Here are Skip Ambrose's answers to your great questions about peregrine falcons. If you have MORE questions after reading these, send them by May 3rd to: jn_expert@informns. k12.mn.us
From NEW YORK: These are the questions we would like to ask the falcon expert: Mrs. Berger's Class, K12ROBZJ@vaxc.hofstra.edu Q. How long does it take a falcon to migrate back to the north, on the average? A. We have never tracked a peregrine falcon during the northward migration. Our fall migration, last fall, was the first time anyone had ever tracked a peregrine falcon during the whole migration, and we saw some of the birds move pretty fast, going up to 200 or 300 miles a day. We are not sure how long it will take for the falcons to migrate back to the north, but, if the batteries last long enough, we will all find out in a few weeks.
Q. How far can it glide without flapping its wings? A. This really depends on the winds. Falcons, and other raptors, learn very early in the life how to use winds to make migration easy. If the winds are at their backs, they could go several miles without ever flapping their wings. Of course, with a headwind, they have to work pretty hard. But they are smart about migration and sometimes wait for a tail wind to migrate.
Q. What is the average life span of a Peregrine? A. Probably about 5 or 6 years. Many wild animals die during their first year because they are just learning to hunt and survive; if they make it throuh their first year, they usually live several years after that. Some of the birds I study are 13 or more years old; two of the birds with satellite transmitters are 13 years old.
Q. When do they leave their young? Do they kick them out of the nest or do they stay with them and teach them? A. The young birds begin to fly at about 40 days, and the parents continue to feed them for about another month. By then, the young are learning to hunt for themselves and gradually no longer need the parents help. Often, the families will stay together until it is time to migrate, then they leave. We don't know how long they stay together during migration. We will study that with satellite transmitters this year.
From NEW YORK: nnovack@gateway.drew.buffalo.k12.ny.us Dear Skip Ambrose,
My name is Nicholas Novack and I have some questions about the Peregrine Falcon. I go to school #59 and I am in fourth grade. Here are my questions
Q. Do you know the ages of the 11 falcons and how long is their life spand? A. Of the 11 falcons we radio-tagged, I know the ages of 7. The two oldest are 13, and the youngest is 3. The average life span is about 5 or 6 years.
From MINNESOTA: Dawson-Boyd High School 0378dbsh@InforMNs.k12.MN.US Q. The Peregrine Falcon is the fastest flying animal. What is the speed at which it flies? A. Some people say peregrine falcon can get up to speeds of 200 miles per hour during a "stoop" (or dive) when they are chasing other birds. During level flight, they can go about 50 or 60 miles an hour. These are estimates, of course; it is hard to estimate the speed of these birds.
Q. Are the results different if you use a globe to measure the distance instead of a flat map? A. Very different, usually. Most flat maps are made to be easy to read, and the distances between points are not accurate if you measure too great a distance. Some flat maps, however, take into account the shape of the earth so distances are more accurate.
(Try this: Draw a map of the world on the skin of a grapefruit or orange. Carefully peel it, keeping the pieces connected as best you can. What does the map look like when you lay the skin on a flat surface? Where is the distortion the greatest? What happens to the distance between points when the skin is flattened?)
Q. How do you know if the transmitters are broken or the birds are just hiding in caves or under cliffs? A. If we don't get a signal during duty cycle, we don't know if the bird is in a cave or if the transmitter is broken. We have to wait for the duty cycle (when the transmitter is suppose to transmit a signal) to know the answer.
Q. What type of food does this type of bird eat? A. Peregrine falcons eat other birds. Peregrine falcons are about as big as a raven or big crow, and they can catch a wide range of other birds, from sparrow to ducks.
Q. How big are these falcons you are tracking? A. Female peregrine falcons weigh about 1,000 grams (28 grams equal one ounce).
From WISCONSIN: Angie Knoll, 7th grade, Sparta Middle School spartaph@llwisc.ll.pbs.org Q. Who discovered the Peregrine Falcon? A. Peregrine falcons, as we know them, have been around for thousands of years, so we can't really say who "discovered" them. We do know that for the last few thousand years many people have admired peregrine falcons for their hunting ability, and people wrote stories and drew pictures of peregrine falcons hunting other birds.
