Island Girl Returns Home-Safely Completes her Third GPS Migration

Yesterday, Island Girl headed south again in a determined manner. She returned to the coastline and covered 257 miles (414 km) for the day, flying along the shoreline.

During this flight, she flew over all of the major cities of the central Chilean coastline, including Los Vilos, fabulous Vina Del Mar, the hill city of Valparaiso, the shipping port of San Antonio and finally the surfing mecca of the central coast, Pichilemu.

Dune field north of Vina Del Mar.

She roosted north of her winter range last night about 35 miles from Putu. She didn't quite reach home but she was very close.

She roosted close to the coast. She selected a group of trees on a small hill above the mouth of a major coastal river maybe 5 miles south of Pichilemu. Looks like the backyard of a lovely looking farm/home with what appear to be vineyards in the front yard.

Your basic Chilean vineyard and the best grapes I have ever tasted. Right off the vine.

Great spot and you wish the owners knew about an adult falcon on their property that had just flown in from Baffin Island!

After a short flight this morning (Saturday), Island Girl finally arrived back at her usual haunts in the Putu area. Her morning signal shows that she was perched in a group of eucalyptus trees (I know them well) right above the coastal road north. These trees overlook her favorite hunting area to the west. I am sure she was checking out her favorite perch located on the offshore barrier island. Here is a photo of her favorite area, the long sandspit that was wiped out by the tsunami in 2010. It is no longer there now.

Here is one of her perches on the spit. Her last signal today is directly east of this photograph taken back in 2009. The feathers are from one of her kills.

Looking at Google Earth, we can see that this sandspit has yet to reform from the sea. We thought after two years, it might have re-surfaced. But it is just not there. I do see several small islets offshore which will be good for her. She can perch and roost out there and be completely safe from predators.

So on 12 November 2011, after 53 days of migration, crossing through twelve countries (Canada, US, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Chile) and two hemispheres, and flying at least 8,628 miles (13,885 km), Island Girl has completed her migration.

SCPP team member, Kathy Gunther, holding Island Girl (with hood) in 2009 just after attaching the satellite transmitter and immediately before release back into the wild. Kathy first captured her at Putu in 2008 and then again in 2009.

I just called Kathy today to let her know that Island Girl had returned to Putu safely for another year. She was at Cape May, New Jersey and had just caught and banded her first juvenile Bald Eagle today!

"Island Girl"

THE FUTURE

 Some of you have asked already about our future plans for the project. In answer, we have decided to return to Chile in February 2012 once again. We want to see how the area has recovered from the devastating earthquake of 2010. We also have two satellite transmitters remaining to be used and we want to learn more about the falcons in Chile and this remarkable migration that they make.

If you like this project and would like to keep it going, please contribute to the cause. The entire project is supported by people just like you.

To be part of the project, we ask that you send your donations of any amount to the

Falcon Research Group

Box 248

Bow, WA 98232

USA

Thanks everyone and see you again in the fall!

Almost Home.....

On Thursday, 10 November, Island Girl kept following the inland route south. She flew a solid 243 miles (391 km) across the desert, passing by the beautiful cities of La Serena and Coquimbo where we have also spent alot of time. In fact, La Serena is one of my favorite places in Chile.

Here is a shot of another migrant North American adult female peregrine on her usual perch, a fifteenth century cathedral in the heart of the city. We tried for her over several years, always unsuccessfully.

Here she is on a favorite roost site. Another adult male peregrine, her "winter mate", often perched with her on the tower.

Island Girl is reaching the southern part of the desert now. The habitat starts to change around La Serena. It turns into a sparsely vegetated region more typical of a Mediterranean climate as you can see from this photo of the area just north of La Serena.

There is a local peregrine eyrie in the distance. The Chilean cassini race is sedentary here and seldom travels more than a few miles from their eyries. This is where the satellite-tagged La Serena peregrine lived.

We start seeing a change in the plant species here. Here is a typical cactus for this region.

