OUTER SPACE - Falcon Nesting Closure until July 31

[ScottP]

Rob Cobb and I were doing a traverse of Madsen's Ledge on the upper town wall at Index when Rob turned a corner and startled a nesting falcon that then proceeded to dive bomb him until he had backed away from the nest. That was only a couple hundred feet off the ground and we had no idea the falcon was there so I can see why a falcon on the upper reaches of Snow Creek Wall wouldn't be obvious.

[tilia]

Recently, there have been numerous inaccuracies posted regarding peregrine biology & behavior and falcon/climber interactions, here is my attempt to set some things straight.

 

1. Falcons may or may NOT “fly whether we go climbing through their nest sites or not”. If a nest is disturbed and the adult is forced to leave her sitting position, any number of things could happen:

a. Since eggs are in many cases located between the feet/legs and the belly of the adult bird as it’s sitting in the nest/scrape, when it jumps up to flee or defend, the eggs may be dislodged from the nest ledge (eyrie). In a large clutch, obviously not all the eggs will be held in this position and not all will be susceptible in this manner. I’m sure everyone knows what happens when you ground-fall from 400 feet up.

b. Newly hatched chicks lack the muscular strength to stand, and rest either on their belly or their “butts” until about 25 days old – they may also be accidentally dislodged from the eyrie and killed during a defensive display.

c. In a lengthy territorial/defensive maneuver, eggs are susceptible to chilling or overheating, killing the developing chick. I’ve talked to a climber (as we shared a climbing wall) who described rapping into a previously-unknown eyrie. The route he intended to climb started at the same ledge as the nest/eggs, and the only way out was to climb back up. Since he was only being harassed by the adults and not physically attacked, instead of climbing and retreating he set up a top rope and ran a few laps! During this time neither adult was able to incubate the eggs – I do not know the fate of this particular clutch. During the time that LisaD sat on the ledge and brought her partner up and belayed him as he climbed the next pitch, the female stood guard next to her egg, not incubating. Imagine if there had been several parties that day…

d. Frequent interruptions of incubation result in longer than normal incubation – meaning it takes longer to hatch the eggs, fledge the young, and ultimately, reopen the wall to climbing.

e. Repeated intrusions into their nest site could cause total abandonment of the site, even one with eggs in it. Falcons nesting in remote wilderness areas tend to be relatively intolerant of human encroachment in their territories. Conversely, falcons that choose to nest where they are exposed to regular human traffic are usually more tolerant of humans. In addition, nesting falcons are much more sensitive to people above their eyrie than to people below or across from it. I don’t know anything about the climbing routes and hiking trails referred to at Beacon…

f. The non-incubating bird (usually the male), if forced to defend the nest, or even simply perching and watching the trespasser will not be hunting. The incubating bird (usually the female) is dependent on the hunting bird to bring food, as the eggs need to be incubated constantly. About 2 weeks after hatching, depending on ambient temps and the number of chicks, the young no longer need constant brooding and both adults are finally able to hunt. If either or both parents have to stand guard and are not hunting, nutritional needs of growing chicks may not be met.

g. As hatching approaches, the adults usually become more aggressive. LisaD and partner were lucky, they happened on the nest at a very early stage. If peregrines are feeding and protecting chicks (and not just incubating eggs), they can be quite aggressive. LisaD and partner were dive bombed while on the route, both below and above the eyrie ledge. Having a falcon waiting for you with wings outspread trying to scare you off is NOT the worst thing that could happen. Imagine taking a 15-40’ whipper, 400 feet off the deck because of climber panic or an actual strike. Imagine spraining an ankle or wrist, or even breaking something. Imagine the kind of rescue that would ensue. I’ve watched peregrines attack turkey vultures and golden eagles up to a half-mile away, it’s not pretty for the trespasser.

 

2. Because a nest is built by scraping a depression in sand does not mean "its not even a nest". Sticks (eagles, osprey), grass/moss (sparrows, thrushes), and mud (dippers, swallows) are not the only building materials that qualify as nests.

