THE PEREGRINE FUNDTHE PEREGRINE FUND

working

to conserve

birds of prey

in nature

fall/winter 2005

newsletter number 36

DIRECTORS

Lee M. BassPresident, Lee M. Bass, Inc.

Robert B. BerryTrustee, Wolf CreekCharitable Foundation,Rancher, Falcon Breeder, and Conservationist

Harry L. BettisRancher

P. Dee Boersma, Ph.D.Wadsworth Endowed Chairin Conservation Science,University of Washington

Frank M. BondAttorney at Law and Rancher

Robert S. ComstockPresident and CEO, Robert Comstock Company

Scott A. CrozierSenior Vice President,General Counsel, and SecretaryPETsMART, INC

Patricia A. DisneyVice Chairman, Shamrock Holdings, Inc.

James H. Enderson, Ph.D.Professor Emeritus of BiologyThe Colorado College

Caroline A. ForgasonPartner, Groves-AlexanderGroup LLC

Z. Wayne Griffin, Jr.Developer, G&NManagement, Inc.

Robert Wood Johnson IVChairman and CEO, The Johnson Company, Inc.,and New York Jets LLC

Donald R. KayserPrivate Investor

Jacobo LacsInternational Businessmanand Conservationist

Patricia B. ManigaultConservationist and Rancher

Carter R. MontgomeryPresident and CEO,Longhorn Partners Pipeline

Velma V. MorrisonPresident, Harry W.Morrison Foundation

Ruth O. MutchInvestor

Carl E. NavarreBook Publisher and CEO,MyPublisher, Inc.

Peter G. PfendlerRancher

Lucia Liu Severinghaus,Ph.D.Research Fellow,Research Center forBiodiversityTaiwan

R. Beauregard TurnerFish and Wildlife ManagerTurner Enterprises

Russell R. Wasendorf, Sr.Chairman and CEO,Peregrine Financial Group, Inc.

James D. WeaverPresident, GrasslansCharitable Foundation,and Rancher

P.A.B. Widener, Jr.Rancher and Investor

Board of Directors of The Peregrine FundOFFICERS AND DIRECTORS

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At a recent board meeting hosted by Jacobo and GretaLacs, The Peregrine Fund Chairman of the Board,Paxson Offield (center), and Founding Board Mem-

ber Robert Berry (right), were awarded Panama’s highesthonor, The Order of Manuel Amador Guerrero.

The award was presented by the President of Panama,Martin Torrijos (between them) and the First Vice-President,Samuel Lewis Navarro (left). Our biologist, Angel Muela,holds the immature male Harpy Eagle.

Paxson Offield was honored for his long-term supportand leadership in Harpy Eagle conservation and researchwhile Bob Berry was honored for his support of Neotropicalraptor research and conservation, in particular his effortswith the Orange-breasted Falcon.

Over the last 50 years, recipients of this award haveincluded Queen Elizabeth II, Sean Connery, and the FireDepartment of New York.

Paxson H. OffieldChairman of the BoardChairman of the Board and CEO, Santa Catalina Island Company

Ian Newton, D.Phil., D.Sc., FRS.Vice Chairman of the BoardSenior Ornithologist(Ret.)Natural EnvironmentResearch CouncilUnited Kingdom

William A. Burnham, Ph.D.President

J. Peter JennyVice President

Karen J. HixonTreasurerConservationist

D. James NelsonSecretaryChairman of the Board, EmeritusPresident, Nelson Construction Company

Tom J. Cade, Ph.D.Founding Chairman Professor Emeritus of Ornithology, Cornell University

Roy E. DisneyChairman of the Board, EmeritusChairman of the Board, Shamrock Holdings, Inc.

Henry M. Paulson, Jr.Chairman of the Board, EmeritusChairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.

Julie A. WrigleyChairman of the Board, EmeritusChairman and CEO, Wrigley Investments LLC

UNITED STATES

Linda BehrmanRoger BenefieldJoell BrownJoe BurkeBill BurnhamKurt K. BurnhamPat BurnhamJack CaffertyEmma ChristensenDonna DanielsSam DavilaCameron EllisEdward FeltesVincent FraryBrian GloshenSherri HaleyTim HauckMichael HaynesBill HeinrichGrainger HuntJ. Peter JennyLeslie JonartPaul JuergensMegan KaiserLloyd KiffThomas LordMichael MaglioneAngel MontoyaAmel MusticBrian MutchJenny MyersFrank NebenburgCathie NigroTrish NixonChris ParishNick PicconoTravis RosenberryCal SandfortAmy SiedenstrangRussell ThorstromRandy TownsendRick WatsonEric WeisJim Willmarth

ArchivistS. Kent Carnie

INTERNATIONAL

PanamaAracely AbregoEloy AripioCalixto ConampiaMarta CurtiOmar FernándezBriceño FlacoPróspero Gaitán Margarita GordonNoel GuerraYanina GuevaraKathia HerreraEdwin JimènezMagaly LinaresJosé de Los SantosLópez

Priscilla MaloneyGabriel MinguizamaRodolfo MosqueraAngel MuelaJulio OvispoBolìvar RodrìguezFidel SabugaraSaskia SantamarìaJosè VargasMark Watson

AsiaMuhammad AsimFaisal Farid

Pan AfricaSimon ThomsettMunir Virani

MadagascarTolojanahary R. A.Andriamalala

Adrien BatouBe Berthin Noel A. BonhommeRazafimahatratraChristophe

Eloi (Lala) FanamehaLoukman KalavahEugene LadoanyJules MampiandraMôiseCharles (Vola) Rabearivelo

Jeanneney RabearivonyBerthine RafarasoaNorbert (Velo)Rajaonarivelo

Jeannette RajesyMarius P. H. RakotondratsimaYves A. RakotonirinaGaston RaoelisonBien AimèRasolonirinaGilbertRazafimanjatoJosephRazafindrasoloLova J. M.RazanakotoLily-Arison Rene deRolandThe Seing SamGilbert Tohaky

