Tag Archives: Grinnell is injured

How is Grinnell?

It was a great discussion by Lynn and Sean from Cal Falcons and Cheryl from Lindsay Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre on Grinnell. I taped it to post here but the file size is too large. Lynn and Sean archived the discussion. Here is the link:

Grinnell is the male Peregrine Falcon whose mate is Annie. Their territory for the past five years has been the campus of the University of California at Berkeley in San Francisco. Their scrape box is in the most iconic building on campus, The Campanile.

On 29 October, Grinnell was observed to be in a territorial fight with two intruder falcons. He was found 1.5 miles away from the Campanile grounded. The eight year old falcon was taken into care. Grinnell had minor surgery related to an injury on his wing. He also had a significant injury to one of his legs, his top beak end was also broken and there were other injuries related to the fight. Grinnell is on medication twice a day that includes anti-inflammatories, anti-parasites, as well as antibiotics. It is not clear if Grinnell could have survived without human interference since he was grounded. He was given fluids and was very hungry and ate on his own instead of being fed by clinic staff. This means that they put food in his hospital cage and he eats when he wants. They checked the sutures in his wing and the wound has not completely healed. They will continue to check that and Grinnell’s parasite load. All birds have parasites at various levels and of various kinds. They do not know for certain but Grinnell will be in care for another week to a month. He has to be fully healed and capable of hunting and flying before he will be released. His beak tip is keratin like our fingernails and will grow back. It is not like a broken bone. At this time they do not know where they will release Grinnell. The experts note that if Grinnell wants to return to his territory even if they released him 100 miles away with the falcon’s keen navigation systems he would find home. So there will be continuing discussions about an appropriate location.

One of the most asked questions was: what about Annie? First, Annie and Grinnell have been together for 5 years raising chicks. Grinnell is an excellent falcon dad partaking in many activities raising the chicks – more than most falcon males who simply do the hunting. This is a big plus for Grinnell. Annie does not know where Grinnell is. He is just gone. Not there. Annie is currently maintaining her territory on top of the Campanile. Annie has been scraping in the scrape box, displaying breeding behaviours towards the ‘new guy’. The falcon experts say that Annie will not likely enter into a fight with the interloper. She does not want to get injured and not be able to breed next year. If Grinnell returns to fight the interloper, she will likely stay out of it to avoid injury. Someone asked if Annie would know Grinnell if he returned. The answer was ‘certainly yes’. Annie would know Grinnell by a sound of his voice miles away. But right now, Annie just knows that Grinnell is not there. She does not know where he is.

Annie in the scrape box. 5 November 2021.

I hope you will listen to the discussion. The questions and the responses were quite informative.

There has been an update on the Joburg Spotted Owls – the foster owlet put in the box with a mother and her two. It has been returned to the box once and has jumped out again. It is now in the garden of the owners. There is a carport and the parents will continue to feed it. They are opting not to return it to the nest box because it will only jump out again.

The weather was grand. 10 degrees C. I visited two of our parks in search of Wood Ducks and was not disappointed. At one there were 25 Mallards, 2 Wood Ducks, and about 400 Canada Geese. At the other there were 6 Wood Ducks, a few Mallards, and about 50 Canada Geese. I will post images tomorrow.

Take care everyone. I hope your weekend is starting off well. See you soon.

Friday in Bird World

There is an update on WBSE 27 but, first, some background for those that do not know what happened. White-Bellied Sea Eaglet 27 had a forced fledge. The Pied Currawong were attacking 27 who was alone in the nest after WBSE 28’s fludge. 27 flew to the camera tree and then was, more or less, escorted out of the forest by the Currawong. A few days later, 27 was spotted. It was on some pavement. When it flew up, the Currawong began to attack its head. 27 fell to the ground. Thankfully help was at hand! WBSE 27 was taken into care and checked. Luckily there was nothing broken. The latest news is promising. I do really hope they will keep 27 til it is a very strong flyer. Maybe we will also find out if 27 is a male or a female.

This is the latest update this morning from Judy Harrington: “SE27 is doing well, gaining in strength and is feeding by itself. It has moved to a larger raptor cage to allow it exercise and recover. The treating vets have advised that SE27 will be in care for a few weeks while it recovers and will be released back into the wild as soon as it’s well enough. Healing takes time so please be patient. Updates will follow when possible.”

Oh, it is so good to hear that 27 is improving.

Photo taken by Cathy Cook.

There is a lot of discussion and concern for Grinnell, the mate of Annie, at the Campanile on the grounds of UC-Berkeley in San Francisco. An undergraduate student wrote a great article on the falcon family for The Bay News. I was excited when I read it because it mentions Holly Parsons, who runs the FB group for Xavier and Diamond on the Charles Sturt Campus, and the Manitoba Peregrine Recovery Project in the city where I live and the City’s 19 year old female falcon, Princess. The article is really informative. What a good writer this undergraduate is. Have a read:

Campanile Peregrine Grinnell Suffers an Injury, and Falcon Fans Around the World Watch to See What Happens Next

I was hoping to have an image of the Spotted Eagle Owlet in Joburg back in the nest but it isn’t there.

In fact, the Mum has just noticed that one of the babies is out of the nest box. You can see its fluffy head under the Mum’s left leg. Poor little thing. It must be scared and hungry. I understood that someone was to place it back in the nest box. Hopefully this will happen soon.

Xavier flew in with a Starling to the Peregrine Falcon scrape on the campus of Charles Sturt University in Orange. Yurruga had been waiting and watching!

Yurruga spends a lot of time looking at the world outside the scrape. She is 28 days old today.

Here comes Xavier with a freshly caught Starling. Yurruga is so excited!

