ST. GEORGES (June 18, 2013) – A winning combination of citizen awareness, DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife Enforcement, Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research, and the US Fish & Wildlife Service collaborated recently to rescue and subsequently return a pair of juvenile peregrine falcons to their nesting location on the St. Georges Bridge over the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal after the birds had “crash-landed” on the bridge’s roadway while attempting their first flight.

Known as the world’s fastest bird, peregrine falcons have nested in Delaware since the late 1980s when they were carefully reintroduced to the eastern United States as the population rebounded from a federally endangered species listing. Due to the pesticide DDT, the entire eastern population had completely disappeared and recovery was uncertain. Delaware was not an obvious place for bringing them back, as the landscape lacks any naturally-occurring cliffs, the peregrines’ preferred habitat. However, the state boasts several large and high bridges that the falcons find as a surrogate for cliffs. The first nesting pair was on the Delaware Memorial Bridge, and over the past three decades, falcons have also taken up residence on the Summit, St. Georges, and Reedy Point Bridges over the C&D Canal. 

Three years ago, the Division of Fish & Wildlife began monitoring a new pair of peregrines atop the St. Georges Bridge. The steel truss bridge serves well as nesting location, or aerie, but it also can be a perilous place for juvenile falcons as they prepare to make their first flights. With their nest scrape high in the arches of the bridge, young birds have fallen into the C&D Canal or landed on the deck of the bridge, often resulting in mortality.

Twice this month, two fledglings leaving the St. Georges Bridge nest for the first time might have met with such misfortune. Instead, quick thinking by citizens who saw and reported the falcons on the deck and roadbed of the bridge – amidst passing traffic – triggered a quick response from Division of Fish & Wildlife Enforcement agents who rescued the falcons and transported them to the nationally-renowned Tri-State Bird Rescue in Newark. 

After thorough examination and a few days of observation, Tri-State Bird Rescue reported that both falcons were in great condition and ready to be returned to their nest. On Wednesday, June 12, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service raptor biologist Craig Koppie attempted to reintroduce the two juveniles, both females, to their parents.  

With the actual nest site a precarious perch inaccessible to humans, Mr. Koppie elected to place the falcons on the catwalk of the bridge, giving them a safer venue for continuing to exercise their wings and to make short flights. “Returning the young to the nest at this age is often difficult and requires a plan so the release will not end up in the same manner – with birds falling to the ground again,” he said. “To minimize risk of the birds immediately taking flight before they’re ready, I immersed the young falcons in water to soak their body and flight feathers. This makes the fledglings heavy and wet, and they will not have the desire to bolt once released. I also placed food (quail) along the catwalk before taking them to the top of the bridge so the young falcons would concentrate on eating while they were drying off.” 

As he scaled the bridge to release the juveniles, the adult falcons recognized their offspring from on high and became aggressive toward him; Mr. Koppie took this behavior as an excellent sign that the young birds were still being defended by their parents, and that the adults would continue to attend to their offspring’s needs. 

Thus, a successful release, and it seemed that all was well with the young falcons – with a little luck they would be airborne again in a day or two, this time for good. However, heavy thunderstorms were forecast over the next few days and strong winds could have dashed hopes for the falcons’ survival. Division of Fish & Wildlife biologist Anthony Gonzon was determined to monitor the birds in the storms’ aftermath. Arriving at St. Georges Bridge in the early morning Friday, June 14, he immediately located one of the adult peregrines on the catwalk beneath the bridge. Panning across the arches, he spotted one of the juveniles, a poignant sighting, Mr. Gonzon recalled: “At the very least, one of the young birds had survived the storms, and better yet, it could fly!” 

Gonzon spent more time combing the horizon for the second juvenile rescue. During that time, the other adult falcon flew in with food for the first juvenile and tried to coax it off the crossbeam of the arch where it was first observed. The young bird made a couple of attempts to take flight, but elected to stay put and wait for the adult to deliver its food. When the adult landed, the young falcon quickly ran to it, stole the carcass of a bird away and made a fast break for cover. 