Q. How many are there now? A. Peregrine falcons live on every continent and nearly every island in the world; it is hard to estimate how many there are in the world. In the United States, there are about 2,000 peregrine falcons.
Q. How many were there when it was first discovered? A. We don't really know, but in the United States, probably several thousand individuals.
From MAINE: Caroline, Conners School rlindqui@ssi.edc.org Dear Skip, I am a third grade student from Bar Harbor, Maine. My questions for you are these:
Q. How many falcons are there now? A. In the United States, there are about 2,000 peregrine falcons. We don't really know how many there are world-wide.
Q. How much does a baby falcon usually weigh: A. When a female falcon lays an egg, that egg weighs about 46 grams, or almost 2 ounces. When the chick hatches, it weights about 44 grams. In about 50 days, the chick will weigh about 1,000 grams if it is a female and about 700 grams if it is a male. One ounce equals 28 grams.
From NEW HAMPSHIRE: From: Autumn, Justin, Tony and Zac, students in Tamworth, NH Q. Why are you interested in Peregrins and how did you get interested in them? A. I have always been interested in birds and things that fly. I always loved to watch hawks and equals soar and glide almost effortlessly. The more I watched them (as a young boy about 10 years old), the more I became interested in them, and what they eat, how they live, where they nest, where they migrate to, and why some of them were disappearing. I enjoy studying peregrine falcons and other birds and I think it is important they we do not let them go extinct. We have been lucky to save species like the peregrine falcon and bald eagle. Q. Why did you join the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services? A. I wanted to work for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service because that is the agency that is responsible for managing birds. I wanted to help birds, and this is one of the best places to work to do that. Q. Where did you grow up? Did Peregrines live around there? A. My father was in the Air Force, so I moved around alot when I was growing up. One place I lived was at the Air Force Academy, and their mascot is the "Falcon." There were a few peregrine falcons around then, in the early 1960s, but not very many. There are many more now. Q. What is in the DDT that makes the egg shells thin? A. DDT is a pesticide that is made up of different chemical compounds. One of these compounds in DDE. When DDE gets in a bird's system, it prevents calcium from making normal egg shells. Hence, if there is too much DDE in a bird, the egg shells will be very thin and usually break.
Q. What is it like researching Peregrines in Alaska? A. Today, it is about -10 degrees F in Alaska, so I think peregrine falcons are pretty smart for spending their winters in a warm place like Brazil or Argentina. But, believe it or not, in about 2 months the days will be long and warm; in the summer we have almost 24 hours of daylight, the sun never sets, and the temperature up to 90 degrees F sometimes. So, working in Alaska in the summer is wonderful. There are not very many people in Alaska, so sometimes in the summer when I go out on rivers to study peregrines, I may not see anyone else for several days. That is pretty different from other places.
Q. Is Skip you name or is it just a nick name? A. Don't ask me how he did it, but my Granddad decided to call me Skip even though my real name is Robert. So now I just go by Skip all the time.
Q. How do Peregrines not crash into the earth since they are going so fast? A. Peregrine have pretty stiff feathers which allows them to make very sharp turns even when they are going very fast. Other birds have softer feathers and cannot turn so fast. Sometimes when I am at a nest and the adult falcons are diving at me, they are going so fast the wind through their feathers sounds like a big roar.
From MINNESOTA: From: 0279ciel@InforMNs.k12.MN.US (Rosie Anderson)
Dear Scientist, My name is Molly and my parnter's name is Fran,and we are at Cedar Island School. We would like to ask you a question about the Peregrine Falcon.
Q. Where do they migrate to in the winter? A. Better check those latitudes and longitudes and put them on a map, then you will know. We never really knew where they migrated to in winter, but with these satellite transmitters, we are learning. If you look at the latitudes and longitudes, you will see where they spend the winter. Let me know what you find out.
