Here is a recent flashback story for everyone on this lovely Friday. October is always a terrific month to find all sorts of raptors making their way south for a prolonged migration or dispersing from their nesting area to find acceptable wintering grounds. Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus) continue to rebound from their demise due to pesticides in our region in the last century, taking up breeding sites on skyscrapers in major cities, under bridges on interstates, and even nest box platforms at locations like Dunkirk’s power plant on Lake Erie in our own Chautauqua County. Some of these birds are banded by wildlife biologists in various states, as was the case with this bird that I spotted at Stratford Point on October 30.
I was able to read the black 19 over the green BE and submit a full report with all the necessary to the USGS Bird Banding Laboratory. In turn they provided information on where the bird was banded and by who. In some cases you learn the exact spot while other times you are provided with the city or a general area. This report only said that the bird, a female, was from Massachusetts and was banded on June 3, 2016 while too young to fly, as expected for this juvenile. I wonder if she is going to stick around the Connecticut coast for the winter, as other Peregrines do, or if she was only stopping by. I hope to see her again someday!
Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
