The Hack Site Over 3 Weeks

Hacking: the placement of fledgling-aged falcons (approximately 30 days old) into a conspicuous structure called a hack tower until they are released and given their freedom. The falcons develop gradually, flying free, but return each day to feed the quail that we put onto the towers, while also gaining both flying and hunting skills, then having the ability to make kills by the time that they reach their 21 day of benchmark of independence upon release. As a hack site release attendant, I am responsible for their care and safety during this crucial time in their life. I help feed twice a day, observe their behavior (including any abnormalities that may arise) and ensure that each one is accounted for on a daily basis by reading the bands on their legs. My team mate and I are currently responsible for 21 Aplomado Falcons that our site, while two additional attendants are responsible for 14 falcons. 
           This summer I was hired on with the World Center for Birds of Prey (aka Peregrine Fund) and was placed at this site located on Padre Island, south of Port Arnansas on Mustang Island State Park, to assist with the Aplomado Falcon Restoration Project. The Aplomado Falcon is considered an endangered species that are being reintroduced into their native habitats in western and southern parts of Texas, as well as southern New Mexico and I feel privileged and honored to be part of this prestigious event. Early in July 2012, a group of falcons arrived in Corpus Christi and was released after a week of coming to the state then a second group arrived and was released two weeks later. We continue to ensure their safety and survival until they reach their date of independence and a few weeks beyond to guarantee that they are gaining all the necessary skills to survive on their own (hunting, play, chasing, courtship, etc.) before we leave and return home permanently. 

            The most important concepts, methods, skills, and materials that I have been exposed to in my internship are many. Each morning and afternoon, we all arrive at our sites and we first begin by taking a brief glance in the scope and identify which falcons are present on the towers, if any at all. We identify each bird by reading the captive bands on their right leg. The left leg is banded with a federal band and has its own identification number associated with it. If birds are wild, they are banded the opposite with the federal band being placed on the right leg and the alphanumeric band being on the left. Males are banded with a black band over a colored band and a female is a colored band over a black band.  While we are at our site observing the birds, we take note to any normal and unusual or abnormalities that may exist (behaviors, injuries, habits, etc.). We also survey our site area through scopes for any missing birds that we have not identified and to scan for potential predators that may be present directly or indirectly. While scanning our site, we often see many other types of birds (shorebirds, White Tail hawks, vultures, seagulls, terns, etc.) so it is important to have bird identification skills or the resources to distinguish between different species of birds. While watching the falcons mature over the past few weeks, I have discovered that captive raised species have instincts develop faster than I expected. This was something that took me by surprise because I thought the birds would be very naive to their environment without being parent raised. I felt that they might need more skill sets prior to release and that they would not survive without them. I was proven wrong when the first group of birds that were released and all succeeded, however this was not so for the second group. I also had preconceived ideas that the younger birds would learn from the first group while still in the hack box, and although they may have learned some, it was not enough and it became evident upon release. Some thrived well and a few did not. 

            As I began this internship, I found that it was important to find out as much information as possible to understand the expectations of my new position, as well as knowing the history and background of the restoration project. It is also important to know the life history of falcons in order to make day to day observations and the developmental milestones they will have over this period of time. I realized this became very imperative when we began placing the birds into the towers after their arrival and during these first few weeks of observing them. We began working with agencies such as the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Texas Parks and Wildlife, and Mustang Island State Park and they had asked many questions in which I could answer, but there were the few that I could not answer at all. I realized that it is very important to be able to effectively communicate with people you encounter to have the capability to answer anything that may be asked or to collaborate with my team in which any idea or change/modification could occur and what our opinions are about any given situation or issue. I wish I would have had a little more time to educate myself with the significance details of the Endangered Species Act, the laws and the logistics of how agencies work in conjunction together prior to the start of the project. I say this because after a week passed, we all began collaborating about research ideas for future projects and the fate of the falcons at the Texas location sites. I was surprised to learn that endangered species don’t always have priority over geographical areas and that the land can be developmental land at any time because it is not protected or reserved. This is sad because only 1% of the falcon’s habitat remains, thus becoming an issue of human livelihood vs. an endangered species. While I don’t agree with this and still have so much to learn about policies that encompass endangered species, I don’t feel as humans we have the right to encroach upon wildlife and that we need to learn to live together and compromise the need for both. I feel that is one reason that human-wildlife conflicts exist and the need for education and awareness is important to preserve/conserve a species. I was also surprised to find out that one of the national parks located on the island was not cooperative to help assist in saving the falcon because a history of the species being here prior was not provable and I found that the ESA is not as effective as it could and should be to a species despite all of the policies and regulations that are in place. To me I feel we all need to learn to adapt, modify, change and find alternatives to accommodate more native species in the areas in which we live, work and recreate for space and coexistence. If I could have asked to learn anything more while I am here, it would be to learn skills such as the use of a topographical map, a compass, and use of a GPS, landmarks/directional locations and satellite telemetry. Although we may have the opportunity to use a transmitter to locate any missing bird(s), we will not have the opportunity to learn all the intricacies of such a method (Satellite Receiver Skills).

