Never Had a Chance
Originally published at Falcon Flare by Imani. Please leave any comments there.
It has taken me this long to post the daily update because I started the day with a very heavy heart. Yesterday we had coyotes around the site all day long. They were bold, persistent, and obvious. They were not afraid of Daleesa and I, though I put up quite the commotion to run them off. The older birds were constantly threat calling and making fake-out stoops at them. In the evening, Brian Mutch, the Peregrine Fund biologist supervising our site, came out and shot at them several times. He wasn’t aiming to kill, only to move them out of our immediate vicinity. The coyotes here definitely understand bullets. However, we assumed that one reason they were so interested is because they had already been successful in catching our falcons.
This morning, two full days having passed since the new bunch were released, we were instructed to put up new food and make a search for feather piles. I found one.
E2Red, a female wearing a satellite transmitter, made the poor decision of roosting on one of the tree perches we installed to keep them off the ground. Though I considered flushing her off it at the time, I was afraid that she would be frightened enough to fly a long way in the dark, getting lost and never returning. Weighing the balance of the risks, I simply hoped she would reperch after we left. After all, falcons see far and away better, both at night and in the day, than we do. However, I believe she stayed there and got snatched right off the perch. It is likely that 39Red, one of our birds that disappeared some time ago, met a similar fate. The falcons are safe from the coyotes as long as they take a high perch, and in the fortunate absence of Great Horned Owls, coyotes appear to be the primary danger. The older birds, having already learned about safe perches, will most likely be fine. We just need to get through the next week with the brand new fledglings and my stress level will go way down.
At this moment, we’re missing 4 birds, not counting the two deceased. That is, we haven’t confirmed their presence today. Two of them are older females. I’m not so worried about them, though they didn’t show yesterday, either. Site 2 did tell us they’ve seen one of our birds down at their site, but haven’t gotten a look at her band. The other two are new males, 71Red and 75Green. 75Green pulled the same stunt as 20Green did back at the first release. That is, he fledged right out if the area. He could show up or not. There’s no telling. The other may stayed around on Day 1, but disappeared that night. He may not have made it.
Without the benefit of tracking devices on every bird (we only have 3 wearing them, and one is dead), we just have to live with the uncertainty. We can always look, and we often do, but the chances of finding are very low. It is not the best of all possible worlds. As hack site attendants, biologists, field assistants, or what have you, we know that we’re throwing precious cargo into a big, dangerous world. We compensate by saturating an area, like Mustang Island State Park, with falcons, even though it’s barely big enough to support two nesting pairs. And we try to stay aloof, detached, and at peace with the natural predation that is inevitable. After all, the coyotes have every right to be here. But when you spend all day, every day observing these amazing, glorious birds, it’s impossible not to get a little attached. If a tear falls, we understand.
E2Red's satellite transmitter
Update: U3Red is back with a very droopy left wing. An injury would certainly explain her 2.5 day absence. Since she did manage to fly back, it’s probably no more serious than a sprain. At least, that’s the hope.
It has taken me this long to post the daily update because I started the day with a very heavy heart. Yesterday we had coyotes around the site all day long. They were bold, persistent, and obvious. They were not afraid of Daleesa and I, though I put up quite the commotion to run them off. The older birds were constantly threat calling and making fake-out stoops at them. In the evening, Brian Mutch, the Peregrine Fund biologist supervising our site, came out and shot at them several times. He wasn’t aiming to kill, only to move them out of our immediate vicinity. The coyotes here definitely understand bullets. However, we assumed that one reason they were so interested is because they had already been successful in catching our falcons.
This morning, two full days having passed since the new bunch were released, we were instructed to put up new food and make a search for feather piles. I found one.
E2Red, a female wearing a satellite transmitter, made the poor decision of roosting on one of the tree perches we installed to keep them off the ground. Though I considered flushing her off it at the time, I was afraid that she would be frightened enough to fly a long way in the dark, getting lost and never returning. Weighing the balance of the risks, I simply hoped she would reperch after we left. After all, falcons see far and away better, both at night and in the day, than we do. However, I believe she stayed there and got snatched right off the perch. It is likely that 39Red, one of our birds that disappeared some time ago, met a similar fate. The falcons are safe from the coyotes as long as they take a high perch, and in the fortunate absence of Great Horned Owls, coyotes appear to be the primary danger. The older birds, having already learned about safe perches, will most likely be fine. We just need to get through the next week with the brand new fledglings and my stress level will go way down.
At this moment, we’re missing 4 birds, not counting the two deceased. That is, we haven’t confirmed their presence today. Two of them are older females. I’m not so worried about them, though they didn’t show yesterday, either. Site 2 did tell us they’ve seen one of our birds down at their site, but haven’t gotten a look at her band. The other two are new males, 71Red and 75Green. 75Green pulled the same stunt as 20Green did back at the first release. That is, he fledged right out if the area. He could show up or not. There’s no telling. The other may stayed around on Day 1, but disappeared that night. He may not have made it.
Without the benefit of tracking devices on every bird (we only have 3 wearing them, and one is dead), we just have to live with the uncertainty. We can always look, and we often do, but the chances of finding are very low. It is not the best of all possible worlds. As hack site attendants, biologists, field assistants, or what have you, we know that we’re throwing precious cargo into a big, dangerous world. We compensate by saturating an area, like Mustang Island State Park, with falcons, even though it’s barely big enough to support two nesting pairs. And we try to stay aloof, detached, and at peace with the natural predation that is inevitable. After all, the coyotes have every right to be here. But when you spend all day, every day observing these amazing, glorious birds, it’s impossible not to get a little attached. If a tear falls, we understand.
E2Red's satellite transmitter
Update: U3Red is back with a very droopy left wing. An injury would certainly explain her 2.5 day absence. Since she did manage to fly back, it’s probably no more serious than a sprain. At least, that’s the hope.