“But there was still no sign of the second juvenile,” Mr. Gonzon recalled. Time and circumstances conspired against a sighting when, suddenly, on the north bank of the canal, he saw both adult falcons, clearly agitated and diving at some unseen threat. “A quick look through a spotting scope and there it was – the second peregrine fledgling! The parents obviously had been protecting her. Although she still had a little down on her head, she could fly, and fly well enough to perch on a dead tree along the canal.” The peregrine parents successfully drove off whatever threat they had detected, and the young bird flew back to the catwalk under the bridge, capping a restoration success. And evidence, according to Mr. Gonzon, “that Delaware’s peregrine falcon population had grown by two!” 

“We work hard to reunite young birds of prey with their parents or a foster family whenever we can,” said Lisa Smith, executive director of Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research. “Young birds of prey have so much to learn from the adults – how to hunt, how to behave socially, where to roost, etc. We are delighted that these two falcons can continue to grow up in the wild.”

Photo credits: Top, Russ Carlson. Bottom: USFWS/Craig Koppie.

Contact: Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 43, No. 250

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WILMINGTON (May 15, 2013) – The four peregrine falcon chicks given starring roles on the DNREC Falcon Cam  – sponsored by the Delaware Ornithological Society and DuPont’s Clear Into the Future initiative – were outfitted for their own ornithological future this week. They were banded Tuesday by the US Fish & Wildlife Service so as to enable the gathering of biological and biographical data from them as they spread their wings into adulthood.

USFWS raptor biologist Craig Koppie gave the chicks colorful leg-bands Tuesday that will further knowledge about the regional peregrine population. Resightings of banded birds has provided valuable information on their movements, ancestry and adaptability to changing environments. “This data becomes even more important when we consider that the peregrine, once an endangered species, now inhabits more urban and suburban areas than natural cliff sites where it once resided,” said DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife biologist Anthony Gonzon. “Resightings of these colored and numbered bands help us to identify individual birds that may have travelled several hundred miles from their birthplaces to new nesting locations.”

The fourth chick born from this year’s clutch to Red Girl, the female adult peregrine on the DNREC Falcon Cam, is on the right in the photo – and is the only chick not yet displaying colorful downy feathers. The chick hatched more than two days after its siblings. Facing a perilous possibility of survival because of its late arrival, the chick was removed from the nest box on the 19^th floor of the Brandywine Building by Mr. Koppie, nurtured by him for two weeks, then returned to the nest box where it has since thrived.

CONTACT:  Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902, or Bill Stewart, Delaware Ornithological Society, email: bird-del@earthlink.net

Photo: USFWS/Craig Koppie

Vol. 43, No. 197

WILMINGTON (May 14, 2013) – With the recent return to the nest box of a chick that was artificially fed and cared for by human hand while it gained weight and strength to fend for itself in the box, the Wilmington Peregrine Falcons of DNREC Falcon Cam fame have regained the family dynamic as the four chicks prepare to fledge.

 Nesting high above the streets of downtown Wilmington, on the 19^th floor of the Brandywine Building, adult falcons successfully hatched four eggs in April. The hatching of the fourth egg occurred three days after the first three, leaving a smaller, virtually helpless chick with little chance to compete with its larger siblings and a low chance of survival. After authorization from DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife, U.S. Fish & Wildlife raptor biologist Craig Koppie made an emergency intercession, and removed the chick from the nest, nurturing it for two weeks until it reached a size – and had a fighting appetite for life – comparable to its siblings’. (See adjacent photos by Mr. Koppie for growth comparison.)

Upon returning the chick to the nest box, Mr. Koppie reported to DNREC biologist Anthony Gonzon that “The mother” – affectionately known as Red Girl” to Falcon Cam devotees – “brought in a small bird and fed the other siblings until the very last piece, which she gave to the little one. My little buddy received his first piece of food from his mother since he hatched!” About an hour and half later, Red Girl “came in with a pigeon. The young male forced his way to the front and was fed by the mother until his crop was full.” 

Mr. Koppie himself returned to the nest box Tuesday morning to band the young falcons before their first flight and eventual departure for their own territory. All four chicks from the “class of 2013” were found to be thriving. Earlier, he had reflected on his rearing of the fourth chick, which quite likely saved its life, and its return to the nest box: “I liked his overall progress and physical abilities (for returning it to the nest box). I felt confident about the timing and development stages of the other siblings and that he would likely fit in.”

Photos: US Fish & Wildlife Service/Craig Koppie

Contact: Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902 

Vol. 43, No. 195

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