RTJim
05-22-2008, 10:01 PM
(welc) FALCON BANDING CONDUCTED BEFORE A LIVE AND BROADCAST AUDIENCE
www.dep.state.pa.us (http://www.dep.state.pa.us)
;) HARRISBURG - With whole world able to watch, thanks to a webcast hosted by
> the state Department of Environmental Protection on its website, wildlife
> officials from the Pennsylvania Game Commission today banded four peregrine
> falcons from a nest box on a ledge near the top of the Rachel Carson State
> Office Building.
>
> Game Commission officials retrieved the young falcons from their nest on a
> ledge overlooking Market Street and took them to the auditorium where a
> numeric metal leg band was attached before a live audience of 35 teachers
> and 150 central Pennsylvania elementary, middle and high school students,
> and a worldwide web audience of countless falcon followers. The teachers had
> attended a Project WILD falcon educator workshop conducted by the Game
> Commission and DEP, and as part of their classroom activities, had their
> students follow the falcons' progress online via DEP's website
> (www.dep.state.pa.us).
>
> "The bands help to identify and track the birds when they leave the nest,"
> explained Dr. Arthur McMorris, Game Commission peregrine falcon coordinator.
> "In addition, we weigh and examine the falcons to determine their sex, and
> check for any health issues before we return them to their nest."
>
> Although peregrines were never really common in Pennsylvania, they
> historically nested at as many as 44 sites, mostly on cliffs. Some of their
> former nesting areas included cliffs near Dauphin, Huntingdon, Lewistown,
> Hyner, Palmerton and other riverside communities.
>
> Falcons and other birds of prey were suffering from the 1940s through the
> 1960s from the poisonous effects of bio-accumulating DDT in their bodies.
> The insecticide - banned nationally in 1972 - gradually poisoned the birds
> and made the shells of the eggs these birds laid so brittle, they broke when
> sat upon. In 1970, peregrines were listed as a federally endangered
> species, and records indicate peregrine falcons did not nest in Pennsylvania
> from about 1959 to 1987.
>
> "Thanks to banning of DDT, reintroduction efforts launched in the 1990s by
> the Game Commission and The Peregrine Fund have enabled the peregrine
> falcons to recover," said Dan Brauning, Game Commission Wildlife Diversity
> Section supervisor. "Today, there are 25 pairs of nesting falcons in
> Pennsylvania, and they have adapted well to life in the urban environs like
> Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Philadelphia and Wilkes-Barre.
>
> "Peregrine falcons have made a remarkable recovery, and we're thrilled with
> their progress. But, before we consider them secure, we'd like to see them
> occupy a larger number of historic natural cliff sites. Right now, only
> three of the 25 nesting pairs are on cliffs.
>
> "More peregrines anywhere in Pennsylvania is a step in the right direction
> for this raptor's recovery. But seeing more nesting pairs on cliffs, instead
> of on buildings and bridges, would qualify the ongoing recovery as more
> organically significant."
>
> In 2003, peregrines made their big step back to natural nesting sites in
> Pennsylvania when a pair used a cliff in the state's northern tier
> overlooking the west branch of the Susquehanna River. It was the first time
> peregrines used cliffs since 1957, when five pairs were nesting at cliff
> sites instate. In the late 1980s, peregrines started nesting in Pennsylvania
> for the first time since their extirpation, when they began nesting on
> bridges in the greater Philadelphia area.
>
> The Game Commission plans to visit 22 nests this spring to band and perform
> health checks on peregrine chicks.
>
> Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe noted that partnerships, such
> as the one with DEP, have enabled more people to learn about the recovery of
> the peregrine falcon.
>
> "While the Game Commission's mission is to manage all wild birds and mammals
> and their habitats for current and future generations, we certainly rely on
> partners to help us carry out our mission and help broadcast the many
> success stories we have accomplished on behalf of all Pennsylvanians," Roe
> said. "The support we receive from DEP, in hosting these birds, as well as
> annual banding programs and sponsoring the webcasting and falcon website, is
> invaluable. Indeed, we can't thank DEP Secretary Katie McGinty and her
> staff enough for their agency's long-term commitment to showcasing the
> falcon story that unfolds on the Rachel Carson State Office Building.
>
> "There also are other partners around the state that enable Pennsylvanians
> and others around the world to watch falcon nests in their community. We
> offer our thanks and appreciation to each and everyone of them, including
> PPL, the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, the University of Pittsburgh and
> the National Aviary."
>
> Roe noted that, on May 13, Allentown played host to conservation history
> story of its own as the first of four peregrine falcon eggs hatched in a
> nest atop PPL Corporation's downtown headquarters. PPL's website, complete
> with its own webcam, offers the public an opportunity to watch the falcons
> atop its Allentown headquarters, as well as those at its Montour power plant
> in northcentral Pennsylvania, and at its Martins Creek facility in
> Northampton County. The website, www.birdsofpreyatppl.com, provides updates
> and photographs on the peregrine falcons that live at three PPL facilities,
> as well as the bald eagles at its Holtwood Dam site in York County and the
> ospreys at its Wallenpaupack facility on the boundary of Pike and Wayne
> counties.
>
> Earlier this month, three peregrine falcons hatched on the 40th floor of the
> University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning in Oakland. The National
> Aviary has cameras trained on the university nest, as well as the nest on
> the Gulf Tower in downtown Pittsburgh, and footage can be viewed at
> www.aviary.org.
>
> Facts from the Pennsylvania Game Commission: Peregrine falcons, also
> commonly referred to as "duck hawks," are strong fliers that hunt on the
> wing, diving from nose-bleed heights at speeds up to 200 miles per hour to
> snatch flying blue jays, flickers, starlings, pigeons and other like prey.