Aplomado Falcons Population changes linked to precipitation in Chihuahua . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

California Condor Cooperation among diverse groups protects Condors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Arctic Program Jack Stephens, photographer and “Go To Guy” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Harpy Eagle Released eagles adapt to new homes in Belize . . . . . . . . . . 8

Vulture Crisis “Awesome Asim” honored as Conservation Hero . . . . . . . 10

Pemba Scops Owl Folklore and history describe this elusive “creature of the night” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Velma Morrison Interpretive Center From life science to literature, students of all ages satisfy their curiosity here . . . . . . . . . . 14

MadagascarGift to the Earth Award honors local conservationists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Global Raptor Information NetworkUsing the internet to connect raptor enthusiasts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

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THE PEREGRINE FUNDN E W S L E T T E R N O . 3 6 • F A L L / W I N T E R 2 0 0 5

The Peregrine Fund is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

© 2005. Edited by Bill Burnham and Pat Burnham. Photo Editor Jack Cafferty. Design ©2005 by Amy Siedenstrang.

Business Office (208)362-3716 • Fax (208)362-2376 • Interpretive Center (208)362-8687tpf@peregrinefund.org • http://www.peregrinefund.org

The Peregrine Fund Staff

On the cover:Cal Sandfort took

this photo of an adultAplomado Falcon inChihuahua, Mexico

while conductingresearch.

“Ha sido buen año para el halconaplomado.” “It’s been a good yearfor the Aplomado Falcon,” says

Roberto Rodríguez, the biologist currently in charge ofour operations in Chihuahua, Mexico. After over adecade of drought conditions, Chihuahua receivedabove average rainfall in 2004, setting the stage for anupswing in Aplomado Falcon reproduction.

Since 1996 The Peregrine Fund has supported moni-toring the Aplomado Falcon in Chihuahua, focusing onbreeding activities and falcon prey. The goal of this proj-ect has been to gain knowledge of the falcon’s ecologywhile building local interest and capacity with ranchers,universities, and students. Since the project began wehave seen the falcon population fluctuate from around35 pairs to a low of 18. Additionally, the number ofyoung falcons produced every year has declined from1.25 young per occupied territory in 1996 to a low of0.81 young per occupied territory in 2001.

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Angel Montoya

Chihuahua Monitoring Project Update

Floating wildlife escaperamp in stock tank atRancho Coyamito, Chi-huahua, Mexico.

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Another Mexican biologist and former employeeof The Peregrine Fund, Alberto Macias-Duarte,recently published a manuscript in The Auk whichsuggests a strong relationship between Aplomado Fal-cons, their prey, and precipitation. He illustrated thatan increase in rainfall increases seed production inrangeland grasses which then provides forage for win-tering grassland birds, such as Savannah and VesperSparrows. These grassland birds then serve as the preyAplomado Falcons feed their young. So basically, anincrease in rainfall may translate into an increase inthe number of young produced by a pair of Aplo-mado Falcons.

This year we are glad to report that following the2004 summer rains we observed an increase in preynumbers which parallel more young falcons being pro-duced in 2005. This year’s productivity was 1.4 youngper occupied territory. This is the best productivity wehave seen in a long time! It also shows us how quickly

this population apparently can respond to environmen-tal factors such as rainfall. Ample rains and good ranchmanagement produce good falcon habitat and moreyoung falcons.

As we learn more about the Aplomado Falcon’secology in Chihuahua, Mexico, we are implementingmanagement tools that can benefit them. While thisproject continues to emphasize monitoring and build-ing local capacity, we have begun working with localranchers in implementing management practices favor-able for the Aplomado Falcon. This year we installed 10more wildlife escape ramps to stock water tanksthroughout our study area. This brings the total numberof escape ramps in operation throughout falcon territo-ries to thirty. Installation of these ramps has proven verybeneficial. Since we began installing them, we have hadno falcons drown in equipped tanks. These ramps alsoare beneficial for other species.

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Graph depictingchanges in grasslandbird numbers at theSueco and TinajaVerde study sitesfrom February 1998to January 2005.

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Ample rains and goodranch management produce good falconhabitat and more young falcons.

If ever a landscape lends itself to the soar-ing of great birds, it is the canyon andplateau country of northern Arizona and

southern Utah, a world of updrafts created by theinterposing of immense rock walls upon wind andsun. We people are ant-like in that country, proceedingslowly and cautiously within its vastness of stone andcolor, but for species that move upon the wind, thecliffy landscape offers easy and rapid passage any-where. Not surprisingly, then, the California Condor,the greatest of all North American wind-riders, hasfound travel accommodations perfectly suitable sinceits rearrival in 1996.

That was when The Peregrine Fund began releasingcaptive-bred youngsters from cliff tops north of theGrand Canyon. With subsequent yearly releases andcareful, patient monitoring and management, thisnow wild population exceeds fifty individuals. Somehave reached adulthood, and pairings among themhave produced several wild fledglings. The flock iseverywhere apparent, having developed an annualcycle of movement within the region. In spring andsummer, the birds frequent the South Rim of theGrand Canyon where they regularly wow the visitors,many of whom travel there just to see condors. Somecondors move north to the Zion area near SaintGeorge, Utah, remaining until mid-fall. Others spendtheir time on the Kaibab Plateau and along its westernborder overlooking Kanab Creek. Most condors returnin winter to the release site atop the Vermillion Cliffswhere easy food is always available.

Keeping tabs on condor movements has severalpurposes. One has to do with the behavior of inexperi-enced birds, especially during the early months of theirfreedom. Newly-released condors sometimes sleep inplaces accessible to coyotes and other predators. Con-scientious tracking reveals these risky roosts and allowsfield workers to haze the condors to safer places.Another form of manageable behavior stems fromexcessive curiosity among young condors, an innatecharacteristic that sometimes brings them too close tohumans. Routinely hazing these birds to more appro-priate sites has worked to change these undesirablebehavior patterns. Repeat offenders, like errant schoolchildren, are sometimes placed in detention (“timeouts”), a strategy to break patterns of undesirablebehavior that has proved remarkably effective. Over theyears, the trend has been toward better and betterbehavior, partly because of monitoring and manage-ment, and partly from the maturing of flock membersfrom whom the younger condors take their cues.

