Band of Peregrines: Nestlings Get IDs

TWO NEW ATLANTA FALCONS BANDED

Atlanta’s newest peregrine falcons are sporting IDs today.

Jim Ozier of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources placed two bands on each of the two nestlings in a nest atop Sun Trust Plaza Monday evening.

One of the metal leg bands is colored and has large symbols, allowing observers to track the peregrines by sight. The other band, from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has a numeric code to ID a bird if it is found hurt or dead anywhere in the world.

Banding helps researchers determine what happens to the peregrines after they fledge.

“The best return would be that we find them nesting somewhere,” Ozier, a Nongame Conservation Section program manager with DNR’s Wildlife Resources Division. “And of course, the worst news is to find one dead or injured shortly after fledging.

"We know that most will not survive to reproduce, but we take a ‘no news is good news’ approach.”

Matured offspring from the SunTrust nest were part of separate falcon pairs that produced two other nests in Atlanta last year.

The public can view the SunTrust Plaza nest 24/7 on Ustream. Videos of Monday’s banding will soon be available on the site.

Watch as this family of the world’s fastest animals takes wing!

Project partners in the falcon cam include TERN, the Nongame Conservation friends group; the international law firm McKenna Long & Aldridge; and the Garden Club of Georgia Inc.

 

Banding Bits

• DNR bands the peregrines when they’re 3-4 weeks old, which is old enough to determine their sex. (Since females are significantly larger than males, they require a different band size.) The practice of banding nestling raptors is common around the world.
• Banding does not hurt the young. Disruption for the parents is temporary. Nestlings are returned to the nest in about a half-hour.
• Check out this yearly summary of peregrine activity in Georgia.
• Peregrine profile.
• Support conservation of falcons and other nongame wildlife in Georgia. Or donate online to TERN.

Please note that ads on the channel are placed through Ustream and do not represent endorsement by DNR.

 

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