having spent 2 years with osprey reintroduction in Yankton in 2009 and 2010. Blake is assuming greater responsibility this year with peregrines and is being groomed to actually assume leadership of the nonprofit, Birds of Prey Northwest in Idaho.

Left to right: Ashley Hrabe and Blake Schioberg

 We hope the interns return next year as we repeat our reintroduction efforts with peregrines in South Dakota.

The webcam is proving popular with over 1000 hits daily. Special thanks to Craig Burnett from Kansas City and his special talents that enabled us to make the technological leap!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

June 23, 2011 A Contrasting Reintroduction

If only there was a standard operating procedure for the development, care and reintroduction of these beautiful young raptors. But, like any of the species inhabiting planet Earth, caring for Peregrines can be more complex than even the highest evolved Homo sapiens.  

Weaver (Red band A25) arrived at the release sight on May 25, 2011. She was strong, flapping her wings immediately and having an attitude of supremacy that said “Don’t mess with me, my talons, or my beak.” She weighed the heaviest of all the birds in our project at 950 grams. Upon her release on June 4, 2011, she quickly flew to higher points in the downtown Rapid City area, including the cell tower north of the Assurant building, the patio of the Turnac Tower, and the signal platforms of the Quest Communications Tower. She was observed chasing a pigeon, a sign in her development that she is learning to chase and capture her own food. Soon, she will be dispersing, or leaving the area to hopefully return in two years at maturity.

Penny (Red band A26) arrived on June 15. She was younger than Weaver on her arrival day and covered in much of her fluffy natal down. She looked healthy, alert, and weighed a respectable 854 grams. Penny was relatively the quiet, curious type, especially in contrast to Weaver's big and brassy self announcements. Perhaps a matter of age difference, after a couple days in the hack box, it was evident Penny wasn’t eating as she should have been and wasn’t as active as the four other birds in the hack box with her. After two days, Janie completed a field exam. As suspected, Penny had lost some weight, was slower in developing her stamina in standing upright, and displayed signs of farsightedness. Over the next days, Penny will be individually cared for to determine her ability to survive as a member of the release program. If not, an alternate plan as an educational bird living in an aviary may be necessary.

In the wild, the strongest survive. A Peregrine’s life is focused on hunting, eating, and reproducing for the species to survive. Our ultimate goal is to reestablish the Peregrine to its native habitat, yet at times that may mean we have to intervene enough to assist in the Peregrine’s continued recovery in the biological balance. With luck, Weaver will be populating the wild with future Peregrines, and Penny may be further educating us humans to respect and care for the future of this beautiful hunter.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Quick Update - Tuesday noon

Kanoa found his flight wings and hit the skies late yesterday evening. Flash is still hanging out on the ledge of the Assurant building, getting used to wind currents. He hops and flaps between the ledge, roof top, and perches but hasn't taken full flight as yet. Check him out on the streaming video link at top of this page.

Monday, June 20, 2011

June 20, 2011.

What a week it’s been! Our webcam is thankfully up and running, we have 11 new arrivals, and all the juvenile Peregrines have settled in nicely. We have seven male and four female in the hack. What’s a hack? It is an ancient term that refers to the site and the method of helping young falcons reach their hunting potential. Food, water, and an environment simulating their natural environment are provided with very little human interaction to give the young falcons experience and exercise in preparation for their release. The hacking period is normally about 10 days, or approximately six weeks of age.

Our new arrivals have an average age of 40 days old, and they weigh between six hundred and one thousand grams. Over the next ten days, they will lose their fluffy white natal down as their juvenile feathers come in and mature enough for flying. In the meantime, they spend their days exercising their wings, hopping between perches, eating, and preening. At night, they settle down and sleep. 

Today, two strong males, Kanoa and Flash, were given the green light for release by Janie Fink, the Raptor Biologist in charge of the project. Releasing these guys is when the fun and nail biting begins. Will they bolt to the air where spotters have to record which direction they fly and try to follow them? Will they cautiously step out of the hack but hang around for awhile before truly flying? Each young male was marked on the underside and top of both wings with orange, non-toxic paint for easy identification after they leave the roost. Once the birds fly, observation from the roof of the Radisson Hotel across the street is a bit easier. The birds are weighed, feathers checked for maturity, and keel checked to be sure they are eating properly.

The hack is prepared by putting the ready birds in the blind, while a hack board of tethered quail and water is placed on the open hack door. Janie unlatches the blind door and lets a small stream of light through, then high tails it off the roof. Until these newly released birds fly, there will be no planned human presence on the roof of the Assurant building where the hack is located.  Our goal is to imprint these falcons to their urban environment and not to humans. 

Posts are manned, and the wait begins. Kanoa and Flash emerged from the blind and walked to the edge of the hack door. Kanoa, being the more mature, tested his wings and hopped out onto the lowered door. Within the hour, he had flapped and hopped himself off the hack completely, but was finding flying in open air a bit more difficult. Over the next hours, he will continue to exercise his wings, hop to get more and more into the air, and hopefully tomorrow, take his first real flight past the rooftop. Meanwhile, Flash is cautiously hanging back at the opened hack, observing the view and activity around him. Calamity Jane, a strong female who was released on June 4 with another female and two other males, returned to the hack site today, and is providing a good example to the younger esays.

Follow our blog daily for progress and learning about these valuable birds being reintroduced to western South Dakota by the South Dakota Game Fish and Parks Department’s Wildlife Division, Birds of Prey Northwest, and business partners in downtown Rapid City. Watch our bird cam at www.tinyurl.com/rcperegrines.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Welcome to Rapid City Falcons!

This blog will keep you updated on the status of our project.  Tune in often to watch the birds and catch up on all that's happening!