Pennsylvania Game Commission Bureau of Wildlife Management Research Division Project Annual Job Report
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PENNSYLVANIA GAME COMMISSION BUREAU OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT RESEARCH DIVISION PROJECT ANNUAL JOB REPORT PROJECT CODE NO.: 06715 TITLE: Peregrine Falcon Research/Management JOB CODE NO.: 71501 TITLE: Peregrine Falcon Investigations PERIOD COVERED: 1 July 2003 to 30 June 2004 COOPERATING AGENCIES: Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia; Appalachian Audubon Society chapter; Canadian Peregrine Foundation (CPF); Dauphin County Wildlife Rescue; Delaware River Port Authority; Pennsylvania Department of Transportation; New Jersey Division of Fish, Game, and Wildlife; Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP); Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission; Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC); Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. WORK LOCATION(S): Statewide PREPARED BY: F. Arthur McMorris and Daniel W. Brauning DATE: 7 February 2005 Abstract: The long-term management goal of this project is to reestablish a self- sustaining peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) population in Pennsylvania. Temporary employee Matt Sharp and several volunteers monitored peregrine nests across the state. Peregrines successfully nested at 11 sites, in Pennsylvania, and a pair was observed through the season at a twelfth site. Successful nesting at a cliff site was observed for the first time in over 40 years, at a site in Montgomery, Lycoming County. A sub-adult pair was observed at a second cliff site, in Northampton County. Nesting success and statewide productivity were remarkably high in 2003, continuing last year’s upward trend. Eight band recoveries were obtained during the past year involving birds banded in Pennsylvania. All 4 birds fitted for satellite telemetry in 2002 continued to survive and transmitters were functioning as of 30 June. One additional nestling was fitted with a satellite transmitter in 2003 but that bird was found dead in December 2003. The public was invited to attend peregrine banding events at the Rachel Carson State Office Building (RCSOB) and at the Gulf Tower in Pittsburgh. OBJECTIVES 1. The long-term management goal is to reestablish a self-sustaining peregrine falcon population in Pennsylvania. 2. The recovery levels required to upgrade the peregrine’s state status from endangered to threatened, outlined in the revised Pennsylvania Recovery and Management Plan for the peregrine falcon (Brauning and Hassinger 2001), are a self-sustaining total of 12 pairs (62% of the recovery goal), productivity of at least 1.25 young fledged per pair, and at least half of known pairs nesting successfully. METHODS Biologist aide Matt Sharp and several volunteers monitored peregrine falcon 71501 2 nesting activity in the Philadelphia area during the 2003 nesting season. Video cameras linked to live Internet connections, again monitored the nest site at the Rachel Carson State Office Building (RCSOB) in Harrisburg (Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) 2003) and the Gulf Tower and Cathedral of Learning in Pittsburgh (Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) 2003). The WPC monitored nesting activity in Pittsburgh and a volunteer reported nesting activity on the Cross-Valley Expressway Bridge in Wilkes-Barre and in Pittston, Luzerne County. Satellite telemetry was deployed on 1 additional young, from the Gulf Tower in Pittsburgh, in a cooperative project with the Canadian Peregrine Foundation (CPF). Daily locations were received and mapped on PGC, CPF, and DEP Web pages. RESULTS Peregrines successfully nested at 11 sites in Pennsylvania during 2003. A sub-adult pair was observed at another site, for a total of 12 pairs. New sites confirmed in 2003 include the first 2 cliff nest sites observed in Pennsylvania in over 40 years, one of them successfully fledging young and the other occupied by a sub-adult pair. The number of young produced in Pennsylvania, 35, was the highest since the inception of the recovery and management plan, and continued the upward trend set in 2002. The sustained high number of nesting pairs contributed to this outcome and good productivity at bridge nests also contributed. Young were produced on the RCSOB in Harrisburg, the Three Mile Island (TMI) nuclear facility in nearby Middletown, the Gulf Tower and Cathedral of Learning in Pittsburgh, the Girard Point and Walt Whitman Bridges in Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania/New Jersey Turnpike Bridge in Bucks County, a bridge in Wilkes-Barre, a bridge in nearby Pittston, and the newly-discovered cliff site in Montgomery, Lycoming County (Table 1). In addition, a pair on the Betsy Ross Bridge nested successfully on the New Jersey side of the river (Table 1). A summary of nest sites and productivity since 1993 is given in Figure 1 and Table 2. 2003 Nest Site Descriptions Harrisburg.-–Four young fledged from the nest on the RCSOB. The site continues to be monitored by a live video camera accessible on the Internet (DEP 2003), and public was invited to the banding session on 4 June. Middletown.