Parable of the peregrine falcons

According to a story provided by The Associated Press, six young peregrine falcons were transplanted to West Virginia while young. They grew up here, and when they reached maturity, they left. Some are way down south, while others are not far away in neighboring states.

So far, there is no word that any hue and cry has arisen on why our young falcons don't want to live in West Virginia. And there is no word that Gov. Joe Manchin plans to force them to repay their PROMISE scholarships if they don't move back to the state soon.

You may draw any other conclusions that you want.

Excerpts from the AP story are below.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Six radio transmitter-packing peregrine falcons released in the New River Gorge in July have traveled nearly 53,000 miles, and are roosting in such far-flung locales as a 17-story building in Greensboro, N.C., and offshore oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.

The falcons were part of a group of 24 young peregrines released in the gorge as part of an ongoing reintroduction effort for the species, which is rarely seen in the Eastern United States.

The birds had been taken from nests on busy coastal area bridges in Virginia and New Jersey, where their chances for survival were considered virtually zero, to a cliff-top release site in the National Park Service-managed New River Gorge National River. There, they dined on human-supplied quail as they adapted to their new environment and learned to fly and hunt on their own.

All 24 of the falcons survived their early weeks of flight training in the gorge, and as anticipated, left Southern West Virginia to roam the East.

“All the birds that were equipped with transmitters kept them, until about two weeks ago, when one of them disappeared near Savannah, Ga.,” said Matt Varner, wildlife biologist for the National Park Service. “We don’t know if he lost his radio pack, which sometimes happens, or died.”

Signals from the transmitters are periodically relayed to a satellite, then bounced back to a receiving station and recorded for tracking and analysis purposes.

The farthest traveling peregrine was Falcon 41300, the lone female equipped with a transmitter, who traveled northward to Canada and northern Michigan before heading south to the Gulf Coast, covering 11,060 miles since July. These days, she is spending her time near Mobile, Ala.

Logging the fewest flight miles (6,373) was Falcon 8175, who lingered in the Pittsburgh area before finally heading south, crossing a stretch of the Atlantic between Charleston, S.C., and Jacksonville, Fla., before arriving in his current hunting grounds in the Tallahassee, Fla., area. ...

The three falcons now hunting along the Gulf of Mexico have been tracked more than 100 miles offshore, where “we think they may be roosting at night on oil rigs or ships,” Varner said. ...

Plans call for continuing the reintroduction effort for at least another two years.

“We hope to get some of these birds back to the gorge,” Varner said. “If we find nesting falcons here later this year, we may not release any new juveniles to avoid conflict between the young birds and the nesting falcons.” ...

To follow the movements of the New River Gorge falcons, visit the New River Gorge National River’s peregrine Web site at www.nps.gov/neri/naturescience/peregrine—2007.htm.