University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 2002 Release : three seasons in the wild with peregrine falcons. Clara Sophia Weygandt The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Weygandt, Clara Sophia, "Release : three seasons in the wild with peregrine falcons." (2002). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 5793. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/5793 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 3 I 1 Maureen and Mike MANSFIELD LIBRARY The University ofIVIONTANA Permission is granted by the author to reproduce this material in its entirety, provided that this material is used for scholarly purposes and is properly cited in published works and reports. ** Please check "Yes" or "No" and provide si^ature ** Yes, I grant permission No, I do not grant permission 'Vl Author’s Signature , Date Any copying for commercial purposes or financial gain may be undertaken only with the author's explicit consent. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Release: Three Seasons in the Wild with Peregrine Falcons. By Clara Sophia Weygandt B.A. University of California, Santa Cruz. Presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science The Unversity of Montana 2002 Approved by: C hai Dean, Graduate School Date Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: EP36594 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction Is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMT OisMwtation RAWwimg UMI EP36594 Published by ProQuest LLC (2013). Copyright In the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work Is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest ProQuest LLC. 789 East Elsenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 - 1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Weygandt, Clara Sophia, M. S., May 2002 Environmental Studies Release; Three Seasons in the Field with Peregrine Falcons Director: Don Snow When I was twenty-five, I returned to school. Initially interested in a degree in wildlife biology, I spent a summer re-introducing peregrine falcons in California. The experience was pivotal; it opened up the world of nature and possibility. With personal narrative I have tried to bring the reader into the world I encountered. The time-line follows my stumbling beginnings and recounts the various sites I worked each season. At each site the goal was the same; to keep three juvenile peregrines alive while they learned to fly and hunt. At each one I learned more about the birds, nature, and myself. At each one the way we succeeded was different. Along with my perceptions I bring in the natural history of peregrine falcons, the reasons they were endangered, and some of the techniques used to augment the population in California. Chambers. I see my first peregrines in the breeding chambers of the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Group. I find out why the peregrine falcon is endangered, and what is being done to prevent extinction. Muir Beach. My first réintroduction site, located on the California coast. I le am bird identification and the day to day of field work. I fall in love with the birds and the process. Hetch Hetchy I. A difficult site in the Sierras. How landscape, weather and personnel can effect the situation. Hetch Hetchy II. The beginning of my second season. Experience counts for something, but not everything. The best intentions can still lead to failure. Call. A site near Mt. Lassen in my fifth season. A coalescing of knowledge and luck. There is always something unexpected to be discovered. u Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ü Acknowledgments iv Chambers 2 M uir Beach Hetch Hetchy I 53 Hetch Hetchy II 90 Call 104 Bibliography 117 lU Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I have so many incredible people to thank that they may not make it in. Suffice to say that if you have known me during any of the experiences that I relate here, and during the writing of this thesis, then you have been in some way instrumental to its creation. Even if you are not mentioned by name, you have contributed. Thank you. The Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group, with special thanks to Janet Linthicum for keeping me accurate and informed. To my committee: Don Snow, who managed to be both supportive and challenging, the combination being exactly what I needed to become a better writer and bring this project to fruition. Bill Chaloupka, who bravely waded through messy versions and guided me when I was lost. Dick Hutto, who immediately told me the weight of a sparrow when 1 asked. My friends: Meagan Boltwood, who made my first year of writing this a joy and a constant discovery. Susan Watrous, whose kind encouragement got me here in the first place. Mark Oatney for being there when I needed help. David Escobar for providing love. Marilyn Pratter, for letting me always remember the creative life. Shelly Truman, who let me see what working artist is. Tom Jessor for correspondence and support. Russell Johnson, who gave me exposure. David Strohmaier, who by example made me believe I could do this. Everyone in the Teller writing workshop of May, 1999. My writing group in Santa Cruz, who have been with me since the beginning, and my writing group in Missoula, who continued the process. My parents, who have always let creativity be their guide, and who painstakingly read every version of this thesis. I have learned so much from you. I can never thank you enough. And my sister, who was right. IV Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAMBERS When I first drove down the dirt road to the Bird Group, I'd never known there was an old quarry here, a granite and dirt bowl scooped out of the grass-covered hills. I certainly didn't know about the funky conglomeration of trailers and temporary buildings in the bottom. They represented the entire West Coast peregrine recovery effort: breeding facilities for peregrines and quail, housing for researchers, and the offices of the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group. My path crossed with the peregrines because at twenty-five I wanted to tie knots. Tie knots, hike, build fires and climb rocks. A climber I dated showed me the figure-eight, a bomber knot used to secure the climber to the end of a climbing rope. He did it with flair: a complex twist of the wrist and the knot appeared like a rabbit popping out of a hat. I learned it. I learned the grapevine, the prusik, the figure-eight, the water knot. I practiced. For the first time in my life I went back-packing. I went into the Sierras. I climbed granite. I got blisters. I pumped water. It was more wonderful than I'd imagined. I realized that my life needed more trees, more granite, more quiet. With this in mind I returned to school to get my degree. It was because of granite and mountains that I decided to explore wildlife biology. Mainly, I wanted to work outside in the wild and get paid for it. But I knew that the theory of something and the practice of it are different. I might have done well in biology classes, but would I enjoy the work? I determined to try a job in the field before I committed myself further. I didn't particularly care about birds, I was indifferent to peregrines. But because I'd climbed in Yosemite, I knew that there were routes on El Capitan that closed every Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. spring because of peregrines. They were on the North American Wall, an inaccessible overhanging monster with a huge area of dark rock that looked like the North American continent. The routes on this wall were only for the most dedicated or most insane climbers, taking upwards of twenty-two days. They were not nearly as popular as The Nose or The Zodiac, so climbers respected the closures. When talking about El Cap peregrines often came up in discussion, as their nest was close to El Cap tree, a large pine growing out of the granite about eight hundred feet above the valley floor. Time on a big wall is measured in days, not hours. It's a whole different world up there. And the peregrines claimed that rock as theirs with the surety of nature. An easy inhabitant, they flew, hunted, bred, nested, made the wall their home every spring. I more impressed that they lived on that incredible piece of rock than with any other attribute. A climber I knew was majoring in wildlife biology and he'd done something with peregrines.