 

3. DDT causes eggshell thinning, it does not make eggs brittle (DDE, a DDT metabolite, blocks the movement of calcium during eggshell formation causing the shells to be thin). The effect is the same though: adults incubating eggs crushed the eggs and developing embryos. There is also still a theory that residual chemicals in the environment (such as PCBs & PBDEs) are being bioacumulated by peregrines, causing reproductive failure after 5-6 years. There hasn’t been enough direct evidence to prove this yet though…

 

4. According to the USFWS, great-horned owls and golden eagles are known to occasionally kill fledgling peregrines, and less often, adults. Peregrine eggs and hatchlings also sometimes fall victim to raccoons and ravens. The argument that climbers aren’t “hurting the population of falcons any more than the birds' natural predators are” is beside the point. If peregrines are already experiencing a natural loss due to predation, why add to that? Why ignore a closure that lasts 75 days out of a potential 150+ days and potentially jeopardize an entire year’s breeding effort?

 

5. “Roller Pigeon” hobbyists illegally kill thousands of raptors (including peregrines) every year in North America, because they rightly see these genetically defective pigeons as easy food items. Raptors don’t even have to be “caught in the act”, they are just killed whenever there is an opportunity. We don’t have these birds banded so we don’t know if they are migratory and if so, where they migrate to. But it is possible they have to run this gauntlet every year, twice a year. Please, if they make it back here to breed, give them a chance to!

 

The Snow Creek Wall is located inside a Wilderness boundary. This year, when the falcons “set up shop” climber traffic was light to non-existent. They chose this location thinking it was “safe”. These birds are not the WAMU birds, they are NOT used to high levels of human activity. Just because you don’t “step on an egg” doesn’t mean you are not hurting the birds. There have been studies done on various wildlife species to analyze the effects of disturbance as measured hormonally. Fecal corticosterone levels reveal that an animal may be stressed physiologically even though it may appear calm outwardly. Remember, they don’t have facial expressions or body language that can be read by you or me when you’re standing face-to-face on a ledge.

 

In 4 years of previous observations, the peregrines incubated peacefully at the far north end of the SCW, but after hatching the adults became disturbed by climbers on Outer Space. They may not have attacked anyone (that I’ve heard of or witnessed), but they definitely buzz the climbers on the route and vocalize loudly. Outer Space is over 200 meters from the previous eyrie, trying to climb within 1 rope length is asking for trouble – both for you, and the falcons.

 

[olyclimber]

facinating info. Those are very interesting creatures. Thanks for sharing this!

[billcoe]

Pretty through post Tilia. I googled "Roller Pigeon" as I had no idea what that was and had never even heard the term before. All kinds of craziness out there, I would never have ever dreamt this kind of crazy shit up for a science-fiction movie, but here it is anyway in full view of real life. "Roller Pigeons" ? Holy crap that's crazy.

 

http://www.fws.gov/news/newsreleases/showNews.cfm?newsId=BE935795-974F-4768-DE4A89664B1CFC29

 

 

"SEVEN CALIFORNIA ‘ROLLER PIGEON’ ENTHUSIASTS CHARGED WITH KILLING, OR HELPING TO KILL, PROTECTED HAWKS AND FALCONS

 

 

Search the News Releases

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Home

 

 

 

Contacts

 

CA: Special Agent Lisa Nichols 619-557-5063

Scott Flaherty 916-978-6156

OR: David Patte 503-231-6121

USDOJ: Thom Mrozek 213-894-6947

 

Multi-State Investigation Includes Subjects in Oregon and Texas

 

Federal authorities have charged seven Southern California men associated with "roller pigeon" clubs on charges related to the fatal beatings and shootings of federally protected raptors. Six of the defendants were arrested throughout the day yesterday as part of a nationwide investigation - Operation High Roller - that is targeting roller pigeon owners who believe that hawks and falcons, while protected under federal law, should be killed because they attack pigeons, particularly when they suffer seizures in flight and tumble uncontrollably toward the ground.

