Remembering Annie the Peregrine Falcon

We wanted to let you all know that Annie, one of our education peregrine falcons, was euthanized recently.  As you know, the staff at TRC want to ensure our education birds have a life of quality and we work hard to achieve this. Over the last several months, we have actively changed Annie’s management and worked very closely with the clinic staff to make sure she continued to be comfortable. Despite our efforts, Annie’s condition deteriorated and we recognize that it was time to give her the gift of a humane and gentle end.

Annie’s history is fascinating and highlights the incredible and long-standing involvement in the restoration of the peregrine falcon in the Midwest by TRC and the University of Minnesota. By 1962, peregrine falcons were extirpated from most of North America, especially east of the Rocky Mountains.  Why did this happen? Mostly because of the widespread use of the chemical DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane), a chemical insecticide.  DDT breaks down into DDE, and is very persistent in the environment.  Found in the thinned eggshells of peregrine falcons, DDE was one of the main reasons for their dramatic population decline.  By 1972, DDT was banned for most uses in the U.S.
In 1973, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was passed in the U.S.  Animals and plants that are in dire peril of extinction are "listed" by recommendation or petition.  The USFWS and NOAA are the two federal agencies that administer the ESA.  The peregrine falcon was a "founding member" of the Endangered Species Conservation Act in 1970 and listed again in 1973 on the ESA. 

Many projects to increase peregrine numbers across the U.S. were underway already, most notably at the Peregrine Fund in Idaho. Dr. Harrison “Bud” Tordoff, Bell Museum of Natural History and Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, and TRC’s own Director Emeritus, Dr. Pat Redig, started a project here in 1982 for Minnesota and the Midwest populations of peregrine falcons. In Minnesota from 1982-1989, 178 young peregrine falcons were hacked. Since peregrines do not make their own nests, or scrapes,  nest boxes were placed in strategic areas. The most successful areas, and the most controversial, were the nest boxes placed on buildings, smokestacks, and bridges. After those territories were at capacity, peregrines started moving back to the traditional cliff areas.

Peregrine falcons came OFF the federal Endangered Species List in 1999.

Annie was part of the peregrine falcon restoration project here in the Midwest. She hatched in mid-May 1995. She was a wild-produced bird. Her parents were Lindee (male) and Comet (female).  She fledged as “Cindy” (project band number black over red M/*H) with her two brothers off the Montgomery Ward Tower (since been demolished) in St. Paul, MN. After she fledged, Annie made her way down to University City, Missouri where she was injured and recovered on July 29th.  She was brought to TRC for treatment. Her wing injuries healed and Dr. Pat Redig and his son, Jeff, both falconers, flew her to prepare her for release. During this time, it was discovered that she was developing a cataract in her left eye. This rendered her non-releasable and she joined the Education team in 1996.

Peregrine falcons are an amazing success story that took effort by many people around the country. The Raptor Center made a huge impact on the success of peregrine falcons here in the Midwest. Annie is a part of this story and a part of the legacy that when people work together for positive change we can do it.

Celebrating Pi Day - with Pi the Bald Eagle!

Pi's food is inside several objects. 

Today is Pi Day (March 14, or 3.14).  In honor of that, we thought we could share some pics of Pi the bald eagle receiving his lunch.

He was given his tasty rat meal within several objects that were used as enrichment toys.  We made sure they were safe, and staff stood nearby while he worked with them.  He has also been taught how to interact with enrichment toys, just as we train the birds for other activities like being on the glove and being crated for travel to programs.

Pi is starting to find his food!

Pi's rat lunch is at the bottom of the photo.  It was in the
egg carton.

Enjoy, Pi!

The Raptor Center at Nyquest Elementary School

This week, Nyquist Elementary School in Isle, MN, welcomed The Raptor Center.  Kelsey Griffin, along with some of our winged ambassadors, talked about how raptors are such an important part of our shared ecosystem.  (Thank you to Jennifer Ernest for the photos.)

Kelsey and Malar the American kestrel

Kelsey and Lois the great horned owl.  Lois is finishing a mouse
meal!  She demonstrated how owls will eat their prey
nose-first, so it goes down easier!

From Isabelle W.

While there, two very talented artists created pictures and sent them along.  We want to share them, and thank Nyquist for such a warm welcome.  We hope to see them again soon!

From Maren B.

Hawk Belly Band Wednesday

Rowan the red-tailed hawk's belly band.

Luta the red-tailed hawk's belly band.

Luta.

Rowan.

We thought it would be fun to share some photos of the differences in plumage, and particularly the "belly bands", of two of our education winged ambassadors.  Both Rowan and Luta are 2015 hatches, so they are about the same age.  However, as you can see, their plumage is very different, which is typical for red-tailed hawks.  Read about Luta and Rowan on their web pages. 

Vulture Valentine from The Raptor Center

We wanted to send this valentine to all our friends. We could not decide who had the most fun for the "photo shoot" - Nero the turkey vulture, or Dan Hnilicka, our non-feathered staff.

To all of our wonderful donors: we send our heartfelt thanks to you! Your generosity ensures that we can continue caring for sick and injured raptors, identify emerging environmental issues, and provide education opportunities and programs for our community. Thank you for your generous support. Happy Valentine's Day!

Share Jonah's Love for Raptors

Jonah, fourth from left, and his family and friends.

The Raptor Center recently made a new friend who impressed us so much with how beautifully he expressed his love of raptors.  Jonah, 13, agreed to share his journey so far in a guest blog post.  He is also a talented artist, as you can see from his drawings.

We thank Jonah and his family and friends for being a part of spreading the message how raptors are an important part of our shared world, and we look forward to another visit soon.

Jonah's drawing of Northern Saw-whet owls

Jonah drew a hawk, hunting for prey.

  

"Hello, my name is Jonah, and I am 13 years old. This is my first post for The Raptor Center blog. After sending The Raptor Center a Thanksgiving thank-you letter for caring for the sick, poisoned, injured and human-imprinted raptors, I was asked to write for this blog. Aside from having a deep love and respect for animals and nature and a fiery passion for their conservation and protection, I like reading and drawing.

So, it's February, which means romantic lovey-doveyness everywhere. Blech. The only kind of love I'm going to be talking about is how I first came to love raptors. I've always loved animals since I was a baby (literally!), but my love for raptors in particular, and owls in particular among raptors, did not begin until fairly recently- the late summer of 2016, to be exact. I love to read and some of my favorite stories are those with animals as main characters. Naturally, I eventually was introduced to a book series called Guardians of Ga'hoole by Kathryn Lasky. In case you have not heard of the series or read it, the stories are set in a world where humans no longer exist, and the main characters are owls, among other animals. The author incorporated a lot of real facts and information about owls into her writing and it got me curious to know more.

Next, what really sparked the flame of interest was our cabin trip in September when I heard my mom say, "Look! An owl!" but I missed it. From that moment on I had a goal to see owls in the wild; I spent the remainder of the cabin weekend listening for and looking for owls. I heard one in a tree nearby but was never able to see it. Later, a small bird that was probably a Saw-Whet owl swooped in front of our windshield in a blurry flash. Since then I have seen wild owls right in our neighborhood- probably the same nesting pair. I've seen them twice in December silhouetted in the dark, moonless distance after hearing them calling, and once (just today) in the daylight getting chased away by crows as I glanced up from writing this!

All the other raptors kinda got dragged along for the ride when my love for owls began and I have kept track of the species I have seen ever since. I'm probably not the only one who is kind of grossed out by all this February love madness, so I strongly suggest joining me in the love of raptors!"