Close to Fledging!

Today the young falcon was 37 days old and he was doing a lot of good moving. In just the last 3 days he has advanced so much. On Wednesday he was coming out on to the perch bar and hoping back into the box for his first time. Today he was coming out to the perch bar and flapping and then eventually worked his way up to the top of the box.

We had been watching the young falcon stand on the perch bar and flap, flap, flap, flap. Then we looked away for a few moments to talk to people and when we looked back he was on top of the box. We were unsure if he would go into the box again because it seems a little harder to get back into the box then out. We watched the falcon run across the top of the box and flap his wings for a while. This area was a whole new world for him today and it was neat to watch him explore it. He was looking all around at birds, bugs and feathers passing by. He seemed pretty content in his expanded world. However, he did not stay up there as long as we had thought.

Eventually the young falcon made it back into the box. He was a sneaky bird. We looked away for another brief moment and then he was gone again. We were a little worried that he had tried to fly and we did not see where he went. We did not have our monitor for the camera in the box today because of all the time he had been spending out of the box. After a bit of observing we noticed the parents were calling and coming to the box and then flying to another perch and coming to the box again. We still did not see the young bird appear to greet his parents so we continued to wonder where he was. Eventually we did see him peak his head out of the box and begin to flap inside the box. We were happy to see he did not try to fly yet.

The parents continued to fly to the box and back to another perch on the Greysolon Plaza building. They did this over and over again. It was really some neat action.  They could have been encouraging the young bird to come out of the box again and teaching him about flying. Since he does not have any other siblings, he will have to rely on his parents to "play" with more.

We are excited to see how the next few days roll out. This young bird looks like he is really getting ready to fly. It takes about 40-45 days for a young falcon to develop enough to take its first flight. Males will usually fledge sooner then females and in just 3 days this one will be 40 days.  However, it is all up to the bird so we will just have to wait and see.

The Chick has Been Banded

Amy and Bob from RRP putting holding and putting bands on young falcon

At 27 days old, the chick was banded. We meet Bob Anderson and Amy Ries from the Raptor Resource Project at the Greysolon Plaza building at 10:30am on Tuesday, June 24th. The weather was damp and foggy but it was still ok to band the young falcon. Since there was only one, they made quick work of it. Amy Ries wore a climbing harness and tied into the window washing steps that were placed behind the box. She climbed over the box to retrieve the young falcon. Meanwhile, the adult male falcon was flying over head making a territorial call and the female was starting to make swoops.

The most unique thing about the banding this year was that Bob Anderson decided to catch the female. She is one of the more aggressive females that they work with. They wanted to avoid her swats as well as keep her from being stressed and possibly injuring her feet by continuously hitting the hard helmets that the banders where. Bob was sucessfull with this and caught her almost right away. This female will come and land next to you and stare at you before she flys to make a pass at you. In the time she landed, Bob was able to grab her, get her under control and then place a hood on her and a piece of fabric that restrained her wings and feet around her. This kept her quiet, calmer and the banders safer.

While the female was restrained the banders were able to quickly put two bands on the young falcon. They get a silver band with a 9 digit number  on it and a color band that is two colors and has a letter and number sequence on it. The color band makes it easier to identify the bird from farther distances. They decided that the young falcon was a male and was healthy and feisty.  His color band is black/red and the number is E/85. He was a strong little falcon and seemed to have some attitude. He made a lot of noise while this was happening and was not  submissive to it all. We were joking that you could tell he had some of his mother's attitude in him.

Bob putting U.S. Fish and wildlife band on young falcon

After everything was done, The feisty falcon was put back in the nest and the mother was released. She flew to a common perch and did not try to swoop at anyone while we left. I would say the banding went quickly and was successful.

Katie Swanson from Peregrine Watch holding young falcon

Our Chick is Two Weeks Old!

In the last two weeks, we have had some fun watching "our" peregrine family. It is hard to believe that the eyas is already two weeks old. It is amazing to see how fast they grow and change. In just two weeks, this little bird has acquired a second dense layer of down to keep himself warm. On warmer days, the parents are able to leave their little one alone a lot longer without it getting cold. On cooler days, the adults will still stay in the box and snuggling up with the eyas to keep it warm. Along with the layer of dense down, the eya is also growing in it's flight feathers. You can see straw like structures coming out of the tail and the wings with feathers starting to protrude from them. Already, this little bird is working on developing its muscles to fly. Just today we were able to watch the eya stand up and stretch its wings out.