 

The seven cases in Southern California, along with charges filed against defendants in Oregon and Texas, are part of a 14-month investigation by special agents with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. In California, a special agent infiltrated several roller pigeon clubs and learned about members' efforts to trap and kill raptors, specifically Cooper's hawks, red-tailed hawks and Peregrine falcons, according to court documents. Investigators estimate that leaders and members of the National Birmingham Roller Club (NBRC) and other enthusiast organizations in the Los Angeles metropolitan area are responsible for killing 1,000 to 2,000 raptors annually. One official of the NBRC claims to have killed as many as 50 raptors annually for the past several years, according to court documents. One defendant told the investigating agent that he had filled a five-gallon bucket with talons that he had cut from slain hawks.

 

The seven California defendants are affiliated with clubs that promote and compete with roller pigeons - also known as Birmingham rollers - which are native to England and have a genetic defect that causes them to flip backwards while in flight. Enthusiasts breed the pigeons with an eye toward having a group of the birds roll simultaneously, while recovering before hitting the ground. However, the distinctive nature of the birds' flight attracts predators, such as Cooper's hawks, because the in-flight flipping makes them appear to be easy targets.

 

The seven defendants are charged with violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which protects birds such as the hawks and falcons that prey upon roller pigeons. It is illegal to harass, kill or possess migratory birds, such as the Cooper's hawk, without a special permit. Criminal complaints filed May 17 in United States District Court in Los Angeles allege that the defendants used traps baited with pigeons to collect raptors and that they used sticks or pellet guns to kill the birds. In some cases, according to an affidavit, individuals admitted to the undercover agent that they used shotguns or .22-caliber rifles to shot hawks and falcons out of the air. The affidavit states that one member of the NBRC admitted to the undercover agent that he sometimes sprayed hawks with a bleach and ammonia solution, which created poisonous chlorine gas and suffocated the birds.

 

On repeated instances, the undercover agent observed roller pigeon fanciers in Los Angeles using "goshawk" traps to capture Cooper's hawks. According to the agent's affidavit, many of the roller pigeon aficiandos openly discussed trapping, shooting and poisoning hawks and falcons. Fish and Wildlife Service agents around the country report that members of the NBRC are using the same goshawk trap found in the California investigation in the states of Oregon, Washington, New Mexico, Texas, Wisconsin and New York.

 

All of the defendants are charged with at least one count of the unlawful or attempted unlawful taking of a migratory bird. The six defendants arrested yesterday are:

 

-- Juan Navarro, 44, of the Los Feliz district of Los Angeles, who is the national president of the NBRC.

 

-- Keith London, 42, of South Los Angeles, who is the owner of The Pigeon Connection store and is president of the Inner City Roller Club.

 

-- Darik McGhee, 38, of San Bernardino, who builds and sells hawk traps and pigeon lofts.

 

-- Brian McCormick, 40, of Norco, a past-president of the California Performance Roller Club.

 

-- Timothy Decker, 60, of Mira Loma.

 

-- Rayvon Hall, 46, of Rialto.

 

Navarro, London, McGhee and McCormick made their initial court appearances yesterday afternoon and were released on bond. They are scheduled to be arraigned next month. Decker and Hall remain in custody and are expected to make their initial court appearances this afternoon in United States District Court in Los Angeles.

 

An arrest warrant has been issued for the seventh defendant ? Efren Lopez Jr., 28, of Hacienda Heights.

 

Each of the offenses charged against the defendants carries a maximum possible penalty of six months in federal prison.

 

Criminal complaints contain allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

 

The cases announced today are the product of an ongoing investigation by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, which conserves and manages the 913 native species/populations of migratory birds. The California Department of Fish and Game assisted in the arrests made yesterday.

 

In other districts, federal authorities have charged several individuals as a result of Operation High Roller.

 

The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon filed charges on Monday against Mitch Reed, 29, of Mount Angel, Oregon, and Peter Kaufman, 53, of Portland, Oregon, who were each charged with one count of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act by attempting to take a raptor. Ivan Hanchett, 54, of Hillsboro, Oregon, was charged with two counts of violating the act. Reed, Kaufman and Hanchett are expected to make their initial court appearances in the coming weeks.

 

Federal prosecutors in Houston filed charges yesterday against Neil Keng, 58, of Laporte, Texas, a member of a local pigeon racing club, for trapping a Cooper's Hawk in his backyard in December 2006. Keng will be summoned to appear in court in the coming weeks.