Tracking wild condors in Arizona and Utah wentinto technological overdrive in 2004 with the applica-tion of new transmitters that report condor locationsto satellites. And these aren’t just ordinary satellite-

based transmitters that give an approximate locationevery day or so. The new ones are equipped with GPS(Global Positioning System) receivers designed torecord the condor’s precise location, usually within100 feet, every daylight hour. These extraordinarytransmitters, generously provided by the ArizonaGame and Fish Department and manufactured byMicrowave Telemetry, actually weigh less than the nor-mal VHF transmitters the condors are accustomed tocarrying. Each day, the satellites beam their accumu-lated data to an earthly receiving station which, inturn, sends an e-mail to The Peregrine Fund. Thee–mail attachment contains encoded informationwhich can be programmed by means of a computermapping system to display the movements of eachtagged condor on a topographical map. These positionfixes are immediately forwarded to the field workersresponsible for monitoring the birds.

Among the many advantages of the new transmit-ters is their ability to show sudden, speedy flights tounexpected or inaccessible areas, thereby doing awaywith the necessity of lengthy road trips to assure thatall is well. The GPS transmitters guide field workersdirectly to areas occupied by condors, a system farsuperior to the trial and error of ground searching. Theprecise and frequent location fixes call attention toabnormal events or those that in other ways suggestclose attention, for example, the location of wild fooditems or the activities of newly-formed pairs.

One such series of events involved the love life ofcondors 136 (female) and 187 (male), both with GPStransmitters. For several winter weeks they exploredthe vastness of canyons and cliffs for a special place tonest. After much deliberation they found a remoteand ancient Anasazi cliff ruin in a secret side-canyonof the Kaibab Plateau where they began makingrepeated visits. Their eventual egg failed to hatchdespite months of diligent incubation, but we have

Condors in Motion

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Grainger Hunt

There is patientrespect for theunderstandinggained from science and goodsense as problemsare detected andresolved.

Thom Lord preparesto rappel into a

Condor nest site.

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learned that failure is a frequent outcome of first nest-ing attempts. Meanwhile, there are two wild-producedcondors on the wing in Arizona, and two still in theirnests, waiting to fledge.

Monitoring efforts have also produced a betterunderstanding of mortality factors affecting the popu-lation. The most frequent of these is lead poisoning,the risk of which has grown with the condor’s increas-ing tendency to forage upon wild food sources. Fol-lowing upon several lines of circumstantial evidence,we used x–rays to study bullet fragmentation in deer.The results, scheduled for publication in the winter2005 issue of the Wildlife Society Bulletin, showed thatthe majority of rifle-killed deer remains containnumerous lead fragments. This finding dispels ourprior belief that bullets usually pass through intact.

In late August 2005, the American OrnithologistsUnion hosted a condor symposium at the University ofCalifornia in Santa Barbara where The Peregrine Fundbiologists presented three scientific papers, each detail-ing a portion of research on condor lead exposure inArizona. Chris Woods began with an analysis and dis-cussion of condor mortality factors and attributed theencouraging trend in overall survival to frequent testingand treatment for lead ingestion. Chris Parish followedwith a detailed description of the lead monitoring andmanagement program in Arizona. In hundreds of testsof condor blood samples, forty percent indicated leadexposure, and some showed very high levels requiringemergency therapy. Grainger Hunt then provided ananalysis of condor movements in Arizona in relation tolead exposure. He showed that condor blood levelsincreased dramatically during the fall deer seasons andthat high blood-lead levels were associated with condorvisitation to deer hunting areas.

Following the three presentations, Kathy Sullivanof the Arizona Game and Fish Department gave amuch-applauded summary of the Department’s efforts

to encourage hunters to participate in condor restora-tion. Hunter response to a Department questionnaireabout condors was overwhelmingly positive, and atthe time of this writing, three-quarters of the deerhunters who drew tags for the 2005 deer season in theKaibab region of northern Arizona had accepted theDepartment’s offer of two boxes of lead-free bullets.Design breakthroughs have made such bullets highlysuitable for hunting, and many hunters consider themsuperior to conventional lead-based varieties.

These developments hint of a time when the con-dor population in the canyon country can be healthyand fully independent, a vision borne of open andabundant cooperation among conservation biolo-gists, wildlife officials, hunters, and public generosity.There is patient respect for the understanding gainedfrom science and good sense as problems aredetected and resolved. Hard work most certainly liesahead, but the light of eventual success shines farmore brightly in the distance.

Immature Condorover Indian Gardens,northern Arizona.

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The Peregrine Fund and theArizona Game and FishDepartment staff members,Chris Parish (left) and ChuckEmmert, respectively, cooperatedon the filming and productionof an Emmy Award winningfilm As Curious As a Raven,featuring California Condors innorthern Arizona. The awardwas presented to Chris andChuck at the 28th AnnualRocky Mountain Emmy Awardson 10 September 2005.

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Since 26 June 1973, The Peregrine Fund’sArctic Program Coordinator, JackStephens, has lived and worked at Thule

Air Base, northwest Greenland, located 690 miles northof the Arctic Circle and only 800 miles south of theNorth Pole. The base was constructed in secrecy becauseof the Soviet threat in 1951-53, with its defense missionevolving through the decades. Today, beyond thedefense mission, the U.S. Air Force secondarily supportsscientific research at Thule.

Jack Stephens works as a civilian weather forecasterin one of the most unpredictable and severe environ-ments on the planet, the High Arctic, where blisteringwinds reach over 200 miles per hour, blizzards occurany month of the year, and the sun does not appearabove the horizon between November 2nd and Febru-ary 10th. Almost everything is affected if not controlledby the weather, particularly field work on birds of prey,to include travel on ice-choked seas and windswept tun-dra. It was therefore only natural that we visited theweather station when we first began working in theThule area in the mid-1990s.

