Peregrine Falcon Field Notes-September 26, 2007, The Development and Alumni Office in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Minnesota

September 26, 2007

Quiet times and Cleaning duties

Now that the banding season is complete, things have become pretty quiet on the Midwest Peregrine project.  One of the things I am trying to do involves finishing up this year’s annual report for Dr. Pat Redig and the rest of the state cooperators. Just when I think I am done, I got a phone call from another peregrine observer in Duluth who told me she has learned of a new peregrine nest on the North Shore.  Sure enough, after talking with the captain of a Lake Superior ship, we have another nesting site near the Split Rock Lighthouse.  Add it to the list for next year-there are so many nooks and crannies on the North Shore, it is almost impossible to know EVERY site unless you live on the shore and can see the entire shoreline all day long.  Although it can be frustrating to miss a batch of young from an unknown site, I have to remember that there is always next year. 

I am also busy making phone calls or answering emails regarding peregrines-“How do I get a box installed on my building”, “I found an injured peregrine falcon chick last month-how is it doing?”, or “How can I help with the project?”.  These are things I didn’t really know about when I took over coordinating responsibilities last year, but I still enjoy it as much as the other stuff.

Another thing we do in the fall is clean out the nest boxes from the year’s predation success by the adult pair (being a zookeeper, I should be used to this type of thing).  Usually we remove a handful or two of feathers, bones and casting material (the pellet of undigested prey parts from the peregrine’s meal) from the box.  We also add gravel to the box to make sure it is ready for the upcoming season.  However, when I opened the door of the box at the Bremer Tower in St. Paul, I got more than I counted on!  In this particular nesting box, I found a mountain of feathers-literally.  We ended up collecting a full plastic bag (like at Cub or Rainbow) of prey remains.  The box had nearly 6 inches of material to gather.  With such an unusual collection of remains, we thought we should have an expert take a look.  Dr. Bob Zink at the University of Minnesota is willing to have one of his graduate students figure out all of the different species of prey that this single pair of birds fed upon this spring, summer and early fall.  It may not sound very exciting to most people, but to a raptor biologist it is something pretty extraordinary.  Dr. Tordoff told me he has never seen so many prey remains at any box in the thirty years he has been involved with the project.  It was another reminder that you can never know everything when doing field work with wildlife, and there is always something more to learn…or be confused by.