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And here we go again…
Here we go again-I am starting my third season of coordinating peregrine falcon research in Minnesota, and it seems like I just finished the 2007 season just a few weeks ago. Things surrounding the birds always seem to be on my mind-what birds are back, what birds are fighting on territory, what bird haven’t I seen yet this season and will they even be back from their migration to “who knows where”.
A lot of the work surrounding the project seems to be fitting into place and is going well. I have been busy sending out the usual emails to some of the out-state property managers and field staff in wanting to have them let me know when the birds are back on territory. This mainly applies to the territories on the North Shore, Rochester, Fargo, Grand Forks, and the St. Cloud area. Throughout the winter I have been keeping track of the metro sites, along with Dr. Tordoff, with each site getting a visit from us at least once a week. I am also training some new observers in on helping with the urban sites, so I can spend more time (and put the miles on my car rather than theirs) at the more challenging sites on the cliffs. Pretty much all of the observers have worked with us on the project for several years, and are just about as excited in seeing the birds and gearing up for the banding of any young as I am.
This year we are doing a couple of n ew things though-one of the biggest efforts is going to be in conducting a very extensive survey of the cliffs on the Mississippi River for peregrine falcons. I certainly can’t do it alone-past history has proven that-but I am very fortunate to have the help of many people who have much more skill and experience that I do. This group of people is known as the Minnesota Falconer’s Association-an organization of people who hunt with birds of prey or people that support their cause. Many of the people in the group were involved in the mid-1970’s in helping to do falcon surveys with Drs. Tordoff and Redig when the recovery project first began and they are continuing their support nearly 30 years later. In addition to this effort, the club has also generously agreed to financially support the project with proceeds from their annual event in April. Since the birds don’t pay for those lovely bands themselves, this financial support is greatly appreciated.
Another exciting aspect of the project has been to finally get the paperwork and structure in place for the non-profit organization known as “The Midwest Peregrine Society”. This organization will now have the ability to raise funds to continue the work that was started 30 years ago, when the species was extinct from the region. Over the years, the financial support has come from a variety of sources (see www.midwestperegrine.org for the listing in our annual reports). However, in the past few years the majority of the support has come solely from The Raptor Center, and the cost of the banding of the young has increased substantially. This can be costly to this non-profit organization when you might consider that on average, it is now costing us nearly $11 to band each chick in the Midwest region (bands, blood collection, mailing supplies, reports, etc) and we are banding 350+ birds a year.
Many people have asked how they can help the birds, and now I can give them a great answer-contribute to the society and help us continue the work. I think it would be a shame to lose the valuable data (and ability to continue to collect the data) just based on the single fact of not being able to afford to band all possible chicks. This is considered to be the most heavily studied population of peregrine falcons in the country (and even the world)-all due to the ability of being able to band nearly 85% of all known chicks. In addition to that, we have blood collected from several thousand birds that holds invaluable data and potential research information for the species. It is not often that you have this kind of information for a species that goes from 0 to several hundred breeding pairs, much less have the public support for that research.
If you would like to contribute to the field research and our project, please contact us at: The Raptor Center, attn. Dr. Patrick Redig, redig001@maroon.tc.umn.edu.
You too can help such an amazing species-even without ever touching it yourself. However, please know that all of us in the Midwestern U.S. and Canada peregrine project appreciate your support by helping us continue the field studies of this amazing bird…one bird at a time.
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