Nature Magazine - TRC Partnership in Galapagos

Dr. Julia Ponder and Galapagos Hawk

Nature magazine recently featured an article on our partnership's work in the Galapagos Islands. We are proud to be recognized internationally in such an esteemed scientific publication and hope you enjoy reading this wonderful description of the critical work being done in Galapagos.

Lunchtime at TRC

Nero the turkey vulture

Leuc the bald eagle

Gail Buhl and Pi the bald eagle

We wanted to share some pics of our birds at their lunchtime.  Nero the turkey vulture has his food often presented in a way that will encourage his natural behavior to search for it in a cavity.  Leuc the bald eagle has fish today.  Pi had a nice rat.  All of the food items are chosen to resemble natural prey and meet their nutritional needs.

Peregrine Chick Season Has Begun!

Peregrine falcon chick with color/project band

Two peregrine falcon chicks were banded, and blood taken for ongoing study, at Wells Fargo Plaza in Bloomington, MN today.  There are two bands placed on the chicks' legs; one is a federal band that has a nine-digit number (in the photos it will appear purple), and one is a bi-color project band (in the photos, it is black over red). The second band can easily be read with a spotting scope or binoculars for ease of observing and identifying the bird throughout its life.

Peregrines have successfully fledged from this site since 1997.  This site is a great example of the immense accomplishment of the peregrine restoration efforts started by Dr. Patrick Redig and Dr. Harrison "Bud" Tordoff.

As most of our followers and friends know, the Midwest Peregrine Society is housed at The Raptor Center.  TRC staff provide leadership, technical advice and administrative support for the project, which includes 13 Midwest states and two Canadian provinces.  The history of the project, as well as a searchable database for the public to look up individual birds, sites and state information, is here.  A recent Minnesota Daily article on the project is here. 

Peregrine falcon chick with federal band being placed on the leg.

The lobby of the Wells Fargo Plaza
has a camera on the nest box

Have your Hatchday at The Raptor Center

Are you looking for a truly unique experience for your child's special day?  Come celebrate your Hatchday (birthday) with our raptors at The Raptor Center!  You’ll enjoy our Raptors of Minnesota program, where we’ll explore the different raptors found in Minnesota and their role in the environment.  You'll then move to a decorated party room with age-appropriate game and activities. (Download a flyer here). To schedule your Hatchday Party, contact The Raptor Center at 612‐624‐2756 or raptored@umn.edu.

Spring Raptor Release newsletter available online

You can now view/download our Spring Raptor Release newsletter online.  Each spring and fall we produce the newsletter, which includes our popular Tales from the Trauma Center and Conservation Research sections, and let you know what we are up to.

Update on Bald Eagle Patient

Dr. Julia Ponder, Executive Director, and
Drew Bickford, Senior Veterinary Technician

The bald eagle patient, thought to be male, that was injured near Duluth, was seen for a routine clinic check up today.  The puncture wounds were cleaned, and the bird's weight and other vitals were taken, among other things. 

The Raptor Center is proud to play a vital role in conservation research and veterinary medicine.  As with all of our patients, each one brings a new piece to the overall body of knowledge we continue to build on species. Every individual is a lens to their population with an opportunity to gain more understanding, or ask different questions.  

From TRC - News on Recent Bald Eagle Patient

You may have read stories about two adult bald eagles recently recovered together near Duluth, MN.  While one bird was able to fly away, the other was severely injuried and is currently a patient in our clinic. Acknowledging that the bird has not been here long, the prognosis at this time appears to be good. It sustained deep puncture wounds from the talon’s of the other eagle, a consequence of a suspected territorial fight.

When the birds were recovered, they were “talon-locked” and were not easily separated.  Most often, when adult eagles lock talons with each other  they are either battling over a breeding territory (usually 2 members of the same sex are involved), a male and female are engaged in courtship activity (no harm comes to either bird during courtship) or they are trying to drive a juvenile bird out of a breeding territory.  

We cannot say for sure  what precipitated the interaction between these 2 eagles .  As with many occurrences in the natural world, observations lead to broadening what we think we know about a species and help to form better questions in our search for knowledge about our feathered friends.