Supplementary Feeding, Plumage Documentation and Early Season Prey of Peregrine Falcons at the New Mexico Alpha Eyrie
A review of what is known about avian physiology and the biological effects of DDE suggests that some benefit to peregrine falcon egg condition could be attained by artificially feeding DDE free prey to the female from the time of her arrival on the nesting grounds until completion of egg laying; th...
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ftosti:oai:osti.gov:1209320 2023-07-30T04:06:12+02:00 Supplementary Feeding, Plumage Documentation and Early Season Prey of Peregrine Falcons at the New Mexico Alpha Eyrie Ponton, David A. 2021-02-12 application/pdf http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1209320 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1209320 https://doi.org/10.2172/1209320 unknown http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1209320 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1209320 https://doi.org/10.2172/1209320 doi:10.2172/1209320 Basic Biological Sciences(59) Environmental Sciences(54) 2021 ftosti https://doi.org/10.2172/1209320 2023-07-11T09:02:24Z A review of what is known about avian physiology and the biological effects of DDE suggests that some benefit to peregrine falcon egg condition could be attained by artificially feeding DDE free prey to the female from the time of her arrival on the nesting grounds until completion of egg laying; the magnitude of potential benefit is unknown. Sporadic efforts in the past demonstrated the need for precision methods of prey delivery. Two methods were developed and tried; providing dead prey items by dropping them in a day perch, and delivery of live prey by remotely controlled release from compartments positioned at the top of the cliff occupied by the falcons. Maintaining quail in the day perch for 21 days resulted in at least one and probably two meals for the female peregrine. Of 16 live birds released (mostly pigeons) 13 were pursued and three caught. Blinding the pigeons with tape proved to be necessary to enable capture. Also, some reluctance of the male peregrine to attack pigeons was observed, and problems with equipment, visibility, and the proximity of the falcons to the release box were encountered. Manpower was the most significant resource requirement. Baiting of great-horned owls, possibly leading to owl attack on the falcons, is judged to be the largest detrimental effect of supplemental feeding. It is recommended that supplemental feeding be reserved for falcons or eyries where complete reproductive failure is expected. Plumage documentation photography was successfully conducted by a remotely controlled camera as an aid to identification of individual falcons. American robin, red-winged blackbird, starling, white-throated swift, bluebird, and mourning dove were among natural prey consumed by the peregrines before completion of egg laying. All activities in close proximity to the cliff were conducted at night to preclude direct disturbance of the falcons. Other/Unknown Material peregrine falcon SciTec Connect (Office of Scientific and Technical Information - OSTI, U.S. Department of Energy) Eyrie ENVELOPE(-57.667,-57.667,-63.583,-63.583) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
SciTec Connect (Office of Scientific and Technical Information - OSTI, U.S. Department of Energy) |
op_collection_id |
ftosti |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Basic Biological Sciences(59) Environmental Sciences(54) |
spellingShingle |
Basic Biological Sciences(59) Environmental Sciences(54) Ponton, David A. Supplementary Feeding, Plumage Documentation and Early Season Prey of Peregrine Falcons at the New Mexico Alpha Eyrie |
topic_facet |
Basic Biological Sciences(59) Environmental Sciences(54) |
description |
A review of what is known about avian physiology and the biological effects of DDE suggests that some benefit to peregrine falcon egg condition could be attained by artificially feeding DDE free prey to the female from the time of her arrival on the nesting grounds until completion of egg laying; the magnitude of potential benefit is unknown. Sporadic efforts in the past demonstrated the need for precision methods of prey delivery. Two methods were developed and tried; providing dead prey items by dropping them in a day perch, and delivery of live prey by remotely controlled release from compartments positioned at the top of the cliff occupied by the falcons. Maintaining quail in the day perch for 21 days resulted in at least one and probably two meals for the female peregrine. Of 16 live birds released (mostly pigeons) 13 were pursued and three caught. Blinding the pigeons with tape proved to be necessary to enable capture. Also, some reluctance of the male peregrine to attack pigeons was observed, and problems with equipment, visibility, and the proximity of the falcons to the release box were encountered. Manpower was the most significant resource requirement. Baiting of great-horned owls, possibly leading to owl attack on the falcons, is judged to be the largest detrimental effect of supplemental feeding. It is recommended that supplemental feeding be reserved for falcons or eyries where complete reproductive failure is expected. Plumage documentation photography was successfully conducted by a remotely controlled camera as an aid to identification of individual falcons. American robin, red-winged blackbird, starling, white-throated swift, bluebird, and mourning dove were among natural prey consumed by the peregrines before completion of egg laying. All activities in close proximity to the cliff were conducted at night to preclude direct disturbance of the falcons. |
author |
Ponton, David A. |
author_facet |
Ponton, David A. |
author_sort |
Ponton, David A. |
title |
Supplementary Feeding, Plumage Documentation and Early Season Prey of Peregrine Falcons at the New Mexico Alpha Eyrie |
title_short |
Supplementary Feeding, Plumage Documentation and Early Season Prey of Peregrine Falcons at the New Mexico Alpha Eyrie |
title_full |
Supplementary Feeding, Plumage Documentation and Early Season Prey of Peregrine Falcons at the New Mexico Alpha Eyrie |
title_fullStr |
Supplementary Feeding, Plumage Documentation and Early Season Prey of Peregrine Falcons at the New Mexico Alpha Eyrie |
title_full_unstemmed |
Supplementary Feeding, Plumage Documentation and Early Season Prey of Peregrine Falcons at the New Mexico Alpha Eyrie |
title_sort |
supplementary feeding, plumage documentation and early season prey of peregrine falcons at the new mexico alpha eyrie |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1209320 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1209320 https://doi.org/10.2172/1209320 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-57.667,-57.667,-63.583,-63.583) |
geographic |
Eyrie |
geographic_facet |
Eyrie |
genre |
peregrine falcon |
genre_facet |
peregrine falcon |
op_relation |
http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1209320 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1209320 https://doi.org/10.2172/1209320 doi:10.2172/1209320 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.2172/1209320 |
_version_ |
1772818661459886080 |