From MINNESOTA: Dane Hansen 0623ewel@InforMNs.k12.MN.US Q. Which type of Peregrine Falcon is faster, the arctic or the american? A. They both are the same, as near as we can tell. It is really hard to measure the exact speed they fly, but we think they are about the same.
MINNESOTA John Adams Jr. High 0535jajh@informns.k12.mn.us Q. What is the main source of food for a falcon? Does its diet vary with its migration from the winter home from the summer home? A. Peregrine falcons eat other birds, and the diet probably is different between breeding season, migration, and winter. It probably eats whatever other birds it can catch, so it might be a ptarmigan in Alaska, a blue jay in Minnesota, and a parrot in Brazil.
Q. How does the falcon maneuver while flying? How does its eyesight affect its flying? A. Falcon have long, pointed wings and a long tail which make it manner of flight, high speed and sharp turns, most effective. Like most other birds, falcons eyesight is very good, about 8 times better than ours. Sharp vision helps it spot and pursue prey.
From MINNESOTA: Museum Magnet 3rd graders 0625mms@InforMNs.k12.MN.US
Q. What special advantages do Peregrine Falcons have to help them go so fast? (Jacob)
A. Peregrine falcons have especially long, pointed wings and a long tail, and these help the peregrine go very fast. In a dive or stoop, they found their wings back and look like a tear drop going through the air. The feathers are very stiff, too, so, even though they are going very fast, they can turn quickly, too. Q. How does going so fast help them in their natural habitat? A. Going fast is important to peregrine falcons because they eat other birds. You know most birds are pretty fast, so for peregrines to catch them, they must be pretty fast as well.
Q. Why are the males smaller than the females? Gretchen and Natashsa A. That is a question that no one really knows the answer to. Some people think it is to help the pair, the male and female, to exploit, or use, more prey species. Since the adults are different sizes, the are able to catch more prey species. Another reason might be because the female does most of the incubating (keeping the eggs warm), and her bigger body does a better job. We don't really know. Do you have any ideas?
Q. Where were they first found? (Max) A. Peregrine falcons have been around for thousands of years, but exactly how long, no one knows.
Q. Who first discovered Peregrine Falcons? (Matt) A. Probably the first people that could marvel at what great fliers they were discovered peregrine falcons. Pretty soon after realizing falcons could catch other birds, people began to train them to catch birds for them.
Q. What do they eat? (Emily) A. Peregrine falcons eat other birds, from sparrows to ducks. That is a pretty big size range, but peregrine can catch them all.
From MISSOURI:
Jason Cole 5th grade Hallsville Elementary School JUDITH_R@mail.hallsville.k12.mo.us This is our question for Skip Ambrose about the peregrine falcon:
Q.Are the Peregrine Falcon's eggs still being effected by DDT? A. Not in most parts of the country. Some DDT is still being used in Latin American countries, and we have seen from our satellite data that peregrines spend the winter in those places. So there is a little DDT in their bodies and eggs, but not too much to cause really thin shelled eggs. A few birds still lay thin-shelled eggs, and we don't know where they winter, but with satillete transmitters, we will soon find out.
From KANSAS: Russ Marquette Valley Heights High School Blue Rapids, KS valhs1lb@ink.org Q. How exactly does the tracking device work. Does the tracking device work when it is cloudy? How many birds are currently being tracked by this method? That is all my questions for now. Thanks A. The transmitters send a radio signal to satellites circling the earth. When the satellite gets the signal, it calculates the location and send the information to an earth station. The earth station then sends the latitude and longitude information to me and you. Clouds do not affect the radio signals. We are tracking 11 peregrine falcons this year, and other people are tracking eagles and a few other species. Peregrine falcons are the smallest species being tracked now (until the transmitter get smaller).