> The birds weigh from one-and-a-quarter to about two pounds and females are
> larger than males.
> # # #..........................enjoy....jm
www.dep.state.pa.us (http://www.dep.state.pa.us)
;) HARRISBURG - With whole world able to watch, thanks to a webcast hosted by
> the state Department of Environmental Protection on its website, wildlife
> officials from the Pennsylvania Game Commission today banded four peregrine
> falcons from a nest box on a ledge near the top of the Rachel Carson State
> Office Building.
>
> Game Commission officials retrieved the young falcons from their nest on a
> ledge overlooking Market Street and took them to the auditorium where a
> numeric metal leg band was attached before a live audience of 35 teachers
> and 150 central Pennsylvania elementary, middle and high school students,
> and a worldwide web audience of countless falcon followers. The teachers had
> attended a Project WILD falcon educator workshop conducted by the Game
> Commission and DEP, and as part of their classroom activities, had their
> students follow the falcons' progress online via DEP's website
> (www.dep.state.pa.us).
>
> "The bands help to identify and track the birds when they leave the nest,"
> explained Dr. Arthur McMorris, Game Commission peregrine falcon coordinator.
> "In addition, we weigh and examine the falcons to determine their sex, and
> check for any health issues before we return them to their nest."
>
> Although peregrines were never really common in Pennsylvania, they
> historically nested at as many as 44 sites, mostly on cliffs. Some of their
> former nesting areas included cliffs near Dauphin, Huntingdon, Lewistown,
> Hyner, Palmerton and other riverside communities.
>
> Falcons and other birds of prey were suffering from the 1940s through the
> 1960s from the poisonous effects of bio-accumulating DDT in their bodies.
> The insecticide - banned nationally in 1972 - gradually poisoned the birds
> and made the shells of the eggs these birds laid so brittle, they broke when
> sat upon. In 1970, peregrines were listed as a federally endangered
> species, and records indicate peregrine falcons did not nest in Pennsylvania
> from about 1959 to 1987.
>
> "Thanks to banning of DDT, reintroduction efforts launched in the 1990s by
> the Game Commission and The Peregrine Fund have enabled the peregrine
> falcons to recover," said Dan Brauning, Game Commission Wildlife Diversity
> Section supervisor. "Today, there are 25 pairs of nesting falcons in
> Pennsylvania, and they have adapted well to life in the urban environs like
> Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Philadelphia and Wilkes-Barre.
>
> "Peregrine falcons have made a remarkable recovery, and we're thrilled with
> their progress. But, before we consider them secure, we'd like to see them
> occupy a larger number of historic natural cliff sites. Right now, only
> three of the 25 nesting pairs are on cliffs.
>
> "More peregrines anywhere in Pennsylvania is a step in the right direction
> for this raptor's recovery. But seeing more nesting pairs on cliffs, instead
> of on buildings and bridges, would qualify the ongoing recovery as more
> organically significant."
>
> In 2003, peregrines made their big step back to natural nesting sites in
> Pennsylvania when a pair used a cliff in the state's northern tier
> overlooking the west branch of the Susquehanna River. It was the first time
> peregrines used cliffs since 1957, when five pairs were nesting at cliff
> sites instate. In the late 1980s, peregrines started nesting in Pennsylvania
> for the first time since their extirpation, when they began nesting on
> bridges in the greater Philadelphia area.
>
> The Game Commission plans to visit 22 nests this spring to band and perform
> health checks on peregrine chicks.
>
> Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe noted that partnerships, such
> as the one with DEP, have enabled more people to learn about the recovery of
> the peregrine falcon.
>
> "While the Game Commission's mission is to manage all wild birds and mammals
> and their habitats for current and future generations, we certainly rely on
> partners to help us carry out our mission and help broadcast the many
> success stories we have accomplished on behalf of all Pennsylvanians," Roe
> said. "The support we receive from DEP, in hosting these birds, as well as
> annual banding programs and sponsoring the webcasting and falcon website, is
> invaluable. Indeed, we can't thank DEP Secretary Katie McGinty and her
> staff enough for their agency's long-term commitment to showcasing the
> falcon story that unfolds on the Rachel Carson State Office Building.
>
> "There also are other partners around the state that enable Pennsylvanians
> and others around the world to watch falcon nests in their community. We
> offer our thanks and appreciation to each and everyone of them, including
> PPL, the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, the University of Pittsburgh and
> the National Aviary."
>
> Roe noted that, on May 13, Allentown played host to conservation history
> story of its own as the first of four peregrine falcon eggs hatched in a
> nest atop PPL Corporation's downtown headquarters. PPL's website, complete
> with its own webcam, offers the public an opportunity to watch the falcons
> atop its Allentown headquarters, as well as those at its Montour power plant
> in northcentral Pennsylvania, and at its Martins Creek facility in
> Northampton County. The website, www.birdsofpreyatppl.com, provides updates
> and photographs on the peregrine falcons that live at three PPL facilities,
> as well as the bald eagles at its Holtwood Dam site in York County and the
> ospreys at its Wallenpaupack facility on the boundary of Pike and Wayne
> counties.
>
> Earlier this month, three peregrine falcons hatched on the 40th floor of the
> University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning in Oakland. The National
> Aviary has cameras trained on the university nest, as well as the nest on
> the Gulf Tower in downtown Pittsburgh, and footage can be viewed at
> www.aviary.org.
>
> Facts from the Pennsylvania Game Commission: Peregrine falcons, also
> commonly referred to as "duck hawks," are strong fliers that hunt on the
> wing, diving from nose-bleed heights at speeds up to 200 miles per hour to
> snatch flying blue jays, flickers, starlings, pigeons and other like prey.
> The birds weigh from one-and-a-quarter to about two pounds and females are
> larger than males.
> # # #..........................enjoy....jm