The La Serena falcon used several different cliffs for her eyrie or nest. Here is a shot of the first one we located, thanks to Christian Gonzalez.

This would be a typical Chilean nest site. It is located on the cliff in the center of this photo. Not very different from other desert peregrine sites around the world.

Here is a picture of the La Serena bird eating a pigeon on her home range. You can clearly see the antenna of the transmitter extending from her backpack.

We followed this bird for several years before shutting down her transmitter. During the entire time, she seldom traveled more than ten miles or so from her nest site. The small size of her home range underscored the abundance of huge amounts of prey that inhabits the area.

What a contrast in "lifestyle" from Island Girl. One peregrine has seen the entire hemisphere, the other, a small area of the Chilean coast.

Island Girl slept on a steep, desert hillside between two dry river valleys. I saw no prominent rocks or faces in the GE image so this could be another one of those ground level, "bite your nails" roost sites. Scary if true.

The area below her at the head of this valley contains lots of agricultural fields. Water is supplied from a large dam and reservoir, the Embalsa La Paloma, to her NW. Such a large supply of water in this desert area is like gold.

The farm center town of Ovalle was about 21 miles (38 km) to her NW.

She roosted 43 miles (70 km) inland from the coast and slept at 3,882 feet in elevation.

Island Girl is now only 294 miles (473km) from her home at Putu. Even less as I am writing this today. Remember, she flew 243 miles yesterday and her distances are increasing. She could easily be sleeping on a favorite roost site at Putu tonight. Let's see what happens....

She'll likely be flying past Santiago and our Chilean team members today. I am sure they are happy to see her returning safely once again this year.

Down the Track

On Wednesday, Island Girl continued to fly south through the Atacama. She traveled another 177 miles (286 km) and reached the town of Copiapo, a major inland settlement and agricultural area on the Pan-American Highway. Quite a number of agricultural fields line this valley almost all the way down to the coast. Vast areas of vineyards sweep right up into the sandy hillsides.

Several years ago, we caught a juvenile cassini peregrine in this valley. We found that it had a badly bruised wing from an earlier accident, so we released it. It was very clear to see why it was there, abundant birdlife in the irrigated and vegetated valley as usual.

Island Girl slept on the north slope of a low ridge separating two dry arroyos. She was at 3,147' elevation and seven miles east of both Copiapo and the Pan-American Highway. The site was well inland, about 45 miles (72 km) east of the Pacific.

Here is a shot from north of last night's roost showing the Chilean coastal mountains of the Atacama.

Island Girl is now within striking distance of her "winter" home. Recall that it is springtime in Chile in November.

Putu is about 540 miles (868 km) south. She is capable of covering this distance in a long day but will likely take a bit longer. Her 2011 "fall" migration is almost over.

She could be sleeping there as early as tomorrow (Friday) night.

Island Girl Crosses the Tropic of Capricorn

Yesterday, she not only officially left the tropics but flew right on past the coastal city of Antofagasta. This is a great city, growing by leaps and bounds and is very popular with Chileans. They call it "Anto".

I have had many great experiences there from encountering bands of Gypsys running after our trucks to grab stuff to throwing a harnessed pigeon on a crowded beach with an adult peregrine strafing the stunned sunbathers with multiple low and fantastic stoops, to the catch of my life with the "Antofagasta long noose" and Sparrow King, to drawing a peregrine out of full a soar hundreds of feet up and then down into an open soccer field with soldiers pointing rifles at us and telling us to leave until the falcon was caught at their feet completely enrapturing them, to talking our way into a full-out professional soccer stadium and catching an adult off a light standard there, watching him fly down into the middle of the field and get snagged. What a place. What a place.

And it is filled with pigeons like nowhere else on earth that I have ever seen. Hundreds of thousands of them. It is a paradise for peregrines. And they are there in numbers too. We saw many on cell towers, the perfect man-made desert perch.

The fact that Island Girl went right on by says to me that she is heading home now. She is going for it.

