Nestled against the rugged cliffs of Lake Superior’s north shore, a fascinating and vital conservation effort unfolds each spring: the banding of peregrine falcons. These majestic raptors, renowned for their breathtaking speed and hunting prowess, have made a remarkable comeback from the brink of extinction. This photo essay delves into the meticulous process of banding these birds, capturing the dedication of the Midwest Peregrine Society and volunteers who work tirelessly to monitor and protect peregrine falcon populations. Explore the intimate moments of this conservation endeavor, from the sheer cliffs where the falcons nest to the careful hands that band them, ensuring their future in the wild. Join us on this journey to witness the resilience of nature and the human effort to preserve it.
*** All banding, marking, and sampling is being conducted under state and federal permits authorized by the US Geological Survey and MNDNR.
Birch Bay
Climbers getting ready to scale down the cliff to the eyrie (nest site)
Climbing down to the eyrie
The climber wears a special backpack that has compartments to hold the chicks.
The climbing assistants hoist the backpack to the top of the ledge and bring it to the waiting biologists.
Adults try to protect the chicks by circling and diving at the climbers
Adult females are bigger than the males. During this banding session, both parents circled and tried to scare off the climbers and researchers.
The backpack with the chicks is delivered to the waiting biologists and assistants.
They carefully lift a chick from the backpack.
They weigh the chick by placing him/her into a container on top of a small scale
They can tell how old the chicks are by the length of their growing tail and wing feathers. Gender, weight, age and band numbers are recorded for each chick.
The banding process takes 2 people. One to hold the chick and the other to place and secure the bands on the legs.
The right leg band is a federal band for tracking - it's silver, with 8 or 9 numbers on it.
The left leg band is colored and has large letters and numbers that ca be read by a biologist from up to 700 feet away.
Banding doesn't hurt the chicks - the bands fit the chick's legs just like and ankle bracelet. At this age, the chick's legs are fully grown.
Each chick receives 2 bands, one on each leg.
The chick is placed on a special scale and its weight and measurements are recorded in a notebook.
Each bird's band information is entered into both the federal bird banding and Midwest Peregrine Society databases so the chicks can be tracked after they leave the nest.
The "class" picture.
Mom and Dad are still watching from above.
The chicks are placed back in the carrier.
The backpack with the chicks is carefully lowered back down the the waiting climber.
The climber carefully places each chick back in the eyrie.
Mission accomplished. Climbing back up to the top.
A view of the cliff with eyrie from Lake Superior
Palisade HEad
The climber begins his descent down the cliff. It's about 290 feet to the lake below.
The climber has made it onto the eyrie. It's a long ways down there!
The backpack with the chicks inside is on it's way up the cliff.
The climber takes the backpack with the chicks to the waiting biologists
The biologist readies the scale while the chicks rest inside the backpack
The chick is carefully removed from the backpack.
The chick is examined and a look at the tail feathers helps to determine the age of the chick.
Looking at the development of wing feathers also helps to determine the age of the chick.
The banding begins.
The right leg band is a federal band for tracking - it's silver, with 8 or 9 numbers on it.
The chick's left leg band is colored and has large letter and numbers that can be read by a biologist from up to 700 feet away.
Each bird's band information is entered into both the federal bird banding and the Midwest Peregrine Society database so the chicks can be tracked after they leave the nest.
Banding does not hurt the chicks - the bands fit the chick's legs just like an ankle bracelet.
At this age, the chick's legs are fully gron, so the band will not squeeze or constrict them at all.
The examination and banding process repeats for each chick.
A state park naturalist participates in the examination.
Holding a male and female chick next to each other helps you see how much bigger the females are than the males.
During the examination, blow fly larvae (maggots) were found in the ears of the chicks.
The biologist carefully removes the larvae with forceps.
The family picture is taken after the examinations and banding.
3 females and one small male that is probably 10 days behind the females developmentally.
On hot days like today, the chicks are sprayed with water to cool them and reduce stress on their bodies before being lowered back to the nest.
The climber lowers over the edge so he can lower the chicks to the climber waiting on the eyrie below.
Back on the eyrie, safe and sound!
Dad brings a Blue Jay for breakfast
One of the females spreads her wings over the blue jay hoping to keep the food all to herself.
Spreading the wings to cover up the prey is called mantling.
Dad watches as the chicks devour the meal.
Almost 3 weeks after being banded, the chicks are ready to fledge.
The practice their flapping while running up and down the ledge, strengthening their winds.
The first flights are often short - flying from one ledge to another.
22 made her way close to the bottom in a series of short flights.
24 making her first leap off the ledge.
Instead of making a series of short flights, she flew all the way to the bottom.
Within just a few minutes, 24 flew from the base of the cliff almost to the very top! What a strong flier!
25, the little male is not developmentally ready to fly like his sister. He will probably need another week to 10 days before he's strong enough.
Over the next few days, the young females practiced their flying and explored the cliff.
They tended to stay close to one another and would often beg mom and dad for food.
The young females are now larger than dad and just as big as their mom.
They are curious, yet cautious of people.
As you walk the top of the cliff, you never know where one might turn up. Sometimes they're watching you through a bush!
Roosting on the top of the cliff.
Corundum Point
The climbers getting ready.
Descending over the cliff. The exact location of this nest is unknown. But this experienced climber is following his hunch.
A climber relays the backpack with chicks to the waiting researcher.
The chicks are very young!
Weighing the small chick.
Recording the details of the examination.
One egg was found unhatched in the eyrie. It is collected and sent to a researcher who is trying to determine the cause(s) behind unhatched eggs.
The family picture
The chicks are sprayed with water to cool them down before going back to the nest.
Lowering the backpack with chicks to the first climber. The other climber is waiting at the next site on the cliff.
The banding crew.
Celebrating that they were able to find this nest and successfully band the chicks.
The adult female circled around the climber at the eyrie. She did not come up to the level where the banders were.
A lot of screeching and diving to try to scare the climbers away from her chicks.
Castle Danger
The climbers prepare for their descent to the nest on the edge of the cliff.
Mom flies overhead, circling and screeching to try and protect her chicks.
This eyrie is on the cliff where a cedar tree has grown and provides protection to the nest.
Mom's feathers are also muddy from the torrential rains the night before.
The carrier is hoisted up the cliff after the climber places the chicks into their own compartment.
Each chick is carefully lifted out of the carrier.
They examine the chicks, taking note of their sex, determine their age based on the growth of feathers.
Each chick is weighed.
The age, sex, weight and band numbers are recorded in a notebook.
The young male, muddy and wet from the 6-inch rainfall is getting weighed.
The silver federal tracking band is placed on the right lef.
A family picture is taken after all the chicks have been banded,
Notice how small the male chick is compared to his two sisters.
The chicks are placed back into the special carrier.
The chicks are lowered over the edge to the waiting climber
The climber places the young chicks back in the nest.
