Foster Falcons

The NPS has kept me updated about the peregrines at the park, which is more interesting to me, anyway, than knowing where I will live. This is the abridged version of a story I recently received: the peregrine at the park chose a bad spot for a nest and her four eggs were flooded. They left two of these 'dead' eggs in the nest while they brought in two recently hatched chicks from Richmond. So far they succeeded in tricking the peregrine into believing these two belong to her, or maybe she doesn't care.

Clearly, they are going to great lengths to support the bird that is nesting in the wild. My first thought was 'as they should!", but as an "environmental scientist" (in training), one has to see all sides of this story. How far should we interfere with nature? On the other hand, it was human intervention that did things like introduce the gypsy moth or European starling and consequently, create DDT that killed the falcons in the first place. Isn't it our responsibility to fix it? I guess you could say it is remedying previously ignorant decisions with educated ones of the present. Unfortunately, there too many instances when 'educated' decisions prove to be a very bad move and the NPS is definitely not exempt from this category. Could you imagine finding out that your life's work was a 'bad idea'? It would take a lot of recycling to make up for that one! These are the kinds of questions that folks in this field have to ask themselves with every decision; but I have a possibly naive confidence in science and heck, its better than doing nothing (thats why I'm here).

So maybe this bird will build a bad nest next year, too. Then again, most North American peregrines don't have to know how to build a nest, because humans do it for them. At least these foster chicks will grow up in their natural habitat and eat things other than pigeons (kind of like that Fresh Air Kids program). Another chapter in the Fresh Air Falcon program is a process called hacking- you can read about it if you wish.

My second thought was 'dang it, I'm missing it!' This just compounds my feelings of excitement to get there and dig in. I was hoping to be able to see them hatch. Hopefully, I will be able to see them fledge. All of you who thought I didn't have a maternal bone in my body, this is as close as it gets for now.

much love to all.