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The Miracle of Flight

DNR, Raptor Center Educate Public on Raptors

Phoenix, a male peregrine falcon from the Chocolay Raptor Center, perches on Jerry Maynard of the Chocolay Raptor Center. Maynard and others spoke about many aspects of raptor biology and habitat during an event held by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Tuesday night at Northern Michigan University, which was part of the MDNR’s Wildlife Through Forestry series. (Journal photo by Cecilia Brown)

MARQUETTE — Raptors were the focus of a presentation put on Tuesday by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources at Northern Michigan University, as part of the DNR’s Wildlife Through Forestry series.

Presenters from the Chocolay Raptor Center and the DNR shared their knowledge about the birds of prey at the talk, covering everything from forestry management solutions that promote raptor habitation to the biology of raptor feathers, eyes and brains.

The public even had the opportunity to see raptors up close at the event.

Rey, an “ambassador bird,” from the raptor center was perched behind presenters during the talk before circuiting the room to see the public. 

Rey is a falcon, specifically, an American kestrel.

Despite the small size of kestrels, they have huge appetites and must hunt daily using their keen eyesight to keep up with their rapid metabolic rate.

“They’re voracious eaters,” Bob Maynard of the Chocolay Raptor Center said. “Their metabolism is quite high; all the falcon metabolisms are quite high because they fly a lot … to find food. They have to eat everyday.”

Maynard said kestrels consume more food than great horned owls, which are four times the size of a kestrel.

Attendees also met Phoenix, the first peregrine falcon born in the Upper Peninsula in 60 years, affectionately nicknamed “Yooper Boy” by the raptor center staff.

“He was born right here in Marquette in May 2011 and we found him about a year later, August 2012, we got a caller that said, ‘There’s a raptor in Mattson Park and he can’t fly, he’s in bad shape,'” Bob Jensen of the Chocolay Raptor Center said. “So we went down to pick him up and sure enough, he was injured and he was starving … We picked him up and saved him.”

Because the bird was banded, he was on the falcon registry, which allowed the raptor center to identify him as Phoenix — they even tracked down a baby photo of Phoenix and his sister in their nest.

Phoenix and Rey cannot be released back into the wild because their conditions would be impairments in the wild, as Rey is unable to fly and Phoenix is missing one eye from his infection, presenters said.

Because they cannot be released into the wild, Phoenix and Rey are housed at the raptor center and are used to help educate the public on raptors.

These two birds exemplify the mission of the raptor center, which seeks to rehabilitate raptors who are ill and/or injured, with a focus on public education, especially for youth.

“We try to focus on and emphasize young people, because if we can get a young 5-, 6-, 7-, 8-, 9-, 10-year-old excited about these birds, falling in love with these birds the way we did, that’s going to be a lifetime of someone to help the birds,” Maynard said.

Presenter Garry Willis of the DNR spoke about how raptors use their brains, eyes and feathers to track and capture prey.

Willis said birds have twice as many neurons per a unit of volume as mammals do — a macaw parrot has the brain the size of a walnut, but has many more neurons than a macaque monkeys, a primate with a lemon-sized brain.

They also have incredible eyesight.

“We know that an eagle soaring over Freda, southwest of Houghton, on a clear day can see another eagle soaring over the Apostle Islands and maybe even Isle Royale on a very clear day,” Willis said.

Willis also spoke about the miracle of flight — which is made possible by an incredibly light skeleton, made of nearly-hollow yet, well-reinforced bones; a biologically ingenious cardio-respiratory system that allows birds to have an un-interrupted flow of fresh oxygen; and of course, thousands of strong, light and beautiful feathers.

So what can the public do to help, or at least not harm these beautiful creatures?

Maynard said the use of pesticides, poisons and lead ammunition is harmful to raptors, because if raptors eat an animal that has ingested a pesticide or has been shot by a lead bullet, the bird can be poisoned.

It’s also important to consider land management solutions and how certain types of areas can be beneficial for raptors.

“One of our primary goals in this Wildlife Through Forestry series is to get all of you fired up about management, natural resource management,” Willis said. “And what I’m all about, is convincing folks to first work with a resource professional to manage your land and to get a management plan, implement it properly and develop a forest legacy that you pass on to future generation.”

Understanding raptors and their habits is key for implementing land management solutions that support them, presenters said.

“You can also do things with property or woods that you may own or control to make it more amenable to raptors,” Maynard said. “A lot of raptors are cavity nesters … so they like cavities, sheltered places that they can crawl into … We tell people, old growth is good because it provides a variety of nesting spots.”

Farming practices can also affect raptors, as hedgerows serve as a nesting spot for kestrels and a home for much of their prey. Maynard said leaving some hedgerows intact is an important aspect of creating a healthy environment for kestrels.

Many county conservation districts have foresters on staff who can do free site visits to private landowner properties and help landowners determine if financial assistance programs are available to aid in resource management plan preparation and implementation.

In Marquette and Alger counties, contact Matt Watkeys, forester, at matt.watkeys@mi.nacdnet.net or 906-226-8871, ext. 128.

For information on forest stewardship plans or the commercial forest program, contact Gary Willis at 906-353-6651, ext. 207-0122 or willisg2@michigan.gov

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