Factors Influencing Nest Attendance and Time-Activity Budgets of Peregrine Falcons in Interior Alaska

• Main Authors: Angela G. Palmer, Dana L. Nordmeyer, Daniel D. Roby
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1999
• Subjects: Arctic; Falco peregrinus; peregrine falcon; Alaska
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.576.2810; http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/arctic54-2-105.pdf

ABSTRACT. An essential prerequisite to examining the impacts of anthropogenic disturbance on avian nesting activities is understanding the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that influence the birds ’ allocation of time to breeding behaviors. We examined factors influencing nest attendance and time-activity budgets of peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus anatum) breeding along the Tanana River in Alaska in 1995, 1996, and 1997. First, as is typical of most bird species with nidicolous young and biparental care, females attended the nest more than males and, as the nesting cycle progressed, female attendance decreased to levels similar to those of males. Second, nest area attendance followed a circadian rhythm; parents attended the nest area less during early morning and late evening, which are prime hunting periods, than during late morning. Finally, although females typically performed most of the incubating, the division of labor between males and females during incubation differed among pairs. Higher attendance in the nest area by females during incubation appeared to be associated with more young fledged among successful pairs. Key words: peregrine falcon, Falco peregrinus, time-activity budgets, nesting success, nest attendance, Interior Alaska RÉSUMÉ. Une condition indispensable pour examiner les retombées de la perturbation anthropique sur la nidification aviaire est la compréhension des facteurs intrinsèques comme extrinsèques qui influencent le temps consacré par l’oiseau à des comportements reproducteurs. On a étudié les facteurs qui ont influencé la présence au nid et les budgets temps-activités des faucons pèlerins (Falco peregrinus anatum) nichant le long de la rivière Tanana en Alaska en 1995, 1996 et 1997. Tout d’abord, comme on doit