long lost Peregrine

[Dennis Samnee]

Help me help someone find their falconry bird.
I picked up a immy Peregrine that landed on someones handrail in Sullivan Mo.I have called the Mo Dept of Conservation and they tried to track the breeder by band # and they think it did not come from our division.They have emailed other divisions of USFWS to track the # and they do have enouph staff to track it till after the new yr.Also called World Bird Sanctuary,posted Raptors Nest found,NAFEX found left a message with transmitter manufacturer with the #s that are on the transmitter..So far the bird does not seem to have come from around this area.
I have fed enouph now since the 27th to have it in pretty good shape now and it weighs in about 600 grams.May be a anatum but I think it is a tiercel Peales.Who knows I may be way off.So if you know of some one who has lost a Peregrine let them know I have one in my possession and to call me.
Can you folks think of another way to go about finding its owner?
Dennis Samnee
636-337-7109

[biggsley]

Is it not kosher to publish/make known the Federal band number?

[borderhawk]

If it has a federal band number on it, the feds should have it archived. They are "national" after all and should be able to trace it anywhere in the country. I would say to wait until you get an answer from USFW before doing anything else.
Does it even have transmitters on it?

[Hawkmom]

Frustratingly, the USFWS band number for tracing a lost bird is essentially USELESS. I have NEVER heard of a banded bird being traced to it's falconer. Other than a falconer having matching paperwork and contacting the finder. There is no database that can trace lost or recovered birds. Ridiculous!!!!

The transmitter manufacturer will be your best bet in locating the falconer.

That is how my recovered male prairie falcon was traced to me in 1985. LL Electronics keeps his records current. My bird was lost in Thurmont, MD and recovered in Burlington, VT (400 miles away) a MONTH later through LL's excellent record keeping. That is why I'm so loyal to them. www.radiotracking.com

Guys, I sell ID tags on Ebay. I donate sets of tags to NAFEX, NAFA, meets, etc. Check it out. My goal is to have all of our beloved birds marked with their falconer ID info. Why falconers don't do this is beyond me. The cost is reasonable.

[goshawks00]

[QUOTE=Hawkmom;165289]Frustratingly, the USFWS band number for tracing a lost bird is essentially USELESS. I have NEVER heard of a banded bird being traced to it's falconer. Other than a falconer having matching paperwork and contacting the finder. There is no database that can trace lost or recovered birds. Ridiculous!!


You are so absolutely right!! I have beat that drum, as I know you have, for to long. It is a shame that technology isn't available , or I should say used in times like this... They can trace a license num. on a vehicle in about 10 minutes, or less. why shouldn't they/ we be able to do the same with a band number. With the new on line 3-186 system it doesn't seem like it would be that hard to check bands ...
Maybe there is a market for a 'Hess' type band that would capture info for the falconer...

[Lowachi]

[QUOTE=goshawks00;165298]

Frustratingly, !!


They can trace a license num. on a vehicle in about 10 minutes, or less. why shouldn't they/ we be able to do the same with a band number. With the new on line 3-186 system it doesn't seem like it would be that hard to check bands ...
Maybe there is a market for a 'Hess' type band that would capture info for the falconer...

Oh, a license check runs faster than that, a criminal history may take 10 tho.

[frootdog]

My goal is to have all of our beloved birds marked with their falconer ID info. Why falconers don't do this is beyond me. The cost is reasonable.

The cost is not the reason. I don't want any more stuff on my bird than absolutely needed.

[Dennis Samnee]

Hi all,
I didn't put the band # down because I didn't want somebody trying to claim the bird if it was not theirs. Believe me I am trying to find the owner.Have had about a half a dozen calls and so far nothing.
I have a guy in Wyoming that called last night after I went to bed.I just tried to call him back and I guess hie cell went dead about three different times.I called again and left a message.
This bird did have telemetry on it and I left a message with the manufacturer to see if they can track the only # I saw on it.
Our dept of Conservation said they have a database to track the breeder and then as soon as they find out who that was we can track the bird from there.
So I should find out something from them this wk.HOPEFULLY
I will post something if I find the owner.
Thanks for you help
Dennis Samnee

[NMHighPlains]

The cost is not the reason. I don't want any more stuff on my bird than absolutely needed.

Stamp your phone number on the bracelets or write it on the transmitter, then.

