Where to begin on news and updates????

Well the Statler (Downtown) Buffalo, NY Peregrine Falcons have 4 eggs in the nest as of this morning. AND this year we also have a second pair of Peregrines just within the city’s Northeastern border/city limits.

The South Campus of the University of New York at Buffalo (UB) had two PeFas hanging around last summer and fall (thanks to our forum member irinash for finding them at that time, taking photos and alerting others to their pressence). So this year UB and the DEC put in a nesting scrape for the birds. Both  have been seen in the area and have been in and out of the nesting scrape!   Forum member Joyce took some wonderful photos of the birds last week and at this time many are trying to confirm band numbers on the female (she could possibly be the 2007 female, BB, from a Detroit, MI nest).  When we get confirmation on ID we will post.  Thanks to Joyce for such wonderful photos and for getting some good ones of the female’s color band!

In other news… we have heard from some Canadian friends that the male from Buffalo’s Statler 2007 nest is now in Port Colborne, Ontario.  It is my understanding that DEC has confirmed his band numbers.  He has a mate and as of Friday 2 eggs were in the nest!  Hopefully we will hear more soon about this nest.  How exciting to know that one of “our” local birds is doing well and now has a nest of his own!

And again this year, the Bald Eagles are nesting in Alexander, NY!  I’ve posted more information and photos regarding their nest on our forum, but expect eaglets soon!

Spring is in the air so be sure to get outdoors and explore this wonderful time of the year!

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Last June, shortly before a law banning the use of lead ammunition in California Condor country was about to go into effect, we urged the state’s hunters to get behind the new regulations, saying it was not too much to ask of them.

It seems they were listening.

The Fish and Game Commission reported last week that 99 percent of hunters roaming condor territory — stretching from the coast to the eastern Sierra and from Stanislaus County on the north to Los Angeles County on the south — are now using lead-free bullets in their guns.

“The nonlead hunting regulations to protect condors appear thus far to be noncontroversial and effective, as most California hunters seem to be doing their part to get toxic lead out of the food chain,” Jeff Miller of the Center for Biological Diversity said in a press release.

Authored by Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara, the Condor Preservation Act, which became law July 1, helps removes one of the biggest threats facing the California condor: lead poisoning, which paralyzes their digestive tracts, causing condors to slowly starve to death.

Taken a step further, the switch to lead-free ammunition has not only benefited the endangered condor, but every other thing that feeds on game, including bears, mountain lions, eagles and even people.

Since 1992, the deaths of at least 15 condors in California have been confirmed or linked to lead poisoning. And dozens more have survived — thanks to receiving life-saving treatment — after ingesting lead fragments from bullets found in the remains of animals felled by hunters.

The Star supported Mr. Nava’s efforts, along with expanded regulations also imposed by Fish and Game, as a way to protect the food chain, the majestic condor and the investment in a breeding program that has brought the condor back from the brink of extinction.

On these counts, the news is positive. There are now more than 330 condors among wild and captive populations, up from 22 in the mid-1980s. Last year was also the best condor-breeding year in California since 1992, with nine condor pairs laying nine eggs and most hatchlings surviving.

Hunters opposed to the banning of lead ammunition predicted widespread shortages of lead-free bullets, which are made from copper and other metals. That has not happened.

According to Fish and Game, there are now at least 17 manufacturers producing more than 150 types and calibers of bullets suitable for use in condor country.

In the case of the giant California condor, it’s clear that man’s activities, including hunting with lead bullets, nearly wiped this magnificent bird from the face of the Earth. As such, we all have a moral obligation to try and save the species for future generations.

So far, we are pleased to see the state’s hunters have answered that call.

Marwee asked me to post this for her.

 
 California Condor in Flight showing off its 9+ foot wing-span.
Photo: Noel Snyder, USFWS 

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 23, 2009 - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released a draft plan today that would allow the Tejon Ranch Company to harm and harass the iconic and extremely endangered California condor. The condor’s last bastion of wild habitat is threatened by mega-developments in northern Los Angeles and southern Kern counties, planned by the Tejon Ranch Company, a publicly traded company heavily invested in by New York-based funds. Twenty-six other rare species are also included in the proposed plan. This Habitat Conservation Plan, as it is called, is sought by Tejon Ranch to exempt Tejon from its otherwise illegal “taking” of the covered endangered and threatened species.

“The countdown has begun on Tejon’s plan to destroy the condor’s ‘Garden of Eden’-the core of its existence,” said Adam Keats, director of the Urban Wildlands Program of the Center for Biological Diversity. “Contrary to Tejon’s assertions, this is not a conservation plan. This is a permit to harm, displace, disturb, and in some cases, kill 27 endangered, threatened, or rare species that call Tejon home. Don’t be fooled: Each of these species would be far better off if this permit is never issued.

“The Center has a better plan for Tejon Ranch: preserving it as a new national or state park. See http://www.savetejonranch.org.

PLEASE read the entire article here at Yuba Net

None of us have done updates on the blog since July

That doesn’t mean there haven’t been interesting things going on… just that we’ve been taking a breather.  Soon the 2009 nesting season for our all wonderful feathered friends will be underway and we’ll start posting more regular updates.

For now, join us in going outside, listening and looking for some of the wonderful wildlife that share the cold of winter with us.  You may be surprised at what you find in you own backyard!

First Year Snowy Owl, January 18th 2009
Wyoming County, Western NY

Buffalo Falcon Watch Tonight!

Irinash, Joyce and I met for Falcon Watch earlier this evening - both adults and all four juvenile falcons were seen. Details are on our forum and I’m including this brief vid clip of two of the female juvenile falcons flying overhead (I really don’t like YouTube’s poor quality, but the original files are HUGE).