‘This is our Grand Keenyan’ explained the entrepreneurial young Ethiopian guide, describing the magnificent cliffs and views below us.In the second that followed I tried to think how he knew I had come from Kenya.Then my brain fully engaged and I realized he was actually talking about the Grand Canyon.

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Do you remember the first time you came to visit the World Center for Birds of Prey? For many Idaho residents, it was during a school field trip. Every year, we get to teach thousands of students about birds of prey here at our facility—at no charge to students or teachers. Not only do the kids get to meet our many education birds in person; they also get to learn about the adaptations and habitats of these fascinating creatures during a hands-on, interactive tour.

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Note from Munir Virani, Africa Program Director

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Namaste!

The Asian Vultures Crisis, as it came to be known, is one of the most compelling stories in wildlife conservation. Vultures in South Asia were dying off by the thousands and entire populations were plummeting. Finally, it was proven that a drug called Diclofenac, widely used to treat cattle and other livestock at the end of the last century, was inadvertently causing the death of these vultures. The Peregrine Fund solved the mystery and now the drug is banned in India, Nepal and Pakistan. To this day, The Peregrine Fund keeps monitoring the vulture populations in India.

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I opened the release box door to see several tiny feathered faces staring up at me, patches of down in varying degrees sticking up from the tops of their heads like many tiny white dandelion seeds. I grabbed a small piece of meat from the plate I had carried up with me to the release tower, held it on the edge of my finger, and reached toward D2, the falcon closest to me. He stretched his neck, made a soft cacking noise, and greedily pulled the meat into his beak and swallowed.I offered a few more pieces to the other falcons and they all ate happily. I didn’t want to feed them too much. Today was the day they were going to be released for the first time, and we wanted them to come out of the box and eat on their own, which would help them continue to associate the platform and the box with safety.

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Counting vultures on the Chambal River can be quite an ambivalent experience. We are on the boat from dawn to dusk with an opportunity to see some of the most fascinating wildlife in India. However, it is usually hot and one does end up with a sore behind at the end of the day. The Chambal is one of the only rivers in India that flows from south to north. I was accompanied by Dr Patrick Benson, who has been studying Cape Vultures in South Africa for nearly 30 years and Shiv Kapila, one of my students supported by The Peregrine Fund, who successfully completed a Masters degree at the University College of London. I have been very fortunate to have Pat regularly help me over the last seven years that we have been observing vultures in India. He has a wealth of knowledge and I have benefited tremendously from his vast experience.

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Conservationists the world over usually say that “the field of conservation can be extremely frustrating.” This is true to a certain extent but as scientists and conservationists, we simply cannot give up. While “feel good” factors are few and far between, they are there. Look at how populations of the Mauritius Kestrel have recovered (from only four known individuals in the wild in 1980 to over 600 individuals presently), or the fact that Peregrine Falcons have been taken off the US Endangered Species List. Some events can make you feel good no matter how small they seem - whether it is watching your child release an eagle after banding or giving a bird a second chance to live after all hope is lost. Yesterday was one of those days where a group of Kenyans felt that “feel good factor.” It was also a great example of how people working together can make a difference. A huge difference in the life of one vulture—a Rüppell’s Vulture nicknamed Rekero.

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At the World Center for Birds of Prey we have bred many species of raptors in captivity. Our goal, however, is not to propagate large numbers of species or individuals, but only the kinds and numbers desired for conservation projects in which we are involved.

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PROPAGATION
In 2008, the Aplomado Falcon restoration program had 34 Aplomado Falcons lay 156 fertile eggs that hatched, and 152 (97%) survived to release age. One of the ovulating falcons was a first-time layer. One falcon, which ovulated in 2007, did not lay in 2008. In addition to the captive eggs, three eggs were removed from a nest that was in jeopardy in South Texas and brought to the Boise facility. The three eggs hatched and all survived to release age. Including the wild eggs, 190 were fertile, 159 hatched, and 155 survived to release age.