This eyas seems to be more active at this age then previous eyases. Maybe this is because it does not have other siblings to lean on. Through our scopes we have seen it peak its head out of the box already. We have also watched it walk around the box, following mama as she walked around and pecked at stuff. At this age, the young birds are usually still huddling together in the box mostly but this one has no siblings to lean on so may be more adventurous.

All the while, papa has still been doing his job hunting a lot. We have spotted a couple of caches with prey in them that looked like they were not plucked and untouched. Today we were able to see papa chase after a very brave pigeon. This pigeon landed on the top of the building around 10 feet away from the nest and were he was perching. Papa immediately took off and flew after the bird. The pigeon reacted fast and took off over the parking ramp nearby with papa right on its tail. He was close to catching it but the pigeon dove down in between buildings and papa headed back to the Greysolon building. Part of me wonders if he was wasn't just having a little fun on a cool rainy day. If only we could really get into their heads.

The forecast looks like rain tomorrow and then we are off for two days. It will be exciting to see what has changed when we return to the park to observe them. I expect we will see the eyas continue to grow and see more of the flight feathers emerging. While he is working on growing, I am sure mama and papa will continue to put on a fun show. If you can, stop by and observe this falcon family with your own eyes. If not, stay tuned to read about what they are up to next.

Adventures of Week One

One week has passed for our Peregrine Watch Program and there have been a few twists and turns. Over the weekend we had some unfavorable weather so we could not run the program. Also our transmitter and receiver for our monitor that gives us the picture of what is going on inside the nest box was not working. So, after we had our one chick hatch, we were kind of in the dark about what was happening in the box. Yesterday we were finally able to get a peak inside the nest box. To our surprise there was still only one chick and 3 eggs in the nest. It is quit possibly that we will not see the rest of the eggs hatch since the first one is already a week old.

In a normal year, when all eggs hatch, it is common for the eggs to hatch a few days apart. They could even hatch up to a week apart. However it is more uncommon for one to hatch and all others to not be hatched a week later. The one chick had already hatched on the later side of things from when we first discovered eggs in the nest. We are not sure why the eggs have not hatched but it could be because of the colder spring weather or infertile eggs.

Although we are disappointed that we may only have one young falcon to watch grow this season, we are still excited about the one that has hatched. This young bird will be getting all the attention and will defiantly be getting enough to eat. In the past, these adults are commonly feeding 3 or 4 chicks so they will have no problem getting food for one.

The chick seems to be doing well so far. Dad has been hunting and bringing back food for mom and the chick. We can already see a huge development in size and mobility from one week ago. At about one week old falcon chicks are already around 3 times the size that they were when they hatched. In just a few days, this chick will have developed a second layer of white down that will help is stay a lot warmer and need less brooding. You can really see a huge development from day to day and week to week.

Stay tuned to hear more about this falcon family!

Peregrine Watch 2014 begins!

This season has started off with a pretty good kick. Even though the spring season is starting out slow we have had some excitement to keep our attention. Wednesday the 28th was our first day and we were anxiously awaiting the hatch of the young falcons. This is a very late hatch for these birds. We watched them all day but none of the eggs hatched. However, we did get a glance at a young bird that came and landed on the Greysolon Plaza Building, we assume it was one that came out of the nest last year. It sat their for a bit while the female was on the nest and the male was out of sight. Shortly after, the male came back and was claiming his territory. Even though that bird was probably family, peregrines are very territorial and will not allow other birds in. At first, the young bird did not get the hint to move on so the female came out of the nest box to show the young bird they meant business. Finally the young falcon flew away and did not return.

On our second day, we had more family excitement. The first nestling (eya) hatched. We did not see it happen but we did get a peak at it while the female got up to readjust herself and the rest of the eggs. We will now wait for the rest of the eggs to hatch. Not all of the eggs hatch at the same time because they are not laid on the same day. The female will start to incubate after the 3rd or 4th egg is laid and the eggs are usually laid around 48 hours apart. Also, a single egg can take about 28-32 days to incubate fully and hatch. This means the eggs do not all hatch on the same day and there is always a few days in between the oldest and youngest bird. So we should continue to see the rest of the eggs hatch in the next few days. Maybe we will actually be watching when it happens!