Meeting Jack, we soon discovered his talents extendedfar beyond forecasting to photography and natural his-

The High Arctic “Go To Guy”

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Kurt Burnham

Jack Stephenslooking through ahole in an iceberg.

Fledgling female Gyrfalcon, northwestGreenland, 2005.

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tory. He is the Thule naturalist and nature photographerpar excellence. While other people working there spentvacations in lower latitudes, Jack took his vacationscamping out in remote locations to photograph andlearn about the arctic geology, plants, and animals, attimes not leaving the Thule area for years on end. Whenon base, Jack, like other residents, lived in a small bed-room in a 1950 vintage barracks with one somewhatlarger “day room” and kitchen shared with a dozen otherresidents. Beyond a small bed, his room was wall to wall,floor to ceiling classical music, non-fiction books, photo-graphic equipment, and files of photos. His enormousrock collection he kept outside. With Jack’s interests andtalents it was only natural he soon became a valuedmember of our field team. Now we do not know how wecould work in the High Arctic without him.

Access to Thule is almost exclusively on military air-craft and charters, and invitational orders and securityclearance are required. There must also be sleepingspace at the base for each person and during the busysummer months there frequently are none. Long-termresearch cannot be accomplished if access is a problem.To overcome this obstacle, with Jack’s help, in 1997 wesaved an old barracks from demolition and rented it

from the Air Force for our exclusive use. Jack helpedrefurbish the 185 by 24 foot “flat top,” patching holesin the wall, painting, cleaning, and later adding wet anddry labs, offices, workshops, storage areas, and sleepingrooms. The Peregrine Fund makes this unique High Arc-tic facility available for other researchers who havecome from the United States, Canada, Greenland, andDenmark. Many of the U.S. researchers are sponsoredby the National Science Foundation.

For everyone using our facilities, Jack is the “go toguy,” being one of Thule’s most long-term and highlyrespected residents. Jack is always ready with an answeror solution and if he doesn’t have one he will find yousomebody that does. Additionally, he keeps up facilitymaintenance and takes care of the day-to-day cleaning.During summer months Jack also acts as a critical mem-ber of our boat crew, helping with fueling and oiling,loading and unloading the boat (at times in a dry suitwading well over his waist to shuttle gear to and fromthe boat), and photographically documenting our sum-mer activities. There is not a job Jack cannot or will nothelp out with. You can always count on Jack!

With this article we provide images taken by Jack innorthwest Greenland.

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Atlantic Puffin onDalrymple Rock,

northwest Greenland.

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In 2002, 17 Harpy Eagle chicks successfullyhatched at our Neotropical Raptor Center(NRC) in Panama. We released many of

those birds into Soberania National Park, just outsideof Panama City, when they were approximately sixmonths old. These releases were proving that the cap-tive breeding and release of large forest eagles was pos-sible and could be done with a large degree of success.Due to these accomplishments, and the large numberof eaglets bred in captivity that year, we were ready toreplicate the release effort in another country withinCentral America.

In March of 2003, we arrived in Belize ready torelease two captive-bred Harpy Eagles into the forestsof that country for the first time. With the help of localpartners, like the Forest Department and The BelizeZoo, we built a hack box, a special aviary located inthe middle of the Chiquibul Forest (the release site),obtained the needed permits, infrastructure, and logis-tical support, and trained the volunteers that wouldlook after the birds for the following months.

Since those first eagles were set free in Belize, a totalof seven birds have been released in the country. As away to make the releases in Belize more efficient, wedecided to change our strategy and release only inde-pendent birds in Belize. This means that the youngestbirds are first released in Panama, where they are moreeasily monitored and cared for, and once these birdsbecome independent and are hunting on a regularbasis, they are captured and re-released in Belize.

The first such release of one of the independentbirds from Panama took place in January 2005 in theRio Bravo Management and Conservation Area innorthern Belize—a 100,000 ha tract of protected forestthat is managed by Programme for Belize and that isalso connected to other large expansions of forest thatextend into Guatemala to the west and into the GallonJug area to the south. We knew that Harpy Eagles couldsurvive in Rio Bravo, a place that is teeming withwildlife such as coatimundis, kinkajous, possums,agoutis, howler and spider monkeys, curassows, andmany other potential prey items. We did not know,however, how well a Harpy Eagle from Panama couldadapt to the forests of Belize since that country lacksone of the Harpy Eagle’s main prey items—the sloth.

To our relief, we found out that our birds adaptedvery well to their new home. Just a few days after thefirst independent eagle, a male named Sulub, wasreleased, our volunteers found him with a grey fox.Since then, Sulub has been seen with a variety of preyitems. Sulub is now a three-year-old sub-adult that hasbeen moving extensively and is now over 100 km awayfrom his release site. We hypothesize that he is now ina phase of his development when he needs to dis-perse, possibly looking for his own territory in whichto settle down.

Independent birds, like Sulub, are released withsatellite transmitters (PTTs) so we can track theirmovements from afar. Satellites orbiting the Earth reg-ularly relay the eagles’ positions to our computers.

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Angel Muela

& Marta Curti

Harpy Eagle Releases in Belize

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Recently-releasedHarpy Eagle withits prey.

This information alone isan enormous help whenthe eagles begin to dis-perse away from theirrelease site. We are nowobtaining, for the firsttime ever, important dataon dispersal behavior ofsub-adult Harpies. Thisinformation will be a keyfactor to keep in mind forfuture releases and man-agement programs forlarge forest eagles.