 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses 547 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 63 fishery resource offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to State fish and wildlife agencies."

 

[catbirdseat]

Holy, shit! People trying to wipe out our wildlife heritage for the sake of defective, epileptic pigeons! That is really f'd up!

[sobo]

Have to concur with CBS. That is seriously fucked up. A 5-gallon bucket full of talons from slain raptors? Someone ought to pull out his finger and toenails and see how much he likes that. Fucked up asshole...

 

Thanks for the post, tilia, and for the search effort, Bill.

[AlpineK]

That is a really twisted thing to do.

[JosephH]

Could have sworn I'd posted up about it at the time as Dave had talked about it at length after tracking down the origin of one of the bird bands I found out at Beacon on upper grassy ledges while replacing anchors - sure enough, it was a racing pigeon from Vancouver. He said it was a serious problem through the PDX / Vancouver corridor. But I just did a search and no post, must have slipped my [senile] mind at the time. Hard to imagine, particularly over pigeons - it's like if rat fanciers started killing cats.

[tilia]

If anyone reading this was climbing the SCW on saturday (one party of two, one party of four), I would be very interested in hearing of your experience. We saw climbers in the open area of the wall (as well as the fluffy white heads of baby peregrines!). We also saw an adult falcon perched in a tree looking straight down on the party of 4 (or two parties of 2) as you began climbing from the big tree/grassy ledge. We couldn't tell if the falcons were concerned or simply curious, and we couldn't watch you and the eyrie at the same time continuously, so we don't know if you were ever attacked or buzzed. But I'm always curious about your observations, because I'm sure they're so very different from mine, 1000' away. You can PM me here or send an email. Thanks!

[mkporwit]

tilia -- ask Shannon, shannonpahl on this website -- he was one of four people on Champagne on Saturday.

[Choada_Boy]

Pretty sure that route is closed. Can climbers read?

[olyclimber]

http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/wenatchee/conditions/snow-creek-wall-closure.pdf

 

 

[olyclimber]

CHAMPAGNE is not closed. though that pic in the flyer above must be from an older Leavenworth Rock? I can't find that topo in the 2nd edition.

Edited June 16, 2009 by Jake Porter

[goatboy]

This is a slightly confusing thread so to be clear:

 

CHAMPAGNE is not closed (as Jake Porter said) but OUTER SPACE and other routes on the main wall are closed until July 31. See the topo in the link Jake sent.

[shannonpahl]

I was on Champagne on Saturday with 3 other climbers (it starts at Easter tower and ends on the rightmost edge of SCW, probably just right of route 32 on that topo). That area is not closed. I did not see any bird or other human on the wall.

 

The descent on the back end to pearly gates works well with this route; as you top out, less than a half rope length ridge walk leads to a rap station, and just 3 single raps off and you land on the faint trail down.

Edited June 16, 2009 by shannonpahl

[lancegranite]

Good sign, we were visited by the SCW raptors down at Trundle dome last week, 3 of them circling us at a low elevation.

[tilia]

I'm not sure where the third falcon (that visited you at Trundle Dome) would have come from, but it wasn't from SCW. The chicks just gained the ability to walk last weekend and can occasionally be seen at the edge of Library Ledge. Here is a single chick below - where it's sitting is basically where you mantle up onto the ledge to finish the pitch. You'll have to forgive the photo quality, the pics were taken from 1/4-mile away at 45-60 power through a spotting scope on a windy day.

 

 

There are two chicks, out of a reported 3 eggs - the fate of the 3rd egg is unknown. The "scrape" (where the eggs were incubated) is at the far left of the two pics below where most of the whitewash is. So you can see the chicks are getting around pretty well.

 

 

 

In the pic just above, the 2 chicks are at the site where an adult brought in a robin-sized bird for lunch. If you squint (and take my word for it), you can see the adult feeding the chick on the right. The adult, barely visible, is below.

 

 

[sobo]

Now who's gonna clean up all that bird poop?

 

Nice pics, tilia, even with the limitations you mentioned. Thanks.