I've told this story before but I once lured down a female peregrine using a shoelace and the ham from my lunch. Had 2 transmitters on her, both dead, and a round metal nametag. I called the number and got a lady in California. Bird turned out to belong to one of my co-workers and had been missing for 2 weeks. Thanks to the name tag, he had her back 30 minutes after I caught her.

[jballone]

For Those Using Marshall Scout Transmitters:
I was at Marshall's website and they offer engraving to the lid of the scout for a small fee, exactly for situations like this

[Tom Smith]

If it has a federal band number on it, the feds should have it archived. They are "national" after all and should be able to trace it anywhere in the country. I would say to wait until you get an answer from USFW before doing anything else.
Does it even have transmitters on it?

That is another thing we don't get for our 100 bucks

[PeteJ]

Posting a picture of it might be useful. Sometimes these birds can end up a long long way from home, even in a very short period of time. Also, seeing it might jog someone's memory as to knowing someone that might have had a new peale's or anatum or barbary or similar. I was told by our division USFWS person (past) to let her know relatively quickly when I lost a bird as often the come to her with the band number and it is easy to put two and two together when you know one is lost rather than have to go through all the paperwork. But yes, arguably it would be so much easier if you could just type in the number to track the owner down. Really this is a huge oversight in the whole process of putting seamless bands on the birds in the first place. The point was?????

[Rabbit Jaeger]

I can't think of a base that you didn't cover. Good on you for all your efforts to reunite this bird with the owner. I hope this comes to a successful outcome shortly.

BTW, one of these days I want to get a hood for my female Harris from you.

Stay well

[keitht]

Try flying him. If he flys high, hangs tight and kills stuff, I think it might be mine.

[outhawkn]

Good thing it had telemtry on it..............

[Falconman]

Everyone - I am not sure how to begin to say thank you. I'm in tears..

Dennis, sir, you have my heart felt gratitude.

As of the afternoon 1/5/2011 & since 11:15 am 12/25/2010 I had driven 891 miles with headphones on, two antennas on the roof of my truck, the receiver blaring - trying my best to locate my bird all day and all night...
I hired a pilot on two separate occasions - we flew a grid for many hours covering over 900 square miles flying 650 feet above ground listening for a transmitter signal. All to no avail...

Yesterday I received a call from L&L Electronics - they left a message, I was out looking for the bird, saying Dennis called - recovered my bird and transmitter and had provided them with the serial number of the transmitter. It was my old but trusty LF-3 Merlin transmitter. It was my bird - many prayers answered.

Believe me - last night I fell to my knees looked at the stars and thanked the lord for Dennis' tenacity - he never stopped trying to locate me.... God bless you Dennis...

The old transmitter will go back to Louis to "see if anything failed" as the receiver was beeping when the falcon left my fist - new batteries - the falcon went up and out of sight - I flushed game & waited for the "sizzling sound of the falcon in a full bore stoop" it never came - no bird - several minutes later, now no signal - I did see a giant female bald eagle several minute later after losing the signal & my heart sank...

I raced to the top of the nearest hill - no signal, swinging the lure - no bird - nothing. The search began - and now the search is over...

What I have learned is this - 1. Never stop looking - the bird is somewhere. 2. Pray Dennis Samnee is close...
3. Always wear telemetry - just like clean underwear - you'll never know when you'll need it - or how it will help recover your bird. The transmitter was not transmitting - perhaps it was a catastrophic multiple battery failure - however the serial number was recorded & maintained by L&L Electronics. Nice job L&L Electronics - thank you.

I know that persons from Missouri, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, & Idaho were involved in the recovery of this bird - God bless each of you...

I checked my log book this afternoon - in the previous 46 days of hunting - I hunted every day (except time recovering from an automobile accident) - prior to loss - the bird caught 52 head of quarry (birds) of all shape & size.

The tiercel Peales is extremely fit - I am not surprised he could fly as far as he did - I am surprised he did - he flew approximately 157 miles in fourteen hours... nice flight sorry I didn't see the whole thing - he was recovered with a crop... good bird, great bird...

Happy New Year Everyone - now I am going to take a nap...

Kevin R. Suedmeyer

[JRedig]

So glad to read about a happy ending, good luck the rest of the season Kevin!

[NMHighPlains]

That's cool.

[FredFogg]

Kevin, so glad you got your bird back! There is another thread talking basically about how falcoenrs are all different and bull headed and argumentive but it is times like this that make me proud to be a falconer. When one of us is in need, there is never a shortage of other falconers out there to help.

[awahl]

Cool story. Glad to hear of the outcome. Congrats Kevin.