Other independentbirds released in Belizeare now beginning towander away from theirrelease site, and will pos-sibly start to disperse, likeSulub did a few monthsago. One of those birds, afemale named Stella, wasoriginally released in theChiquibul Forest in west-ern Belize as a dependent juvenile. Shortly after shebecame independent, and before we could fit her witha PTT, she moved almost 20 km from the release siteinto a remote, virtually inaccessible part of the forest.Despite our efforts to track and trap her, the ruggedkarstic terrain found in that area of the Chiquibul For-est made ground monitoring almost impossible. Anadditional concern is that some areas of the ChiquibulForest are frequented by poachers. Fortunately, therugged area where Stella is located keeps people away.We are conducting regular flights to track her move-ments from the air, so that we can go in to capture herif she moves close to an area of the forest that is moreaccessible and that could put her at greater risk ofcoming into contact with humans.

Several more birds will be released in Belize in thenext few months. In addition to the on-going releasesthat are already taking place, we are also planning tocarry out essential research projects regarding the for-

aging and dispersion ecol-ogy of our independenteagles. Particularly, we areinterested in answeringimportant questionsrelated to the eagles’ preyselection in Belize andhow that compares to theeagles we have alreadystudied in Panama.

The study will involvehaving two teams ofintrepid and experiencedvolunteers follow, on adaily basis, a male and afemale Harpy Eagle forabout one year. They willdocument and recordobservations of huntingevents, habitat use, move-ments, and other relevantdata. Following a HarpyEagle through the forestwith the use of conven-tional radio-transmitters

can be a difficult and intricate task. One has to con-sider that these birds can move several hundred meterswith no apparent effort, and the distance that takes aneagle 30 seconds to cover can take us, sometimes, over30 minutes. In addition, the insect conditions, theconstant humidity, the rain, and the slippery, ruggedterrain slow our progress through the forest. The infor-mation gained from studying top-predators, using acombination of space technology (PTTs) and moreconventional tracking methods employed by our fieldcrew (map, compass, telemetry receiver, and amachete), will be important to better understand theecological needs of large forest eagles, and will helpdecision-makers to better manage the remaining tractsof forest that Harpy Eagles and countless other speciescall their home. Despite the difficulties and challengesinvolved in this undertaking, this type of study will bea pioneer effort and the first of its kind ever done withHarpy Eagles in Belize.

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… these birds can move several hundred meters with no apparent effort, and the distance that takes an eagle 30seconds to cover can take us, sometimes, over 30 minutes.

Dense forest,ideal habitatfor a releasedHarpy Eagle.

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With the help of local conservationorganizations, in August of this yearthe Disney Wildlife Conservation

Fund identified Conservation Heroes from five regionsaround the world. The Peregrine Fund’s MuhammadAsim, Asian Vulture Crisis project manager, was cho-sen by a panel from Walt Disney World for one of thesix global awards. Recognizing that conservation initia-tives are only as successful as the people involved withthe project, this program was created to recognize theefforts of local residents.

When in 2000 biologists failed to identify the causeof the catastrophic decline in numbers of vultures inSouth Asia, and then sug-gested a “new infectiousdisease, possibly a virus”as the cause of renal failurekilling them, we went towork. We assembled aninternational team ofexperts and began amethodical investigation.We based our studies inPakistan where the largestnumbers of vulturesremained, where we couldlegally collect freshly deadand dying vultures, andfrom where we could read-ily export vulture tissues tothe United States forsophisticated analyses notpossible in Pakistan. Itsounds straightforward, butit was not. Permits to col-lect, permits to export, per-mits to import, airlineregulations on transport of liquid nitrogen, and people,people, people (otherwise known as bureaucracy) allconspired against this vital task.

Enter Muhammad Asim. Asim cared about natureand the fate of vultures in particular, and he demon-strated the tenacity, skill, and patience needed to helpus overcome the enormous difficulties of collectingvulture tissues and exporting them, in liquid nitrogen,to the United States. Asim is not a biologist; he is anaccountant by training, an ordinary person whoquickly began achieving extraordinary results. He tack-led and solved the problems and problem people withdiligence, honesty, gentleness, and his characteristicwry sense of humor, and quickly earned the nickname“Awesome Asim.”

By September 11, 2001, Asim was a Peregrine Fundemployee, the in-country manager of the Asian Vul-

ture Crisis Project. On that infamous day, our interna-tional team of experts, biologists, veterinarians, anddiagnosticians was meeting at The Peregrine Fund’sheadquarters in Boise, Idaho. We were puzzled by ourown lack of success at identifying the cause of deathin Asian vultures, and concluded that we must returnto Pakistan to get even fresher and many more sam-ples of tissues from dying vultures. But that tragic daysparked a chain of events that stopped us from send-ing our team back to Pakistan for many months. So,the instruction to collect more and fresher tissue sam-ples from dying vultures was passed on to Asim. Hedid not say “no” or “impossible;” he just went to

work in his quiet, gentle,diligent way.

When vultures die intemperatures that dailyreach a blistering120º F,they must be found anddissected within one totwo hours or the tissuesdecompose too much to beuseful. To say that Asimhad to “catch them as theyfell from the sky” is nottoo far from the truth, andrequired dedication to fieldwork that few accountants(that I know!) possess.Nevertheless, Asim skill-fully led our Pakistani stu-dents in the effort to meetour request. They workedat night to collect thefreshest samples possible.They carried coolers of dryice into the field so they

could freeze the samples as soon as they were col-lected. And they packed the tiny samples in liquidnitrogen in a special but very suspicious looking“nitrogen shipper.” Simply finding enough dry ice andliquid nitrogen in rural Pakistan was a feat in itself;and cajoling complaining students and overcomingthe religious and social taboos of handling dead ani-mals, especially vultures, were ongoing accomplish-ments attributed to “Awesome Asim.”

Then, in the wake of 9/11, airline regulations oncarrying liquid nitrogen stiffened, and when the war inAfghanistan began, British Airways—the airline thatcarried our sample shipper—quit flying out of Pak-istan. It seemed that the painstakingly collected sam-ples were to remain stuck in Pakistan. But weeks ofwork and many meetings later, Asim’s good natureddiligence paid off yet again, and the samples finally

Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund Names

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Rick Watson

Asim is not abiologist; he isan accountantby training, an ordinaryperson whoquickly beganachievingextraordinaryresults.

