Imagine that you are Skip Ambrose sitting at your desk in Fairbanks, Alaska. As a scientist studying an endangered migratory species, you need to learn as much as you can about the pergrines' entire life cycle. Because, although these birds nest in Alaska, they spend very little time there.
Today's report contains satellite readings from Ambrose's falcons in November. Make a list of all the questions a scientist might have about the falcons' wintering habitat. Then see if today's satellite data helps you answer some of the questions you generate.
Bird # Date Latitude/Longitude
651 11/23/95 5.963 N, 56.632 W
652 11/20/95 5.807 N, 68.921 W
655 11/18/95 17.758 N, 92.145 W
658 11/17/95 20.684 N, 87.077 W
867 11/21/95 17.497 N, 91.241 W
868 11/19/95 18.428 N, 95.920 W
871 11/21/95 61.411 N, 130.576 W
895 11/20/95 22.102 N, 105.216 W
897 11/21/95 22.058 N, 105.262 W
(Note: Younger students may prefer to round off these lat/long readings to the nearest degree. This will make it simpler to plot the locations on a map.)
The Case of the Missing Falcons In last week's message there were no reports from two of the falcons. What do you think happened? Here are Skip Ambrose's thoughts about the "missing birds":
"Peregrines often spend their time in deep ravines and along the face of steep cliffs. Therefore, the signals sent by their transmitters may not be picked up by the satellite as it passes overhead because of interference. It's always possible that the transmittters are broken or have vanished somewhere, but most likely we'll hear from the birds again when they're in eyeshot of the satellite. You see, in order to save battery power, we've programmed the transmitters to send signals only once every 21 days during the winter months. Therefore, it's possible the signal was missed by the satellite when it passed overhead."
For a fantastic bird's-eye view of the rainforest habitat that 3 of our falcons appear to be using, see National Geographic's November, 1992 issue. After reading the article by George Stuart on pages 94-107, see if you can answer this Challenge Question:
(In your answer, please tell us what you learned about the people who live in this region and their place in human history!)
How to Respond to this Journey North Challenge Question
1. Address an e-mail message to: jn-challenge@learner.org
2. In the Subject Line of the message write: Challenge Question #7.
3. In the body of the message, give your answer!
The Next Peregrine Falcon Migration Update Will Be Posted on February 19, 1996
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