She flew 183 miles (295 km) and wound up sleeping on a little low hill 25 miles (40 km ) inland, way out in the heart of the desert.

I think I may see a field of rocks there on GE but can't be certain. I hope she used something like this to at least get off of the ground.

She roosted in between the coastal highway and the Pan-American Highway 5.

She was in a sort of shallow valley with a haul road coming up from the coast. In fact, I am pretty sure we drove up this valley one time. Long, dusty, huge trucks, rock and dirt all the colors you can imagine, tan, red, black, yellow, orange and even purple. Just a stark, hauntingly beautiful place, sun-scorched and vast.

South Through the Atacama Coast

Island Girl had a relatively slow day on Monday. She flew just 98 miles (158 km) along the dry Chilean coastline, passing by the desert town of Tocopilla. She seems to be taking her time right now and in no particular hurry to complete her migration.

She roosted high up in a draw among the coastal mountains, just below the top of the mesa above, at 3,378 feet in elevation. I have driven through this area several times using Highway 1 along the coast. To understand the topography better, switch over to Google Earth street view and you can really see how this one was situated.

Most of the times that I have been there, the weather has been hot with the typical intense sunlight of the desert. But at the top of the mountains, a fog bank will often form so it is much cooler up there. That may be why she slept so high last night.

 As an aside, our team often saw huge, lattice-like steel structures built atop these mountains that are designed to wring water from the fog. Water is obviously a precious commodity in a desert, especially so in the Atacama. It is true that there are parts of this desert where rainfall has never been recorded.

It is important at this stage to remember that Island Girl is still engaged in a dangerous and energetically expensive migration. Just because she is getting closer to her winter range in Putu, it does not mean that she is safe from all harm. In fact, I regard this stretch of her route as one of the most dangerous segments of her entire flight south.

While the Atacama may look barren (and it is), it still supports a high number of predators that prey on the local seabird populations. Fox are the most obvious and there are alot of them living in this area. They are professional bird catchers.

One bad decision to sleep in the wrong spot on the wrong night and it could be fatal. We have learned this the hard way in the past.

One would think that an experienced adult peregrine would never sleep in a vulnerable location. You would think that they would always select a high, inaccessible cliff for roosting, totally out of the reach of any ground predator. But they don't. Obviously, evolutionary forces have not completely shaped and perfected the Peregrine Falcon quite yet. Pretty close though, in my opinion.

We know from the wintering data from Putu that our tagged birds often sleep right in the dunes, sitting out in the open. Seems really vulnerable to me but so far, so good. Maybe not as many fox out there.

Sunday In Chile

Island Girl continued on her way south through the desert yesterday, covering 115 miles (185 km) and moving even closer to home.

She flew past the city of Iquique, a classic Atacama city with loads of pigeons and doves. Christian Gonzalez took me here many, many years ago to show me a pair of wintering tundra falcons on the local cathedral that he had found. Most major cities along the coast of Chile will have one or more "pairs" hanging out together.

It was there that I learned one of the important purposes of cathedral towers. They hold the large bells that were traditionally used to communicate with the people of Iquique. And if you climb up to the towers to learn more about the prey of the wintering falcons there, you'll be both reminded and surprised at how very loud those bells can be at close range. A stunning and unforgettable experience.

She did not choose a "typical" roost last night. Instead, she slept fairly low down on a coastal slope (342') nowhere near a river valley. Looking at the GE image, it looks as if she chose an isolated rock to sleep on, at least I hope so. She could just as easily have slept on the ground, a very dangerous thing to do in this part of the world.

She was only about 1,500' above Highway 1, the coastal road in this part of Chile.

Island Girl Crosses Into Chile

Hi Everyone,

   Sorry for the late posting. We had a visit here from the flu this weekend.

Here is Don's posting for Saturday...

