[mou] Urban peregrine publicity

[Laura Erickson]

Every day I watch the downtown baby peregrines, I worry about them getting 
into trouble and not being found by someone with a clue how to help, and 
the crowd in downtown Duluth that gathered around the one grounded 
fledgling on Sunday makes me realize how very many well-meaning people 
really want to do the right thing when they encounter a bird in trouble, 
but have no way of knowing what the right thing to do is.  One of my 
friends in Cleveland says that a lot of active birders keep a very close 
and constant watch over the baby peregrines there for weeks before and 
after fledging, and that there is lots of friendly coverage in newspapers 
and TV, which has been of great benefit when a bird gets grounded before it 
can really fly.  Their peregrine watchers seem to be organized so people 
each have scheduled watches.  Has anyone ever experienced a problem from 
publicizing the exploits of baby peregrines, or from a local birding 
community keeping tabs on each individual?  It would be nice to know how 
birding clubs from other cities deal with this.  I'd think that giving the 
public an opportunity to enjoy these birds through a spotting scope would 
be such a great way to serve as an ambassador for birds, and a way of 
bringing more people into the birding fold, but wonder if this isn't more 
appropriately taken up by a birding organization than one person who 
couldn't consistently be there in the way that a cadre of volunteers could?

I didn't get photos of them yesterday, by the way, but did see five of them 
flying about around Greysolon Plaza (the old Hotel Duluth) together, and 
later saw one female on the roof eating a pigeon and the adult male flew 
over calling.  Also, my Peregrine gallery page was getting much too big, so 
I changed it so it shows only three photos per day with a link to that 
day's comments and the rest of the photos for that day.  This way the pages 
will be easier to load.

<http://www.birderblog.com/bird/Species/Hawks/PeregrineFalcon/PEFADuluthNestGallery.html>


Laura Erickson
Duluth, MN


www.birderblog.com

There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of 
birds.  There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of 
nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter.

                                 --Rachel Carson