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arrived in the United States. Here, our team of expertsdetermined definitively that the samples showed nosign of infectious disease. The cause must be some-thing else; something new and previously unknown toscience.

Instructions again went back to Asim, “please sur-vey veterinarians and pharmacies and list all the drugsand pesticides used on livestock.” And so it was that,in late 2002, we scanned a list compiled from over 70interviews across the Pakistan Punjab. One drug stoodout as a possibility. Diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug was being used by every veterinar-ian and sold by every pharmacist. It was unusualbecause it was rarely used in veterinary practice in theU.S. and Europe, it was known to cause kidney failurein mammals under certain circumstances, and it hadrecently been introduced to the veterinary market.Could this be the vulture killer? The samples weretested again—and diclofenac was found with a perfectcorrelation between the presence of diclofenac anddeath by renal failure in vultures.

We knew we had found the cause, but we still hadto prove it! In April 2003 our veterinarian, MartinGilbert, returned to Pakistan for the first time since9/11 and Asim was there to help conduct the testingneeded to prove diclofenac’s complicity. Again, per-mits, logistics, and shipping critical test samples backto the U.S. for analysis were entrusted to Asim. Amonth later our preliminary results were presented toan international meeting of scientists; by January 2004they were confirmed and published in the journalNature. A week later they were presented to seniorgovernment officials from Pakistan, India, and Nepal.Finally, the ball was rolling towards saving Asian vul-tures from certain extinction!

The team of experts that proved diclofenac was theculprit received congratulations and accolades fromtheir peers and the press. But one, an ordinary manwho did extraordinary things, a keystone of the projectwithout whom no results would have been achieved,not a scientist, an accountant by training, a hero byactions, quietly, modestly went on with his work. Inlate 2003 Martin and Asim started the first, and stillthe only, “vulture restaurant” in South Asia. The aimwas to feed vultures with clean, uncontaminated foodin the hope that they would prefer to feed at therestaurant, located within yards of the largest knownremaining vulture colony in Pakistan, and therebyreduce their exposure to diclofenac and reduce theirdeath rate.

Asim was again tasked, this time with figuring outhow to make this restaurant work. Religious and socialtaboos had to be overcome, and a reliable, abundantsource of uncontaminated carcasses had to be found

and purchased at regular intervals. During the heightof the breeding season, the colony of vultures con-sumed five to ten large carcasses per day! The effortrequires constant attention and tending to thevulture’s needs by a team of dedicated indi-viduals led by Asim. Nearly two yearslater, the Toawala vulture restaurant isstill the most significant applied conser-vation intervention for vultures occur-ring in South Asia. Others are workinghard to ban diclofenac in veterinaryuse (just a few months ago the IndianPrime Minister announced the six-monthphase-out of veterinary diclofenac), and tostart vital captive breeding efforts to savethese species from extinction, but The PeregrineFund’s vulture restaurant is the only working fieldintervention aimed directly at the heart of the prob-lem—reducing diclofenac poisoning in the wild.Asim’s work continues to be the most expedient andcritically important, buying vital time for others to gettheir longer-term interventions into place. “AwesomeAsim” is a conservation hero; an ordinary person whodoes extraordinary things—each and every day!

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Muhammad Asim “Conservation Hero”

A sunset in Pakistan, but hopefully not for three species of vultures. Below: The Disney medalawarded to Asim.

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An overwhelming feeling gripped me asSimon Thomsett and I stood motion-less listening to the nocturnal cacoph-

ony of the Ngezi Forest at two am in themorning. We were in the heart of this tropical moist for-est on the spice island of Pemba, 50 km off the EastAfrican coast waiting to get our first glimpse of theendemic Pemba Scops Owl. I suddenly thought of mygrandmother and recalled her sometimes horrific bed-time stories from when I was five years old. She spokeabout Shariff of Pemba, a religious leader who sunk intothe ground when his enemies from Tanga caught up withhim in the 15th Century. And now, here I was, standingmeters from the exact spot where Shariff’s moss fes-tooned tomb laid. Thousands of slaves fled and soughtrefuge here during the slave trade era. The night was tran-quil. Orion and other constellations blazed through thenight sky illuminating the forest floor. We could hear theresonant “hoots” of the Pemba Scops Owl and the inter-mittent sinister laughter of the Galago Bush Baby.

Finally, Simon shone his flashlight above my head.“There it is,” he whispered. I looked up through mybinoculars, but all I saw was the bottom section of asmall beefy fluff of feathers that twitched every timethere was a hoot. “I need a better view,” I whisperedback to Simon who groaned again at my impossibledemands. Exasperated and tired, I crawled on my handsand knees to where Simon was standing and turnedback to get another glimpse of what is perhaps one ofthe most threatened endemic scops owls in the world.There it was, in resplendent russet-brown plumage. Astocky, beefier version of the Sokoke Scops Owl, a glob-ally endangered owl found almost 150 km north and80 km west on mainland coastal Kenya and Tanzania,respectively. The owl stared back at me, locking eyes—asad, almost submissive look. Before I could take a pho-tograph, it was gone. “Blast,” said Simon with an obvi-ous hint of frustration. We managed to find our way tothe main path and slowly walked back in silencetowards our camp.

I am still uncertain how Simon and I managed topull off this visit to Pemba. Both of us were knee-deepin work with Crowned Eagle releases, African Fish Eaglemonitoring, and saving vultures in South Asia. And yet,here we were, amidst scented and aromatic trees ofcloves, cinnamon, mango, and every kind of spice treeor shrub imaginable. Our 12-seater plane took off fromZanzibar’s main airport on Unguja that afternoon, andalthough I was suffering from a bad cold, I soaked upthe spectacular views from the window. The planeapproached the southern side of Pemba and descendedtowards Chake Chake, Pemba’s administrative capital.To my right, there were innumerable Borassus palms,

meandering estuaries, stunning azure blue coral reefswith bleached sandy beaches and tiny islets that con-cocted all sorts of exotic images in my mind. As we wereabout to land, I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, andfocused on the task ahead.