From MINNESOTA: 0276del@InforMNs.k12.MN.US (Deephaven School) We are the 4th grade class from Deephaven in Ms. Paulus room . We have some questions for Skip Ambrose. Q. How long do the Peregrine falcons live? A. Some of the birds I am studying are 13 years old. The oldest know peregrine falcon was 18 years old. However, the average life span is about 5 or 6 years. Q. Are peregrine falcons smart? A. That is hard to say. Sometimes I think they are very smart because they are such good fliers and seem to be able to catch whatever they want. But then again, sometimes I can catch the same bird on the same trap year after year, so I wonder, "how smart are these falcons?" Some do figure out my traps, but some don't. Q. Would the Peregrine falcon fly around the world or across the ocean? A. Not unless there was a good reason. One thing wild animals do not do is waste energy. If they need to fly long distances to get food (like from Alaska to Argentina), they will. But they probably wouldn't fly around the world--no need to. Q. How do falcons know when to migrate back to Alaska? A. They know when to fly back by the changing daylight periods, called "photoperiodism." When the days start getting short in Argentina, they know it is time to leave and go to Alaska. We don't know how they know this.
Today is a special day for those of us in the north, and to falcons (and other birds that migrate)....March 21 is when the Sun is at the equator, and daylight is equal all over the earth. Pretty soon, our days in the north will be getting very long. The falcons know this, and will start migrating soon.
Q. How do they know which direction to go when they return to Alaska? A. They is something no one knows. We suspect two things. First, they have some built-in message telling them to go in a general direction, like south in the fall and north in the spring. But, second, they start to learn things and remember things, like good areas to hunt and rest. So, there are probably two things at work here, but we don't really know. That is what makes birds migration so interesting.
Q. How close is the satellite to the falcons? A. About 400 miles above the earth. Pretty far, uh?
Q. How long does it take to make the transmitters? A. The first few that we used were all made by hand and took several months to make. Once Dr. Howey, the man who invented these small transmitters got the system figured out, he could start manufacturing them. Now it only takes a few weeks to make a transmitter.
Q. If the transmitter falls off, do you go and find them? A. I sure try to find them. Or, if it is far away, I write to someone I know in the area and ask them to go look for the transmitter. We find about half that we look for.
Q. What chemicals are in DDT to soften the egg shells? A. A metabolite (a breakdown product) of DDT is DDE. Once DDE is in the bird's systems, it interfers with calicum formation when the bird's body is trying to make egg shells. So, the shell turn out to be very thin.
Q. What did the peregrine eat to give it DDT? A. Peregrine falcons eat other birds, and often those other birds ate insects that had been sprays with DDT. The more birds the peregrine ate, the more the DDT and DDE built up in their body, so much so that it caused the peregrines to lay thin-shell eggs.
Q. Tell us more about what you do for your job. A. That is a good question, because some people might think I just go watch and study birds all the time. After I do my research on birds and figure out what might be bad for the birds, like DDE making the egg-shells thin, I have to try to convince other people to stop making and using harmful chemicals, or doing other things that harm birds. So, part of my job is studying birds and what affects them, and the other part is trying to get people to change their habits, if those habits are bad for birds.
Q. Why do you want to do what you do? A. I love wild animals, especially birds, and I think it is very sad that sometimes people do not realize, or do not care, that what they do might make some species go extinct. I want to work to protect animals, and since most people really do like wildlife, a lot of my job is working with people to teach them how to protect wildlife and at the same time letting people do the things they have to do. I really want my children (I have two daughters) to be able to see and enjoy all the wildlife and wild places I have enjoyed.
Q. What is your favorite thing to do for your job? A. Peregrine falcons nest on big cliffs along great rivers, like the Yukon River, and I love to go on river trips and study falcons and enjoy the outdoors.
Q. Why did you pick peregrine falcons to study? A. When I moved to Alaska, they were on the endangered species list so I started studying them and trying to help them recover.
Q. Do you have pet peregrine falcon? A. No. Alaska is too cold in the winter for a peregrine falcon. They are smart....they go to a warm place, like Brazil or Argentina, in the winter. Makes me wonder why I spend the winters here!!!!
Q. Do you study other birds too? A. Yes. We have some other species on the endangered species list in Alaska, but mostly, I do study peregrine falcons.
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