In this report you'll find: * Final migration data from one of our peregrines. * Comments about the batteries' loss of power. * New CHALLENGE QUESTIONS and students' answers to former questions. * "Ask the Peregine Expert" final announcement. * A summary of Bald Eagle migration data, for students who'd like to switch raptors.
Home Sweet Home Each spring, peregrines return to the Upper Yukon in Alaska during the last week of April. Thus we can assume our 7 birds, if they had a successful journey, have now arrived on their arctic breeding grounds.
Falcon #654 gave us one final set of readings on April 11th. Remember, we can only guess which of the two readings is accurate because we don't have other readings for comparison. Plot the coordinates from both readings on your map, then see if you can answer the CHALLENGE QUESTIONS below.
April 11 Latitude Longitude Reading #1 43.932 N 106.843 W Reading #2 41.542 N 95.707 W
CHALLENGE QUESTION:
1) Which reading for April 11th do you think is accurate? Why? (It may be helpful to consider her location in Florida on March 28, at roughly 30.309 N, 83.849 W.)
2) How does Falcon #654's fall migration route compare to the route she may have taken this spring? (See chart below.)
3) Do you think falcons follow the same route for both legs of their migration?
Fall Migration Route of Peregrine #654
Latitude Longitude Date 65.508 N 144.238 W Jul 23 65.579 N 143.885 W Aug 8 65.473 N 143.681 W Aug 23 65.563 N 143.843 W Aug 25 61.848 N 131.851 W Aug 31 60.189 N 127.085 W Sep 2 59.726 N 125.784 W Sep 2 54.543 N 112.422 W Sep 4 46.560 N 100.563 W Sep 6 46.322 N 100.727 W Sep 8 45.977 N 97.743 W Sep 10 46.026 N 97.816 W Sep 11 40.190 N 85.657 W Sep 17 34.791 N 83.843 W Sep 19 25.577 N 81.278 W Sep 21 22.329 N 79.038 W Sep 23 21.823 N 78.158 W Sep 25 21.731 N 78.032 W Sep 27 21.804 N 78.424 W Sep 29 No signal received from Sep 29 to Nov 11 20.743 N 79.616 W Nov 11 21.763 N 78.000 W Nov 24 21.613 N 78.043 W Nov 25
A Job For the "EverReady" Rabbit? The sudden loss of battery power this spring came as a surprise to scientists Skip Ambrose and Paul Howey. (You may recall the Peregrine Squad's March 6th interview with Dr. Howey, who manufactured the transmitters.) Last season the batteries also died, sometime during January. So they decided to save battery power this year by programming the transmitters to send fewer signals during the winter months.
To their dismay (and all of ours!) this still didn't work. They now believe that the hot tropical temperatures are responsible for the problem. The batteries just don't seem to be able to withstand heat for so many months, and they lose power before the peregrines complete their migration. Ironically, the transmitter that was dropped on the tundra has been faithfully delivering signals all spring!
Remember, peregrines are the smallest bird ever to be tracked successfully by satellite. These transmitters are tiny and weigh only 30 grams, about the same as 4 U.S. quarters. They are the smallest ever built and are specially designed for peregrines. In contrast, our bald eagle's transmitter weighs 95 grams and the leatherback's weighs over 1,000 grams.
So it's back to the drawing board. Who knows, perhaps one of you will help design stronger, more powerful batteries some day!
Ask the Expert Peregrine falcon expert Skip Ambrose will respond to one more round of questions. Please send them by May 10th to:
CHALLENGE QUESTIONS
On March 29th, we issued a News Flash when Falcon #654 suddenly sent 3 signals during her migration. The following students responded to the CHALLENGE QUESTIONS that were posed at that time:
From NEW YORK:
Dear Skip Ambrose, Hi my name is Reginald Keith and I have the answers to the challenge questions.
Q. Where did this bird spend the winter?
A. We think that this bird spent it's winter in Cuba.
Q. Name the city and state she was flying over.
A. The first location is between West Palm Beach and Cape Canaveral, Florida. The second location was over Tampa, Florida. The third location was over Tallahassee, Florida. (As near as we can tell on our map.)
Q. What time was it, local time, when the satellite passed overhead?
A. The time zone difference was six and a half hours.
The first location she was spotted was at 7:30. The second was at 11:52. The third was at 1:34. We also figured out that she traveled 360 miles from the first to the third location. We figured out that she traveled 360 miles in six hours. That is 60 miles an hour. We know she can fly 200 miles an hour, so she is just taking a little vacation trip. Maybe she can stop at Disney!
Sincerely, Reggie Keith, Grade 4 Dr. Charles R. Drew Science Magnet School Buffalo, New York rkeith@gateway.drew.buffalo.k12.ny.us
From NEW JERSEY: We calculated the speed of Falcon #654 on March 28 and calculated that in 4:37 hours he/she traveled about 330 miles! Wow! Is there any way we can tell if they stopped. Was this a direct flight. It is almost 78 miles per hour! We are thoroughly enjoying ALL the data. Thank you for sharing! Clare Devine and the students of North Dover School Toms River, New Jersey, Longitude 74.15 W & Latitude 40 N BCDH26A@prodigy.com
Bald Eagle Migration Continues
The migration of our satellilte-tracked bald eagle is summarized below. Hopefully, those of you who have been tracking the peregrines can shift to this migration for the remaining weeks of this project. Be sure to participate in the "GUESS THE NEST " contest. Where do you think this eagle will finally stop? Send your guess to: jnorth@informns.k12.mn.us
Date Latitude Longitude March 1 41.234 N 75.186 W March 17 41.558 N 75.122 W March 20 42.041 N 74.925 W March 27 43.731 N 73.072 W March 31 44.969 N 72 268 W April 2 46.033 N 71.532 W April 6 46.758 N 70.294 W April 8 48.258 N 70.028 W April 10 48.981 N 68.798 W April 14 49.280 N 68.386 W April 16 50.018 N 68.143 W April 22 52.230 N 67.372 W
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