So why were we here? Well, Simon and I alwaystalked about Pemba. And then in early January 2005, afunding opportunity coincided with a request from Mr.Alawi Hija of the Ministry of Environment in Zanzibarto help evaluate the conservation status of the little-known Pemba Scops Owl, endemic to the island ofPemba. The island is classified as one of the 218Endemic Bird Areas of the World having a relativelyhigh number of endemic taxa. Pemba is believed to bemore closely related to the Eastern Arc Mountains, hav-ing been isolated from them by a deep channel for sev-eral million years.

The Pemba Scops Owl has historically beendescribed as “common” all over the island, occurring inforests and the densest parts of clove and mango plan-tations as well as other thick foliaged trees. Virtuallynothing is known about the natural history and biologyof the species and it seemed inappropriate that it is notlisted as a Red Data bird. The owl is intricately linked inPemba folklore (its local name is Kihodi), its perceptionthat of a “mysterious creature of the night that cries atregular intervals.” Thus it is more often heard and notseen. In fact, the late Dr Leslie Brown noted many yearsago that locals believed the species to be viviparous(gave birth to live young rather than laid eggs)! Ourgoals were to conduct a pilot investigation of the distri-bution and abundance of owls on the island and evalu-ate threats to the species and determine whether therewas a need for conservation action.

Accompanied by local guides and government offi-cials, Simon and I commenced a week-long survey ofone of Africa’s least-known owls. Each night we meticu-lously conducted call-response surveys of the owlsalong transects in different habitat types to get a feel ofowl densities. Eventually, a pattern began to emerge.Although the Pemba Scops Owl is considered “com-mon,” we found this to be by no means its correct sta-tus category in any habitat other than indigenous forest.It became fairly obvious that the owls were mainly con-fined to Ngezi and Msitu Mkuu. Both are tiny remnantforest patches of 14 km2 and 3 km2, respectively, ofwhich only small proportions are suitable owl habitat.The owls also occurred at lower densities in the old-growth clove forests, much of which are now being rap-idly cleared into open farmlands to make way for morelucrative crops such as rice and cassava. Historically,65% of Pemba was covered with moist tropical forest,but with the progression of the spice and slave trade

Re-evaluating the Status of the Pemba Scops Owl

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Munir Virani

The owl staredback at me, locking eyes–a sad, almost submissive look.Before I could take a photograph,it was gone.

during the 14th Century, much of the island wasplanted with clove trees and other spice shrubs fromIndonesia. Now, with a collapse in the global prices ofcloves, these historically established owl habitats are fastshrinking and along with them the number of owls. Tocompound the problem, parts of the indigenous forestshad been excised to make way for rubber plantations,now abandoned and devoid of owls. It is all too famil-iar as we found ourselves monitoring yet anotherspecies in rapid decline. There is no question that theconversion of areas that were formerly established old-growth clove plantations is now a serious threat to thelong-term survival of the owls. There is therefore a clearrationale in re-evaluating the species’ conservation sta-tus before it becomes too late.

To conserve the Pemba Scops Owl and its habitat itwill be critical to understand the species’ natural history,its habitat requirements, and the environment in whichit lives. The research required to gain this knowledge will

be challenging, and will present opportunities for train-ing conservationists, students, and resource professionalson Pemba. Ultimately, the Tanzanian government willhave to take the responsibility of ensuring the survival ofthis unique owl and its associated fauna and flora.

As we lift-off from Pemba, my earlier exotic imagesundergo a reality transformation. I see half-naked chil-dren running around a burning field. Modern dayAfrica is plagued with problems—degraded forests,scourge of disease, civil strife, rapidly growing humanpopulations, high levels of poverty, and an increasingfeeling of insecurity. And yet I cannot help but cling tothe quintessential image of a not-so dark continent thatcontinues to enthrall the world—a wildernessuntamed—captured in moments when a leopardpounces on a duiker, but also when time stands stilland the hoots of an owl in distress plead for survival.We cannot turn our backs on a continent that needs usnow more than ever.

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With its prime location at The PeregrineFund’s headquarters in Boise, Idaho,the Velma Morrison Interpretive Cen-

ter lends itself to its principal goal of public education.Local and out-of-town guests alike are attracted to theInterpretive Center, drawn by the live birds, state-of-the-art exhibits, and multi-media presentations. Time andagain, visitors are fascinated to learn not only about thebiology and ecology of birds of prey, but also the world-wide conservation efforts of The Peregrine Fund.

The Interpretive Center staff has focused its effortson providing dynamic educational programming toour visiting K-12 student population, offering moreopportunities to meet the growing and varying needsof educators and their students. Through the presenta-tion of high-quality, age-appropriate educational pro-grams for all students at all levels, we strive to makeevery student’s visit to our facility an unforgettableexperience. A visit to the Interpretive Center is as capti-vating for our first-grade guests as it is academicallysophisticated and intriguing to our high school andcollege ornithology students.

In addition to our standard general tour program,the facility regularly began offering an array of topicalprograms in the spring of 2005. Now educators maychoose from a selection of 15 different programs, allof which coincide with Idaho State Science Standards,according to the ages of their students and their curric-ular interests. Providing a host of interdisciplinary top-ics enables instructors to use raptors as a “lens forlearning” about history, art, math, anatomy, physics,literature, and more. These programs demonstrate thatstudents at all grade levels and in all subjects can usethe birds of prey theme to address content standards.For example, one of our most frequently requestedtours is “Falconry through the Ages,” a program thatcombines the adaptive biology of raptors with a lookat the historical uses of birds of prey and the develop-ment of falconry in different locations across theglobe. Feedback from educators participating in thenew programs has been very positive, and these topi-cal offerings continue to be regularly requested.