Lastly, in the last month I have grown both personally and professionally from this experience.  One of the most important things I have gained is the opportunity to work with a team; however I find that I forget that I should not compare myself to others or judge my own journey by what they themselves do or have done or can do better. We all come from different backgrounds and experiences and have so much to gain from one another having many different skills and abilities. I always need to remember that I have something to learn from someone else as well as having just as much to contribute to the project as anyone. Different perspectives can make a huge difference in helping an endangered species survive or finding alternatives to make changes. We have all learned to be creative and to think outside of the box because what may seem apparent and will work doesn’t always and we have to seek alternatives to ideas or situations that will work better. This means being flexible in regard to the needs of the birds and others and respecting what each person’s ideas are. I feel I have achieved not only confidence in myself, but also leadership abilities.

There have been numerous challenges and rewards in only a few weeks time. One of the challenging aspects of the internship has been the difference in schedules that we maintain at the moment. We wake up every morning at 0530, then drive to the site and start our day at 0645 until 1100, taking a midday break for 4 hours, returning at 1530 until dark. Once we are home we eat dinner, finish up the day and go to bed. We do this seven days a week with no days off until we have completed our job here. It has been difficult to get up that early because I am not a morning person, but make the best of it because the falcons are worth every moment of my time throughout the day. The second challenge has been having a limited knowledge about the habitat here (plant and animal species, etc.) It would help to be able to identify not only predators, but any other animal or plants that may be useful to the project. A third challenge has been the ability to read bands during certain period of time during the day with the scopes, but we have decided to take band readings in the early morning and late evening hours when identification is best; all other hours of the day we take a head count. The most challenging aspect of all is losing birds to predators or unknown causes, when we take every effort and time to ensure their safety and survival. When we released our first group, almost everything when according to plan and then a few days later one of our male falcons came up missing. We looked day in and day out for him, scanning the area continuously and I took time during my breaks to look for him in other dislocated locations with no luck. He was recorded as missing after 7 days. Upon the release of our second group, all birds were accounted for and present, but the following day, we had 4 birds that had gone missing. Three coyotes were spotted in our site the following day and we had determined their fate. The conclusion came when we found a feather pile and the transmitter that remained and was identified as one of our females. It’s the hard things to conceptualize when we have no idea what happened and they remain missing and I only can hope that they are alive and will return. We all had to acknowledge the reality of death, knowing that a portion of the birds would not all survive to independence because the first year is the hardest, but will succeed if they do pass the first year target. 

While there have been some challenges along the way, the rewards have outweighed the bad. The most rewarding has been having the chance to participate in the reintroduction of an endangered species. It has always been one of my dreams and goals to work with them and help make a difference, doing a little at a time, but assisting in the huge strides to save one species at a time. This has been one of the most prestigious benchmarks in my life!! I have been honored to be a part of it and set an example within the local community for others. I was thrilled to be recognized in the local paper, Corpus Christi Caller Times “Endangered North Aplomado Falcon reintroduced to Mustang Island State Park”. It has been awesome to watch each of the falcons grow and mature over the past 4 weeks as they have learned to fly, chase, play, becoming both individual as well as an integrated and bonded group working together for the sake of their kind. The best reward of all has came over the past week when the falcons have begun to sweep and fly over us as we are making observations and surveys of the site, making me feel special that they have accepted us as part of the group and they know that we are here to help protect them and survive.

I feel that in the remaining weeks of my internship, I can improve my learning by talking more with the staff at Mustang Island State Park and Padre Island National Seashore about the ecology of the area which may help me to identify more of the plant and wildlife species that exist here. I also wanted to take some of my time and gain skills to use our radio transmitter to locate missing birds. The biologist we are working under also said that he would send us maps of the satellite images associated with the falcons who carry transmitters on them. I think it would be an important skill to gain for use in other wildlife projects. If I had the opportunity to gain a few more skills while I was here, I wish that I could utilize what I have learned from arcGIS for a project such as this. I would have liked to create different habitat use maps in regards to how they are fragmented and if there is the likelihood of creating more habitat space and usage for the falcons.  One of the last things I would hope to learn is how to help the falcons gain prerelease skills in order to have a better chance of survival. In these last few weeks, I would take more time to study behavior and take from my observations anything that could be applicable to teach the falcons more of prior to release. I think that these pertinent skills could be taught by future hack site attendants to create a better rate of survival, safety and success. I have learned so much from Brian Mutch, a Peregrine Fund Biologist. He has been an inspiration to me, has set an example to the community and to me, and has been someone who took the time to teach us all so much in a little amount of time and I hope to walk in his footsteps someday and be a raptor master like himself!!