Dad can hardly get the bird into the scrape.

Yurruga is tugging and pulling.

Xavier looks like he really wants Diamond to fly in and feed Yurruga.

Yurruga reaches up and bites Dad’s beak. Look at how big ‘she’ is! Notice also that the down is coming off from around Yurruga’s eyes. She will look like she is wearing goggles tomorrow. Yurruga is right on track in the transitioning from the down to her juvenile feathers.

Xavier cannot prepare the Starling with Yurruga wanting to eat ‘now’.

He opens up the bird and feeds Yurruga some of the nice meat.

Then he flies out of the scrape with the remainder of the bird. He will either put it in storage for later or eat it himself or give it to Diamond. Clearly Yurruga is very healthy and doing quite well. It is nice to see Xavier feeding the little one. Maybe Diamond needs to rest her leg. No doubt Yurruga will have a couple more feedings today. Fingers crossed. She needs all the lunch she can hold.

At the Port Lincoln Osprey barge, Dad brought in a fish tail. Little Bob got it and Big Bob tried to take it. No real tussle and it looked like Little Bob was able to keep it. Just look at the strong mantling (putting wings over prey to protect it from being stolen). These three are going to be a handful to band on Monday!

Despite the mantling, the chicks definitely were remaining civil. This was not a real tussle for food.

Good practice for the future. Dad is so cute. He acts like he isn’t paying attention but he is. These parents are watching everything the three of them do. Everything is about being able to survive in the real world. They have done an amazing job.

Friday has started out pretty good. I hope it continues that way. Diamond is healing but still a bruise on her foot. 27 is improving and so is Grinnell. Yarruga is growing like a bad weed and soon will be bigger than Xavier. There are still four falcons at 367 Collins Street and it is hoped that someone will put the owl back in the box – again.

Thank you for joining me. Take care everyone and have a great day.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, EcoSolutions JoBurg Owl Cam, and the Sea Eagles FB Page for the image of 27.

Oops, Grinnell update

Lindsay Wildlife Clinic in Walnut Creek, California just posted an update on Grinnell. Grinnell is one of the UC Berkeley Peregrine Falcons. His mate is Annie and their natal nest is on top of the Campanile. Grinnell was involved in an altercation, protecting his territory, with an intruder male. He was found on the 29th sitting on a trash can unable to fly with multiple injuries. He was taken to the Lindsay Wildlife Clinic where he underwent surgery.

This is their update today:

GRINNELL UPDATE, AND THANK YOU: Grinnell the Peregrine Falcon continues recovering from his injuries in our wildlife hospital. The surgical site on his wing is healing and he underwent additional radiographs on Nov. 2 to check the bruising on his right leg. He is eating well (he’s pictured here with a full crop after dining on a quail) and our veterinary team expects it will take 10-14 days to heal from his injuries. On Grinnell’s behalf, we would like to thank everyone for their well wishes and for their donations and support as we work to return him to the wild, where he belongs. Photos by Dr. Krystal Woo, Lead Wildlife Veterinarian.

So glad he is doing well. Hang in there, Annie. Grinnell will be home shortly. If you wish to make a donation, go to the Lindsay Wildlife Clinic FB Page. There is a donate button.

Thank you to the Lindsay Wildlife Clinic FB Page where I took this screen capture.

Grinnell is in care

I am so grateful to one of my readers (Thank you, B) for reminding me about Grinnell. Sadly, I had been monitoring Diamond and my note about Grinnell had gotten lost in the pages. I feel really bad because we all care so much for Annie and Grinnell.

Everyone loves Grinnell! Grinnell is the partner of Peregrine Falcon, Annie. They have their scrape at the UC-Berkeley Campanile in San Francisco. I know many of you watch the streaming cam of the couple raising their eyases. This season Annie and Grinnell raised three male hatches to fledge: Wek-Wek, Fauci, and Kaknu.

This is part of the original announcement appearing in the UC Berkeley News:

“Grinnell, the UC Berkeley campus’s beloved male peregrine falcon, was found injured southeast of campus on Friday following a fight with a pair of peregrine falcons and is being treated at the Lindsay Wildlife Rehabilitation Hospital in Walnut Creek. The incident is raising questions about whether he and Annie, his longtime mate, who likely also was there during the attack, can hold onto their home atop the Campanile, where they’ve raised their young for five years.

It is possible that the new pair is trying to take over the territory,” said Mary Malec, a member of Cal Falcons who monitors local raptor nests for the East Bay Regional Park District. “In other territories, sometimes the fight ends with one skirmish, and sometimes the fights last over many days.”

The rehabbers posted this:

It is very fortunate that Grinnell did not break any bones. However, the tip of his top beak is broken. There is also a wound on his head, an injury on his left wing, feathers missing under his chin, and various abrasions on his body, according to the wildlife clinic.

Sadly, territorial fights are not unusual especially when the real estate is as prime as it is at the Campanile.

The Campanile at Berkeley. Grinnell and Annie raise their chicks above the bell.

The UC Falcon FB page has reported that the male intruder has gone into the scrape box and is trying to court Annie. Here he is on the streaming cam. So it appears that it is a lone male as opposed to a couple.

Grinnell will be kept until he is fit to return to the wild. It is not easy for the birds to live in the wild….human causes and territorial fights often mean death or major injuries. We will have to wait and see what happens.

Please send your most positive thoughts out to Grinnell, Annie his long time mate, and also to Diamond who is healing in Orange, Australia today.

Thank you for joining me today. Please take care everyone.

Thank you to ‘B’ for reminding me of Grinnell’s injury and sending me the link to the reports and to UC Cal Falcons streaming cam and FB Page where I took my screen captures.