Banding goes well

The Columbus banding event went extremely well. The breakdown of chicks ended up being 3 females and 1 male. All of the kids who won the naming contest were there and extremely enthusiastic to help with "their" falcon. Believe it or not we actually do get criticism from a few individuals for banding these birds. It's too bad because 1.) banding is important for research purposes (how else would we know where our Columbus young disperse to and that it is Orville and Scout here in Columbus?); and 2.) the actual banding event really helps to raise awareness about the species and wildlife conservation in general. Regarding the naming contest, we are able to educate an entire school about peregrine falcons and increase the appreciation of the kids for wild creatures in their communities. Consider it an investment in the future!

While the chicks and adults may be stressed during the event they recover very, very quickly. We know from many years of banding many nestlings that an hour out of the lives of these birds is well worth the exposure that the species gets and the education and awareness that results.

Here are the details on names/bands. Each bird received a purple U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service band on the right leg and a black over red band (b/r) on the left leg:
Apollo: 50/A
Aerial: 65/H
Jet: 66/H
Eclipse: 67/H

At some point in the near future we should have a video of the banding available on our website. It will take a little time for editing. As soon as it's ready and posted, I'll post the link here. Thanks to everyone for watching the banding! Now we prepare for the next stage--fledging! It won't be long!