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Falcons soaring again in state
Falcon chicks in nesting box high up smokestack at Possum Point Power Station are banded by biologists
Date published: 6/19/2009
By RUSTY DENNEN DUMFRIES --On a smokestack catwalk high above Possum Point Power Station, Bryan Watts and Libby Mojica carefully made their way to a nesting box where two peregrine falcon chicks were waiting.As the chicks' parents hovered nearby, screeching with concern, Watts, director of the Center for Conservation Biology at the College of William and Mary, and Mojica, a research biologist, carefully placed the month-old birds in cardboard carriers yesterday for their brief visit to the ground 310 feet below. There the avian brothers would be weighed, measured and banded in the latest triumph of a creature that had all but disappeared from Virginia skies only a few decades ago. Watts took one of the chicks, holding it firmly as workers and officials at the Dominion Virginia Power plant in Dumfries gathered around to snap pictures and marvel at its shrieking call and sharp talons. "They have a heavy coat of down now, but they'll be losing that in about a week or so," Watts said. Mojica used pliers to fasten a "field-readable" green and black band to each leg. The bands allow researchers to more easily identify the pair in the wild. Watts noted a blue jay feather on the ground at the base of the smokestack. The feather was once attached to a snack for the chicks, caught by their parents. Watts smiled at Bill Bolin, Dominion's chief biologist. "I bet you'd like them to take care of the starlings and pigeons you've got out here." It would seem that a power plant would be the last place falcons would choose to nest. But Watts says the birds see things from a different perspective. The plant overlooks a vast landscape along the Potomac River and Quantico Creek. "Falcons like high-domain positions. In the mountains, that equates to cliff sites. On the coastal plain, that means bridges, tall buildings, or in this case, smokestacks. In a lot of ways, it's an ideal place." It's a little more intimidating for their human watchers, who must take a small elevator up the stack while trying not to look down. And falcons, Watts says, can be aggressive defending their young. He and Mojica wore hard hats, gloves and safety glasses.
Date published: 6/19/2009
whoa, whoa, whoa!
(posted by
spooncroon
, June 19, 2009 11:47 am)
I LOVED the photos. The one with the open beak, where you can see the hands holding the bird's feet? Priceless. I thought the one of the bird being weighed was neat, too. Did you guys wake up cranky or something? Go have a cup of coffee! ;-)
I've thought the same thing for years
(posted by
Getitright
, June 19, 2009 8:06 am)
They think they're being "artistic," but its just poor photography really. Rules don't apply because they think they're "artists." I take better family photos than some of the junk I see here.
Poor Photo offerings
(posted by
Justice_4All
, June 19, 2009 7:25 am)
I'm dissapointed in the photo display. Is that the best you can offer? Why bother if you can't offer photo's that depict the story better than the top of a birds head in a nasty container, The few other photo's that are in the photo area are some what better, the photo of the entire Falcon would have been a better choice as the display photo.
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