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Peregrine Falcon Now Heading Home April 9, 1998 All winter long, the satellite signals arrived from Veracruz, Mexico. Geoff Holroyd of the Canadian Wildlife Service waited, confident that Falcon #5735's spring migration would soon begin. After tracking her 21 day trip from Alberta to Veracruz last fall by satellite telemetry (see September 22nd story), the falcon had hardly moved. "She's probably dead!" teased some cynical scientists. Photo: Skip Ambrose But as today's story tells, Falcon #5735 is very much alive. And she's heading home this very minute, back to her nest in northern Alberta's Wood Buffalo National Park. Here Geoff Holroyd shares the highlights from along the migration trail: To: Journey North From: Geoff Holroyd, Canadian Wildlife Service Peregrine Falcon 5735 is on the move, and she is moving fast!! Up until March 10 she was located where she had spent the winter, about 80 km south of Veracruz, Mexico, just inland of the Gulf Coast. On March 13 she was about 50km north of Veracruz, three days later she was south of Austin, Texas and on the March 19 she was 50 km southeast of Oklahoma City. Falcon #5735's Fall Migration Route To this point, her route and travel speed north were amazingly similar to her trip south. (See map.) Last fall, she completed the southward flight from Austin to Veracruz in three days. Now she had retraced her flight path in three days, covering about 1200 km. In the second leg north she moved 600 km in three days. See Weather Maps for March 19-25th Next, her rate of progress slowed due to spring weather. On March 22 she was 200 km southeast of Oklahoma City. She encountered a spring storm and apparently ended up south and east of her March 19th location. By March 25 she had recovered from the setback due to weather and was 40 km west of Tulsa, Oklahoma, only 120 km north of where she was on the 19th. On March 29 she was 200 km west of Kansas City and on April 1 she was 40 km north west of Lincoln, Nebraska. Photo: Skip Ambrose The satellite transmitter is worn on the falcon's back. It is attached by straps which fit around the wings, like a backpack. The antenna is almost 9" long. (Click on picture for a larger image.) Her net rate of travel was slower this week than in the first week north of Veracruz. In the last 7 days (March 25-April 1) she moved 550 km (79 km/day) compared with 1750 km in the 6 days from March 13-19 when she left Mexico. So far she had covered over 2500 km since she left her winter home on March 10. Last weekend, Peregrine 5735 continued her journey north. As of Saturday (April 4) she was in southwest South Dakota, near the White River. Since the last location on April 1, she has traveled 520 km north west diagonally across Nebraska. Last fall, she traveled south in 21 days. How many days will it take her to reach Wood Buffalo National Park this spring? Stay tuned?. Geoff Holroyd Research Scientist Canadian Wildlife Service Environment Canada Edmonton, Alberta Note: When Geoff sends word that Peregrine #5735 has reached her nest we'll post the news here.