02/06/12 A note on the Male BNOW: In what I would describe as almost an impossibility or at least up against astronomical odds (and I think most biologists would agree) last Friday, 2/3/12, the male BNOW was found dead by Sandy’s field crew 0.6 miles north of the cavity in the corner of a grassland next to a small oak canyon. He was completely intact and appeared to have been dead for 2 or 3 days. Yet he’s been gone for approximately 2 weeks. What was he doing/what was happening to him during this time? A quick examine indicated no broken bones and no usual signs of starvation, such as diminished breast muscle causing a prominent keel. However, he is in the freezer and perhaps Dr. Scott Weldy from the OC Bird of Prey Ctr/Serrano Animal and Bird Hospital might be able to determine cause of death through some tests and necropsy. I believe it may be possible to test for anticoagulants that might have been picked up should the male have eaten a poisoned rodent (Note – no pesticides or herbicides are used anywhere on Starr Ranch but we are close by areas that do). It’s also possible that it might have been West Nile Virus, but I’ve been told that this is difficult to test for after the bird has been dead for as long as he was. Also, it just might have been old age. The Bird Banding Lab record for the oldest wild BNOW is 15 with 2nd and 3rd “place” belonging to BNOWs btw 12-13. This male was banded in 2006 at at least 3 yrs of age so he was 9 and could have easily been older. Bottom line is the male is confirmed dead and at this point from unknown cause(s)

A note on Fostering. The search continues for another cavity to foster some if not all of these chicks. Others and I have not given up, but this effort is very time consuming and often requires travel to remote areas that in some cases are now even less accessible because of road damage caused by flooding in Dec 2010. Nonetheless, we will press on. But I feel the need to raise something in hopes that it will better prepare you if we should be fortunate enough to find an appropriate foster nest. If we do the chances are greatest that the smallest chick(s) will be fostered. This means they will be removed from this cavity and you will not see them again. But more important it means they will have been given a much greater chance at survival than they have now. The supplemental feeding will continue, but as I’ve mentioned numerous times chicks require supplemental feeding by the adults for weeks after they fledge and it isn’t a given that continuing to put food in the cavity will get used at this point. Pete

01/26/12 A note on feeding. Almost immediately after I left food in the cavity last night the female returned and began feeding chicks. I think a few of you may have recorded this. It was an excellent opportunity to observe how feeding works. If you watch(ed) for any length of time you will quickly see that the female tears up prey and offers it, but not to any individual chick. And the closest, most aggressive, nimble, whatever-you-want-to-call-them chick grabs it. I have never seen her, or any other raptor, specifically feed an individual chick. HOWEVER, it can sometimes appear like they feed select individuals for two key reasons. 1) There’s enough prey to feed all chicks to satiation and 2) the chicks that ate first – and well – are less inclined to feed any more and simply stop and the ones still hungry are more able to easily get something. Pete

01/23/12 For those who have contacted the Serrano Animal and Bird Hospital/OC Bird of Prey Center please know that Starr Ranch has had a relationship with them and other professional raptor biologists for more than 20 years where together we’re doing as much as we can for raptors and raptor habitat protection. Here’s what SA+BH has to say about the current situation and I agree with their assessment:

“At present, we [Starr Ranch] are trying to provide adequate food for the remaining parent to feed the babies (not an easy feat since the nest is not readily accessible and the weather has been rough here) while field biologists are searching for nests with similar aged babies to foster. Hopefully, some of the babies will survive long enough to be transferred into an appropriate nest and fledge normally with foster parents. Removing and hand rearing the babies is not a viable option, since the babies will most likely become permanently imprinted (socialized to people) and non-releasable. They would then have to be found legal and proper housing for the rest of their lives (which can be more than 1 or 2 decades).”

I, along with several other field biologists, have already been working very hard to find another BNOW nest where some if not all of these chicks can be fostered. However, keep in mind that if we are fortunate to find a nest it cannot be one that already has a full clutch of even 4 – adding 4-5 more chicks to that would place the survival of all chicks in jeopardy.

I would like to ask that we all try to confine our comments to observations and that opinions and chat about what should be done be held. I think you all know by now that I don’t censor many comments at all on this site and I’m reluctant to start. As long as comments are respectful of others and contribute to our knowledge and understanding of these BNOWs, they’ll be allowed.

Last, the supplemental food I’ve provided these last two nights is something I’m extremely reluctant to do, notwithstanding it’s not that easy to do. Those who have been watching for the last few years know that I have said numerous times that I would not intervene – the only difference between this nest and ten’s of thousands of other nests is that we get to watch. And in this case we’re seeing what can happen when things don’t go as smoothly as we would like them to; the key word here is “we”. BNOWs and all other wildlife routinely deal with these kinds of scenarios and get though them just fine – even when death is part of the equation. I would also add that there’s a distinction between intervention and interaction. When I clean a lens, band the chicks, etc. I’m interacting with them in a way that is known to be nothing more than a short change in their routine that has no lasting affect on their overall behavior. Intervention, such as supplemental feeding, changes the outcome of their lives and affects not only them but other BNOWs and wildlife in the area. Please take a moment to consider that the death of an individual chick, and adult, or an entire clutch just might be what’s supposed to happen as part of the bigger picture.

Thanks you all for your comments, even when at times we might not agree. And those choosing to support us, an additional thanks. I’m really trying to do the best I can. Pete