--Nesting activity at the TMI nuclear power station was documented by local staff. The nest is behind a concrete elevator structure near a cornice on the #1 reactor containment building, approximately 125 feet from the ground. Three young were produced (2M, 1F). The site was inaccessible for banding, but both males were captured when they fell from the ledge to an enclosed space between buildings. One was banded (Table 3), and both were photographed and released. All 3 fledged successfully and were observed through the summer. Pittsburgh.--The same pair continued to nest in a tray on the Gulf Tower in downtown Pittsburgh. Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) personnel coordinated with building personnel to monitor this nest, including deploying a video monitoring camera linked to the Internet (WPC 2003). Four young, 1 male, and 3 females, were banded with the assistance of PGC personnel from the southwest region on 1 July (Table 3). One of these birds was fitted with a satellite transmitter. Three of the 4, including the bird fitted for satellite telemetry, were recovered before the end of the year (2 injured, 1 dead; Table 4). This site continues to be the most productive location in the state, having 4 young in each of the last 6 years (Table 1) and 43 young total since nesting began (WPC 2003). 71501 3 The pair at the University of Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Learning in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh nested again in the nest tray placed in 2002 by Charles Bier. This pair was monitored by a crew of local enthusiasts led by Kate St. John. The pair produced 4 young, which were banded on 3 June (Table 3). Wilkes-Barre.--Bob Wasilewski monitored the pair nesting on Susquehanna River Bridges in the Wilkes-Barre area. The pair continues to move its nest location: originally found nesting at the Cross-Valley Expressway in 1999, the pair moved their nest to the Pierce Street Bridge in 2001, and then to the Market Street Bridge in 2003. Two young were observed in the nest in early June, but only 1 fledged successfully. Young were not banded because the site was determined to be inaccessible. Pittston.--Last year, Bob Wasilewski confirmed the presence of recently fledged juvenile peregrines in Pittston, about 7 miles north of Wilkes-Barre on the Susquehanna River. Bob found the nest this year on the Route 92 (Fort Jenkins) Bridge and the nest was visited for banding. Three young were banded on 5 June (Table 3) and were observed in the Pittston area through the summer. Downtown Philadelphia.--No peregrine activity was documented in downtown Philadelphia. The female has not been seen since the end of the 2001 season and is believed to have perished. Philadelphia-area Bridge Nests.--Nesting was successful at 4 Philadelphia-area bridges: the Pennsylvania/New Jersey Turnpike connector Bridge in Bucks County, the Betsy Ross Bridge (on the New Jersey side), the Walt Whitman Bridge and the Girard Point (I-95) Bridge. A total of 10 nestlings were banded by PGC personnel at 3 of these bridges, and nestlings at the Betsy Ross Bridge were banded by Kathleen Clark of the New Jersey Division of Fish, Game, and Wildlife (Tables 1 and 2). A single bird continues to be seen at the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, where nesting has occurred in previous years; and activity at the Commodore Barry Bridge is uncertain (Table 1). Montgomery, Lycoming County. –The highlight of the 2003 peregrine falcon season was the discovery of the first successful cliff nest in Pennsylvania in 45 years. A third-hand report of peregrine falcons in the vicinity was followed up by Michael Kuriga, a licensed falconer in Lycoming County, and Daniel Brauning. The nest site was found on a ledge near the top of a 180-foot cliff overlooking the Susquehanna River near Williamsport, where peregrine falcon nesting occurred prior to 1940. A nestling was observed at the nest on 20 May and was banded on 30 May by D. Brauning and other PGC personnel, with local enthusiasts in attendance (Table 3). The adult male proved to be a bird banded by D. Brauning and hacked in Williamsport in 1996. It is likely that nesting had occurred undetected for several years at that site, since 2 juveniles were observed just 2 miles from the site in June 2000. Delaware Water Gap.--A pair was observed frequenting a cliff in the vicinity of a historic peregrine falcon nesting site at the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. However, 1 of the pair was immature, and nesting activity was not observed. Recoveries Eight recoveries of birds banded in Pennsylvania were obtained during the past year. Two were recovered dead, 1 in Michigan and 1 in New York. Two recoveries were of birds nesting successfully: a male raised in captivity by ZooAmerica, banded as a juvenile, and hacked in Williamsport in 1996 was found breeding successfully at a cliff nearby in Montgomery; and a male banded as a 71501 4 nestling in Wilkes-Barre in 2000 was found breeding successfully 7 miles away in Pittston.