"Island Girl crossed the border into Chile yesterday, so she's now on the home stretch.  She spent the night on the side of a dune (or perhaps the top, given GPS error limits) within a couple of hundred meters of the ocean and about 60 kilometers (37 miles) south of Arica.  Her distance travelled yesterday was 289 km (178 mi), slightly above her average daily distance for the entire migration so far."

I would add that she actually slept on a small rock face on a steep hillside at 485'. This is a very typical roost site for the coastal Atacama.

There was a small sandy beach located just below her. You would not want to be a shorebird foraging along that beach at first light.

Island Girl is now flying through an area that she knows very well. At a minimum, she has migrated through this region at least eight times, six times as an adult and two as an immature bird. In fact, we have had tagged peregrines roost further up this valley in the past.

If you look just upstream from her roost, you'll see five clusters of long, parallel buildings arrayed along the river valley. These are chicken farms most likely supplying poultry to the city of Arica.

Further up from them is the Pan-American Highway, highway 5.

Heart of the Atacama

Island Girl continued SW through Peru yesterday, following the foothills of the Andes as usual for her at this stage of her migration. She is progressing normally and covered 241 miles (376 km) across the desert.

Although flying inland, she went by the Paracas Reserve on the coast and then over the world famous Nazca lines, the enigmatic "drawings" that have puzzled humanity for centuries.

Her midnight signal was also enigmatic. It varied substantially from her desert roost sites over the last three nights.

The GPS signal indicates that she was perched on the ground alongside a braided channel river in a dry desert valley about 8.5 miles (13.7 km) inland from the coast. You could justifiably say that she was "out in the middle of nowhere" on this one. She was in a classic, full-on Atacama Desert environment. You probably can't get any drier than where she was last night.

Which may be why she was there. Did she fly down to the river to drink? Did she fly down to take a bath and then just decide to hang out there on the ground? Was she hunting something at midnight?

All we can do is speculate. We do know, however, that the Atacama Desert supports populations of fox and that these foxes do eat birds. We lost a tagged falcon, Paco, to a fox in Chile awhile back.

So it is always distressing to see them sitting on the ground like this.

Island Girl Rocketing Through Peru

Here is another really nice post from Don McCall for yesterday.....

"Hi Everyone,

Another 361 km (224 mi) for Island Girl yesterday, as she passed Lima, Peru and roosted in the high desert about 20 kilometers east of Chincha Alta.

Some historical tidbits:

In 2009 she reached this latitude on 07 November and returned to Putu on 19 November (12 days later).

In 2010 she reached this latitude on 30 October and returned to Putu on 09 November (10 days later).

This year she reached this latitude on 02 November, very close to her 'average'."

Island Girl is now traveling through an area of Peru that has a rich history among peregrine people. Oscar Beingolea, the leading peregrine authority in that country has worked here for many, many years on migrant and wintering North American peregrines as well as documented the breeding behavior and distribution of the local race, Falcon peregrinus cassini.

I have joined Oscar several times in these areas, including Chincha Alta, near where IG slept last night.

In fact, it is remarkable how similar her roosts have been in Peru this year.

Last night, she once again slept on a cliff located near the top of a dry Atacama ridge at 3,622' in the Andean foothills. She was about 18 miles inland (29 km) from the ocean and not far from Highway 26, a main road leading up into the highlands.

This time, she was between two forks of the San Juan River, a major source of water for the immense agricultural fields of the Chincha region. This important area produces food and cotton for Peru.

Oscar used to explain to me that the area also has a multitude of chicken farms. The food from these operations incidentally supports and maintains large numbers wild birds, including doves, pigeons and passerines. These in turn are hunted by peregrines.

We think that the evolution of modern agriculture (and cities) in the Atacama regions has impacted peregrine biology substantially. The abundance of water and food attracts them to prey in these areas and has created far more opportunities for hunting than in the spartan and austere dry desert.

Island Girl Nearing Lima

She put in 219 miles (353 km) today, high-tailing it down the western front of the Andes range. She is moving along the foothills and slopes above the coastal terrace. There is usually a strong breeze blowing inland here that will provide her with lots of lift.

