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Capitol banding a success

The Peregrine Falcon eyas at the Capitol was successfully banded this morning.  We also determined the youngster is a male.  Below are a few photos from this morning’s fun.Banding 1

Banding 2

Banding 3

Banding 4

Banding 6

Banding 5

The last photo shows Betsy Finch of Fontenelle Forest’s Raptor Recovery providing an update on the status of 19/K, the adult male falcon who was found injured and who was recovered on Monday.  19/K made his was to and is being treated by Fontenelle Forests’ Raptor Recovery.  Betsy stated 19/k suffered a dislocated elbow and is now recovering.  It will be a couple to a few weeks before we know much more about his prognosis.   The good news is there is at least a possibility he could be released back to the wild. Good news, indeed, but it may be prudent to temper expectations.

It may be helpful to have a quick refresher on bird anatomy.  The wrist joint is sometimes confused with the elbow joint on birds.   The simple graphic below may be helpful.

Elbow

The banding was broadcast live on the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Facebook page and it can still be viewed there if you are interested.  The Name-the-chick contest will commence shortly.

As always, the banding is a team effort.  Many thanks to Betsy Finch, Denise Lewis, Elaine Bachel and Madison Brandon with Fontenelle Forest’s Raptor Recovery, as well as Bob Ripley, Mark Tonjes, Roxanne Smith, and Brett Daugherty with the Office of the Capitol Commission, the Nebraska State Patrol, and Lauren Dinan with the Nongame Bird Program at NGPC.   Also thanks to Dylan McCaugherty and Alyssa from our Communication Division for making the live Facebook broadcast possible.  Thanks to the Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota for their technical assistance.

Nongame Bird Program

About Joel Jorgensen

Joel Jorgensen is a Nebraska native and he has been interested in birds just about as long as he has been breathing. He has been NGPC’s Nongame Bird Program Manager for eight years and he works on a array of monitoring, research, regulatory and conservation issues. Nongame birds are the 400 or so species that are not hunted and include the Whooping Crane, Least Tern, Piping Plover, Bald Eagle, and Peregrine Falcon. When not working, he enjoys birding.

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