Whether it is a territorial defense or a hatching eya, there is always something fun to watch with this Peregrine Falcon family. Who knows what may happen tomorrow! If you are in the area, come visit us at Lake Place Park or follow us on facebook to get quick updates.

Hawk Ridge Banding Report: November 20-30, 2013 and Final Season Totals

This period saw several good days of banding, notable were the 23th and 26th with strong northwest winds. Both days brought 4 adult goshawk each. The period included: 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk, 11 Northern Goshawks and a Long-eared Owl. 

 

This season a total of 2,019 hawks were banded and include: 4 Bald Eagle, 24 Northern Harrier, 1,593 Sharp-shinned Hawk, 41 Cooper's Hawk, 87 Northern Goshawk, 14 Broad-winged Hawk, 125 Red-tailed Hawk, 31 Rough-legged Hawk, 36 American Kestrel, 55 Merlin and 9 Peregrine Falcon. 

This season a total of 1,121 owl were banded and include: 996 Northern Saw-whet Owl (plus 71 previously banded), 120 Long-eared Owl and 5 Barred Owl (plus 1 previously banded).

A full banding summary will be included in the Hawk Ridge Newsletter with many of the important details. Please consider becoming a member of the Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory to recieve this and learn about the many other important activities that Hawk Ridge conducts during the year.

I would like to thank the staff and the many volunteers who made this season a great success.

 

Thank you and have a great Holiday Season!

Northern Goshawk, image by F. Nicoletti

Frank Nicoletti

Banding Director, Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory 

Hawk Ridge Raptor and Non-raptor Summaries Fall 2013

RAPTORS

November was exceptionally slow; after the great flight of 155 Rough-legs, 141 Bald Eagles, and 21 Golden Eagles on November 2nd, the average count was only 51 birds per day. Even though several large cold fronts moved through during the month, the predicted large eagle flight never occurred. A trickle of eagles, Rough-legs and goshawks continued through the end of the month.

On December 2^nd-4th, a three day blizzard dumped about 30 inches of snow on Duluth, and on December 5^th and 6^th when the weather finally cleared I skied up to Hawk Ridge to see what might be flying.  Since we had only got a few inches of snow previously, I figured this megastorm would motivate any remaining raptors to leave the northland.  In two days of watching at the Ridge in brutally cold conditions, there were over 231 Bald Eagles, 2 Golden Eagles, 3 Red-tails, 10 Rough-legs, and 5 Northern Goshawks. Apparently these are the highest numbers of Bald Eagles counted in December.

The season ended with a total of 43,133 raptors seen, which is the tenth season in a row of below average numbers. Nevertheless, there were some fun highlights, and it was a still a great season to be at the Ridge. Here is a quick species by species summary of the fall 2013 raptor count:

·        Turkey Vulture (1088): slightly below average numbers

·        Osprey (277): continued below average numbers

·        Bald Eagle (4466): continued above average numbers, peak of 342 on 19 October

·        Northern Harrier (368): slightly below average

·        Sharp-shinned Hawk (13,270): slightly below average, peak of 1090 on 2 October

·        Cooper’s Hawk (120): slightly below average, peak of 17 on 2 October

·        Northern Goshawk (159): well below average, and clear now that there will not be an invasion during this 10-year cycle (we were due for an invasion in 2012)

·        Broad-winged Hawk (14,983): lowest season since 2001, peak of 7228 on 12 September;  there were 5 dark morphs (the most I have counted in a season);

·        Swainson’s Hawk (5): slightly below average number, but record late light adult on 6 November

·        Red-tailed Hawk (6146): seventh year in a row of below average numbers, peak of 1135 on 21 October; total includes 1 light adult Harlan’s, 1 light adult Krider’s, 2 partial albinos, and 33 dark/rufous adult Westerns (less than usual)

·        Rough-legged Hawk (518): average numbers, including excellent number of juveniles, and great flight of 155 on November 2^nd  (third highest count)

·        Golden Eagle (136): continued above average numbers, peak of 21 on 2 November

·        American Kestrel (1200): eleventh year in a row of below average counts, peak of 246 on 1 October

·        Merlin (169): slightly below average, including 1 Richardson’s type on 2 November

·        Peregrine Falcon (154): record season, including record day of 33 on 30 September (previous high count was 21 on 29 September 1997)

·        Mississippi Kite (2): single birds on 27 August and 4 September; fourth year in a row this Casual species has been seen at the Ridge.

