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