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Howler Monkeys pierce the early morning air, adding to a dawn chorus of Keel-billed Toucans, Carolina Wrens, and Brown Jays. A limestone cliff appears through a veil of mist as an adult male Orange-breasted Falcon with prey lands on a dead tree near the top of the cliff. Two hundred feet below, a falcon calls, and the male swoops down to meet his mate, expertly exchanging prey on the wing. The female eats her fill, caches the remaining prey in a mahogany, and returns to her eyrie on the cliff wall.

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Greetings NFTF readers! As always in condor country, March of 2007 has been a very active month both for the wild population and the field crew monitoring them. This, due in part to the intense breeding behavior of older birds in addition to crew having new birds to monitor from our recent annual release.

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The Peregrine Fund biologists Bill Heinrich, Cal Sandfort, and Jim Willmarth departed the United States arriving in East Greenland in early September 2005. The immediate objective of the trip was to capture, measure, collect blood/DNA, and band as many falcons as possible. The secondary and longer term objective was to determine if we can monitor the conservation status and population numbers and fluctuations of Gyrfalcons in northeast Greenland through annual and eventually periodic capture of autumn migrants. Since the Gyrfalcons depend importantly on numbers of ptarmigan and lemming as prey in northeast Greenland, both of which fluctuate over years, the Gyrfalcon population most probably responds likewise. To achieve this objective we must be able to capture sufficient numbers of falcons to detect trends and allow for comparisons over time, not only of total numbers of birds captured but between ratios of immature to adults caught, and even sexes. For example, changes in the juvenile to adult ratio can be an indicator of reproduction (more adults to juveniles suggests lower reproduction). The effect of near and long term weather/climate can also be examined.

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For your possible interest, last week Kurt Burnham and I completed a survey of all known Gyrfalcon nest sites in the Kangerlussuaq/Søndre Strømfjord, west-central Greenland study area. All 74 sites visited were nesting locations found to have been occupied by breeding Gyrfalcons one or more times since 1972. Some are on cliffs with raven nests, possibly used by Gyrs for only a single season, while other nest sites probably have been used for hundreds of years (one site at least 2,500 years) and have thick fecal buildup. This year we found only nine (12%) of the 74 locations to be occupied. Geographically, this is quite a large area and a helicopter must be used. At occupied locations we climbed into the eyries, banded nestlings, and collected DNA samples (feathers and blood) and data related to the nest site. While surveying known sites we also visited other suitable-appearing cliffs along the way but found no additional Gyrfalcons. This is the first time we surveyed 100% of the known Gyrfalcon nest sites. The previous six years we surveyed between 50 to 88% of the known locations, finding between 18 (26%) and 6 (13%) annually occupied. In any given year, the largest number of occupied sites ever known since 1972 was in 1991 when 22 (31%) of the sites checked had Gyrfalcons present.

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22 - 23 September 2002

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14 - 15 August 2002 - This time I fly to Thule Air Base, Greenland, thanks to the United States Air Force. Check-in time for the six hour flight to Greenland is midnight and I arrive at Baltimore International Airport a couple of hours before. Just after the restaurants close, so there is no chance for dinner. The good news is the flight is on time. The old DC 8 is operational (based on past experience this is not always the case). We are to clear security at 1:00 am, then are to depart about 2:00. However, they kindly wait for a delayed flight from Dallas-Fort Worth airport containing three passengers for Greenland. One of those is Christopher Cokinos who is coming up to visit the sites where Robert Peary removed the meteorites from Greenland. We will be surveying for falcons in the same area and he will ride along in our boat. We depart BWI about 2:30 am.

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The Arctic is probably the world's most ecologically sensitive and vulnerable ecosystem. Since it functions as a global barometer, slight shifts in global temperature could have major impacts. A warming trend of the Arctic Ocean and change of atmospheric pressure patterns are already reported. Also, alarmingly high contaminant levels are being found in the most northern Inuit people, whales, polar bears, and seals, believed to result from global atmospheric distillation and fractionation (chemicals transported from the tropics through the atmosphere) and pollution entering the Arctic Ocean from north slope rivers of Russia.

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‘The best laid plans of mice and men
Oft go wrong and leave us nothing
But grief and pain’.

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