[tilia]

They grow up so fast... Turns out the 3rd egg did hatch, and there appears to be a 5-day spread in development between the oldest chick (1st egg seen on Saturday) and the youngest (2 more eggs seen on Sunday). Estimates are 35d, 32d, and 30d - mind you these are just estimates based on feather development.

 

 

For comparison, 3 chicks side-by-side below - from oldest on the left, to youngest on the right. The more brown they are, the more "adult" plumage they have. The white fluffy pants, back, and shoulders are more prominent on the younger two chicks.

 

Yeah... sorry about the poop. If it's any consolation, they aim their butts out into space to poop, so most of it will be on the wall and not on the ledge.

 

[sobo]

I was jus' kiddin' about the poop. I think they're really cool birds.

I'll gladly yield the right-of-way to them.

[Bug]

What's a little poop amoung friends?

[ZONK]

nice work keeping an eye on them

[tilia]

So remember when I said it looked like there was a 5 day spread in age based on feather development? Well I was wrong, kind of, and I found out why. Male falcons mature faster than females, so at the same age the males will have more adult feathering. So the brown falcon is a male, and the two fluffier white ones are females. They fledged tuesday July 7th, sorry, no additional pictures (unless you wanna see falcon chicks at Drury Falls or the golden eagle chick on the Bridge Creek Wall - which is another topic I'll get to later).

 

The closure will be lifted early (midnight July 14), so climb-on beginning July 15.

Wenatchee National Forest, Conditions Report

SCW Closure Poster

 

An important FYI: the young are still dependent on their parents for food and will aggressively chase them in flight starting 10d post-fledging, up to 6 weeks post-fledging. For those of you new to the SCW in a post-fledging environment, you can expect a lot of vocalization as the young chase and beg for food, and some close fly-bys as you're on the wall. There shouldn't be any aggression to climbers from the parents - and if you experience any we would like to know about it.

 

The young are very weak flyers right now but steadily get better, gaining "powered flight" 15-25 days post-fledging. After about 6 weeks the show should be over and you'll have the wall all to yourselves (and the goats). Please please please wait until the 15th! And again, a sincere thanks to the climbing community for supporting the closure and ensuring another successful year for this pair!

 

And watch out for rattlesnakes on the trail, it seems to be a snakey year (2 more yesterday)!

Edited July 10, 2009 by tilia

[tilia]

A couple people have asked me: if the young have fledged, why is the wall still closed? Doesn't that mean they are gone from the area?

 

Here is some additional info on falcon biology & behavior, for those of you interested:

* No, they are not gone from the area. When we saw them on Wednesday they'd only gotten about 75' from Outer Space. We saw one fly, weakly, from this new spot to a tree on top of the wall. The other two stayed on this new ledge. They are still mostly walking around, getting around by hopping and flapping from ledge to ledge.

* It takes them about 10 days (after fledging) to really get the hang of flying, mainly because their flight feathers and pectoral muscles are still growing.

* In this time, they are likely to be perching anywhere on the wall that strikes their fancy or looks safe to land as they're running out of gas. This means they could be on any ledge, tree, or snag on any climbing route in the closure area, exhausted, as you approach. During this critical 10-day period, the parents have to bring food to the chicks. Disruption during feeding can delay development of full flight potential.

* Until the young are strong enough to to safely avoid any unwanted (on their part) encounters, we're not sure how the parents will react to people climbing up towards their vulnerable chicks.

* The wall is being opened only 8 days after fledging, partly because of the (nearly) complete lack of disturbance they've enjoyed so far. The parents have been able to hunt and deliver food without distraction, and the chicks feed and exercise in relative comfort and safety. The other reason is that we anticipate most of the climber traffic will arrive next weekend (10-11 days post fledging), and a mid-week opening seemed like a good way to reintroduce climbers to the birds.

 

I'll be glad to send (or post) more information if anyone wants it. Thanks again for your interest and support.

Edited July 10, 2009 by tilia

[Sherri]

And watch out for rattlesnakes on the trail, it seems to be a snakey year (2 more yesterday)!

 

I'm with ya on the snakey year. Watch your step on the Pearly Gates trail. They're not shy.