NON-RAPTORS

The raptor count may have been low, but the non-raptor flight was truly exceptional this season. The season total of 283,484 migrating non-raptors was the second highest count to date, which includes 176,466 counted from the Lester River shore site in the early morning, and 107,018 counted from the Hawk Ridge main overlook throughout the entire day. For the last four seasons, these two counts have been combined to yield a composite total of non-raptors. The abundance of birds this season was overwhelming at times, and we were witness to multiple mass migration events when the flow of birds was close to uncountable. Here is a quick species by species summary of some of the most significant non-raptors seen this fall:

·        Greater White-fronted Goose (1): one on 5 September, rare for Duluth

·        Ross’s Goose (6): average number, considered rare in Duluth

·        Cackling Goose (20): exceptionally low season! (previous average is 854); where were all the Cackling Geese?

·        Canada Goose (8244): above average number, peak 1106 on 15 September

·        American White Pelican (362): above average number, peak of 156 on 3 September

·        Double-crested Cormorant (781): best season to date by far, peak of 244 on 2 September

·        Sandhill Crane (418): average season, peak of 169 on 6 October

·        Upland Sandpiper (1): one on 5 September, rare for Duluth

·        Red-necked Phalarope (56): single flock on 20 August, unusually high number for Duluth

·        Eurasian Collared-Dove (1): one on 2 October, only second record for Duluth

·        Common Nightahwk (43,011): best season to date, peak of 30,874 on 21 August (second highest state count)

·        Red-headed Woodpecker (5): above average count, all 5 seen on 11 September (rare in Duluth)

·        Black-backed Woodpecker (2): only 2 sightings, same as last year (unusually low numbers); previous average 2007-2011 was 54

·        Eastern Kingbird (368): above average number, peak of 283 on 21 August was record high count for state

·        Blue Jay (29,477): average count, peak of 5627 on 16 September was second highest count for state

·        American Crow (11,120): average season, peak of 1607 on 19 October

·        Common Raven (1127): above average count, peak of 107 on 19 October

·        Cliff Swallow (2567): above average count, peak of 1028 on 19 August

·        Boreal Chickadee (4): more than usual

·        Eastern Bluebird (1,170):  record season with record high count of 262 on 18 October

·        Mountain Bluebird (2): both seen together on 26 October, rare in Duluth

·        Gray-cheeked Thrush: record high count of 34 heard pre-dawn on 7 September

·        Swainson’s Thrush (9): although only 9 identified during the day, a total of 77 catharus thrushes were seen flying over during the day (more than usual), and I made an estimate of at least 1229 flying over at night (probably many more), including 500+ on 12 September

·        American Robin (47339): average total; peak of 4595 on 3 October

·        American Pipit (1572): above average total; peak of 345 on 2 October

·        Cedar Waxwing (41,608): record high season; peak of 6322 on 20 August, second highest state count

·        Warblers (33,591): best season since I started counting in 2007, with a peak of 11,674 on 29 September (fourth highest state count)

·        Lapland Longspur (180): below average count

·        Snow Bunting (644): average count, peak of 201 on 26 October

·        Rose-breasted Grosbeak (174): above average count, peak of 107 on 11 September was highest state count

·        Red-winged Blackbird (3540): below average count, peak of 888 on 22 August

·        Rusty Blackbird (18,688): above average count, peak of 5246 on 13 October was third highest count for state

·        Common Grackle (2535): average count, peak of 695 on 16 October

·        Pine Grosbeak (36): lowest count to date, previous average is 737!

·        Purple Finch (1769): below average count, peak of 261 on 11 September

·        Red Crossbill (18): lowest count to date, previous average is 776!

·        White-winged Crossbill (none!): lowest count to date, previous average is 1322!

·        Common Redpoll (none!): lowest count to date, previous average is 9526!

·        Pine Siskin (66): lowest count to date, previous average is 4572!

·        American Goldfinch (12,239): record season, peak of 3585 on 2 October was new state high count

·        Evening Grosbeak (15): lowest count to date, previous average is 68

Karl Bardon

Count Director, Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory