27 May 2022
The banding at the University of California-Berkeley scrape is over! My goodness! The male chick is so loud you need noise cancelling head phones. Seriously.
Hatch 1 is a girl. This is Annie’s only 4th female in all the chicks she has hatched. You might remember that last year they were all male. Hatch 2 is a male.
Here are some images of the banding – which went very smoothly!
The female is being banded first. The female was quiet during the whole procedure. Her little brother was very vocal. Just look at him in the corner when his sister is moved.
Measurements.
Clamping of one of the bands.
The federal silver band has a different kind of rivet.
“I want my sister back!”
Taking a tiny piece of feather for DNA testing.
All done. Weighed, measured, health check and banding. The little male is vocalizing and in the protective mode.
This is my favourite image of both of them calling at once!
Measuring.
Banding.
Removing a feather from the back for DNA testing.
Checking and measuring the wing.
Both back in the scrape safe and sound.
Cal Falcons have posted the view from the north during the banding. You can see Annie and Alden flying around The Campanile while the chicks are being banded.
Thank you! There is a banding discussion and Q & A session at 12 noon Pacific Time.
Thanks Cal Falcons for your streaming cam and for the video of the banding!
Thanks Mary Ann! Great that all went well with the little falcons:)💕💕
Is one of them Grinnells and one of them Alden’s? I guess the other egg was not good or got broke or something. I can’t remember if I read that or not I was so happy for them.
Have a great Friday afternoon Mary Ann!
Look forward to hearing from you soon!
Linda
They took some feathers with tissue to do DNA results. Cal Falcons will not know until those tests are done so we wait awhile. Correct. The third egg was not viable. It is assumed that eggs 1 and 2 were Grinnell’s and 3 could be either Grinnell or Alden. So the loud little boy could be Alden’s and be named Grinnell!