As promised, you'll find satellite data this week from a population of peregrine falcons that nested in Utah last summer. All of these falcons were fitted with transmitters near Lake Powell, Utah. Can you find Lake Powell on a map?
We asked you to consider why peregrine falcons might migrate fromAlaska and Utah. Here's how students from New York and Ontario answered Challenge Question # 22, "If you think peregrine falcons in Utah migrate, where do you think they might spend the winter?"
From: NEW YORK
This is Jessica and Hiro of Mrs. Berger's class. We think that the Alaskan Peregrine Falcons migrate because they need food and their supply of food is limited in the winter so they go south to find it. Since they eat small birds, their food supply may also migrate. Utah is warmer and they would be able to find food during a longer period of time but still would have to search some. We think that the Utah peregrine might go to California or another warm place because there are cities where the peregrine can feast on small birds and rodents. K12robzj@hofstra.edu
From: ONTARIO
"I think that Utah peregrine falcons migrate to Central America (Guatemala ) , for the food and the warmth. As the temperature rises, the falcons will have to fly back to Utah because Guatemala will be getting too hot." Josh Windsor syoung@web.apc.org
This is impressive thinking!
Here's what Skip Ambrose thought before he conducted his research:
"We tagged two birds in Utah in 1993 and, to everyone's surprise, they both migrated to Central America. Most people thought they stayed at Lake Powell year-round. And some might. However, we expect most of the Utah birds will migrate to Mexico or a little further south. We do not think they usually go as far south as the Alaskan birds did when we tracked them last year." (In 1995 Alaskan falcons went to Brazil and southern Argentina!)
Here's where the Utah birds were in January:
Falcon # (Age) Latitude, Longitude
20895(ASY)* 22.123 N, 105.231 W
22665(HY) 20.806 N, 105.165 W
20897(ASY)* 22.040 N, 105.287 W
24859(ASY) 30.601 N, 112.307 W
24858(ASY) 25.891 N, 108.732 W
* Journey North makes a mistake!
Correction: Note that falcons # 20895 and # 20897 nested in Utah, not Alaska as was stated in previous reports. With all the peregrine falcon data flying through our office, we mistakenly confused two of the Utah birds with those from Alaska! Our apologies.
How far back to the nest?
Let's compare how far the falcons will need to travel to get back to their nests this spring. Assuming peregrine #655 nested along the Yukon River near Circle, Alaska, and # 858 nested in the Lake Powell region near Big Water, Utah can you answer Challenge Question # 31?
"How many miles must each falcon travel to get back to its nest?" and "Why is it important to use a globe instead of a flat map to answer this question?"
How to Respond to Challenge Question # 31:
1. Address an e-mail message to: jn-challenge@learner.org
2. In the Subject Line of the message write: Challenge Question #31.
3. In the body of the message, answer the question. Don't forget to include your school's name and location.
Coming Next
In addition to this spring's migration data, in future reports we will give you the fall migration data for the Alaska and Utah falcons. With it we'll explore these questions: Do falcons leave Alaska in the fall before they leave Utah? How does the timing of their spring migration compare? What route do they take? What happened to the falcons that didn't arrive safely on the wintering grounds?
The Next Peregrine Falcon Migration Update Will be Posted on March 18, 1996
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