She is moving across all of the river drainages of coastal Peru.

Last night, she slept on what might be a small rock situated on the shoulder of a dry ridge at 3,168 feet. Similar to last night, she chose a location overlooking a verdant coastal valley that will harbor good birdlife.

This is the Rio Pativilla and there is a huge agricultural area, full of fields, just west of her.

She is now approaching the city of Lima.

Back Into the Peruvian Desert

Island Girl left Ecuador yesterday and followed a high Andean route to the SE. She had a good strong flight, covering 375 miles (603 km) for the day and has now migrated back into the dry Atacama Desert once again.

She has essentially left the tropical rain forests behind and will now traverse the bone dry and dusty Peruvian and Chilean deserts before reaching her southern home at Putu.

She flew hard yesterday and reached well into Peru. It is likely that she will be in the vicinity of Lima tonight (Tuesday). She usually drops down to the coastline at this stage but let's see.

She roosted on a face among a group of cliffs (elevation 3,017 ') that are situated atop a dry ridge. However, this site overlooks a major river drainage between Chiclayo and Trujillo. There will be doves and passerines in this watered valley for certain.

The roost site was about 34 miles inland from the coast, further suggesting that she will come there tomorrow after her several days up in the highlands.

A Mile High in the Andes of Colombia

Island Girl continued south yesterday after a bit of a rest. She flew 261 miles (420 km) and covered most of the rest of Colombia.

She decided to fly into the Andes range, moving up substantially in elevation from the hot, wet and humid tropical lowlands of the coast.

She eventually reached the Cordillera Central and stopped off in a gorgeous river valley forming the headwaters of the Patia River which flows north from here to the Pacific coast.

She roosted at 5,200 feet in elevation (1,505 meters) on the lower slopes of an active Andean strato-volcano, Volcan Galero (14,028 feet). This is the most active volcano in Colombia, having erupted again just last year.

She was about a mile from the outskirts of the city of Pasto (400,000 people) located on the Pan-American Highway (HWY 25). This is considered a cool temperature area of Colombia and the guidebooks say to wear a sweater there.

I was surprised to find that the main industries are furniture making and dairy farms. Check out the Pasto site on Wikipedia. Some beautiful places there. And we all know so little about Colombia.

Island Girl slept about 33 miles (53 km) north of the border with Ecuador and is likely flying there today, even as I write this blog entry.

So she is rapidly approaching the Equator and the southern hemisphere.

A Slow Day In Colombia

Island Girl flew only 84 miles across the coastal plain of Colombia yesterday.

She roosted in a tropical forested area but, again, the coverage on Google Earth is fairly low resolution so we can't really see what she might have slept on last night. This is a pretty remote area of the world I guess.

Looks like she was just into the lower foothills of the Andes and roosted at about 292' elevation.

Interesting facts about Colombia.

It is almost entirely in the northern hemisphere.

It extends further north than either Panama or Costa Rica.

It has a mountain 18,700 feet in elevation, higher than anything in the conterminous USA.

It has more people than Canada

USA   309 million
Brazil  193 million
Mexico 110 million
Colombia  45 million
Canada  34 million

Oh yeah, and Shakira is from there......

And Another E-mail From Becky Rosencrans......

This is what it looks like from Ancon Hill near downtown Panama City during a big day. It can go on like this for hours.

From Becky to Guido....

"¡Hola Guido!

Yes, that is a disappointment for this year…maybe next year!  She must not like to travel in large groups.  I saw the post on Facebook from yesterday for Sociedad Audubon de Panamá; ¡fabuloso!  What a sight that must have been to see!"

 You can drive right to the top of Ancon Hill, a very special place for all Panamanians. Panama Audubon runs their "fall" hawk counting site there and you can join the effort. This location overlooks the Panama Canal.

 It is pretty much where it all necks down before heading for the Darien Gap and South America.