Wildlife Officials Band Four Peregrine Falcon Chicks in Nest on Roof of UMass Amherst Library

June 1, 2009

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Daniel J. Fitzgibbons 413/545-0444

AMHERST, Mass. – Four peregrine falcon chicks in a nest box on the roof of the W.E.B. Du Bois Library at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have been banded by state wildlife officials.

Tom French, MassWildlife’s assistant director for natural heritage and endangered species, Ralph Taylor, MassWildlife’s Connecticut Valley District manager, and district wildlife biologist David Fuller examined and banded the chicks May 27. The brood consists of three females and one male, who were hatched about three weeks ago.

Taylor said the young birds are thriving and developing their flight and tail feathers. French said the male, which is slightly smaller, will fledge at about seven weeks.

While the nestlings were checked, the MassWildlife team also took samples of the birds’ down and collected food remains from the nest box. “This gives us an idea of just what they’re eating,” said French. “They’re opportunistic—they’ll take whatever’s easy to get.”

According to Taylor, there is another nesting pair of peregrines with chicks on Mount Sugarloaf in South Deerfield, though the birds have not been banded.

Richard Nathhorst, capital project manager with the facilities planning division at UMass Amherst, said this is the seventh time peregrines have nested on the Du Bois Library. Nathhorst manages the joint nesting project with MassWildlife.

“Having them around seems to raise everyone’s spirits every year and certainly has introduced more than 20 peregrine falcons back into the New England environment,” Nathhorst said. “I really like this effort because it is a low-tech, essentially no-budget, grassroots effort that is supported by the entire campus. Everyone on campus seems to
follow and look after the birds and help keep them safe.”

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