One of the facts that continues to surprise instruc-tors is the contemporary nature of many of the issuesfacing Peregrine Fund biologists, from the propagationof large species such as the Harpy Eagle, to maintaininggenetic diversity among California Condors, to investi-gating and ultimately discovering the cause for the dec-imation of three Asian vulture species. The ongoingfield work of our biologists provides students with con-tinuous, up-to-date learning opportunities. These cur-rent conservation projects are frequently used as aspringboard for introducing such global classroom top-ics as the scientific method and the nature of science.

An exceptional example of how current conservationtopics are being used with middle school and highschool students is the Asian Vulture Crisis ClassroomActivity and Town Meeting. Often, students learn aboutthe dramatic decline of the Asian vulture population forthe first time upon visiting the Interpretive Center. Theydiscover how scientists tracked down the crisis’ culpritthrough a series of experiments in which multiplehypotheses were set forward and subsequently discardedafter thorough testing—a textbook example of the scien-tific method in practice. Then the students learn aboutbird biology and how it can be easily affected by thepharmaceutical diclofenac when it is introduced into thefood chain. In a group discussion format, studentsexplore the devastating effect of removing a decomposer(vultures) from an ecosystem, and begin to recognize allof the individuals who are affected by the removal of avital scavenger, like the vulture, from the environment.Finally, students partake in a “town meeting” designedto simulate the discussion that would happen amongkey individuals that are affected by, or have contributedto, the Asian vulture crisis. Through this students learnthat scientists do not operate in a bubble, and that thereare economic, cultural, social, religious, and politicalconcerns to contend with when addressing any conserva-tion dilemma. (For more information on the Asian vul-ture crisis, or for a copy of the classroom activity, pleasevisit www.peregrinefund.org.)

Through the development of this interdisciplinaryand interactive approach to education, we continue tostrengthen ties with our partners in the community ofeducators who are faced with the daily challenges ofproviding learning opportunities that are meaningfuland relevant in today’s world. We hope that by intro-ducing unique educational programs, authentic servicelearning opportunities, and summer programs we cannot only continue to serve as a vital resource to educa-tors, but also enlighten visitors to the important roleraptors play in our constantly changing environment.

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Cathie Nigro

Education at the Velma Morrison Interpretive Center

Rachel Tuttle displays her drawing of a Bateleur Eagle thatshe completed during an interdisciplinary summer programfocusing on art and the biology of birds of prey.

…students learnthat scientists do not operate in a bubble, andthat there are economic, cultural,social, religious,and political concerns to con-tend with whenaddressing anyconservationdilemma.

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To ensure the survival of the endan-gered Madagascar Fish Eagle, it isimperative to save its natural wetland

habitat. Ten pairs of fish eagles, almost 10% of thespecies’ entire global population, are resident breederson three large lakes in western Madagascar about300 km due west of the country’s capital city. Theselakes support a valuable freshwater fisheries resourceand are surrounded by a healthy deciduous forest, bothimportant to the economy of local communities andsurvival of fish eagles. During the mid-1990s, theannual increase in migrant fishermen led to an overutilization of the fisheries and forest resources causinga direct impact on the local communities’ livelihoodsand breeding success of fish eagles. We found the com-munities were conscious of the future and sustainabil-ity of their resources and were interested in workingwith us to control their use. Together, we implementeda new Malagasy law in which local communities can begranted authority to manage and conserve the naturalresources in designated areas.

With our help, in 1997 local villagers created twocommunity associations, FIZAMI and FIFAMA, tobegin the process of obtaining governmental approvalto manage the wetland’s fisheries stocks and sur-rounding forest resources. It was a difficult and time-consuming task that had more to do with sociologythan conservation biology, but in September 2001 theassociations passed a significant milestone: the Mala-gasy government granted them a probationary three-year management period to test whether they couldcontrol and maintain the local resources they sharedwith fish eagles.

The two associations began the probationaryGELOSE (an acronym in French for Local Manage-ment Charter) process supported financially, logisti-cally, and technically by The Peregrine Fund. The threemain objectives the associations had to accomplishwere (1) to limit the number of permanent fishingcamps to only eight on the three lakes and the num-ber of fishermen allowed to fish by a permit system to400 individuals; (2) to record daily information anddata on fish harvest during the fishing season at eachcamp; and (3) ensure that all fishing camps were situ-ated far from fish eagle nests to minimize disturbanceduring the breeding season (June-October). Not onlydid the associations succeed in meeting these goals,but they also took it upon themselves to cultivate andtransplant 2,184 seedling trees into forest areas thathad been cut and harvested prior to their taking con-trol. As testament to their overall success, MadagascarFish Eagle productivity increased from four young suc-cessfully raised annually before 2000, prior to theassociations’ management period, to eight young

fledging in 2004. By the end of 2004FIZAMI and FIFAMA were the first com-munity associations to finish theirthree-year probationary period with apositive performance evaluation by theMalagasy government.

The accomplishments of the twoassociations quickly became well knownin conservation circles of Madagascar,and the model established by The Pere-grine Fund has been copied and appliedin many similar situations throughoutthe country. At least 35 other communityconservation associations have been created. In 2004this success led World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) tohonor the two associations with their prestigious Gift tothe Earth Award, WWF’s highest award for globally sig-nificant conservation achievement.

On June 30th this year, the two associations passedanother major milestone in their pursuit of naturalresource management and conservation. They becamethe first to be granted a 10-year probationary manage-ment period from the Malagasy government. The Pere-grine Fund will continue, as needed, to providesupport, guidance, and advice to the associations tohelp them manage and conserve the natural resourceson which they depend and which they share withMadagascar Fish Eagles. Our notion that “what’s goodfor local communities is good for fish eagles” is prov-ing to be true, at least for conservation of naturalresources in this important wetland site in Madagascar.

Gift to the Earth Award – Madagascar

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Russell Thorstrom

Immature Madagascar Fish Eagle.

Fishermen collect their catch at oneof three lakes protected by localcommunity associations.

…the model established by The Peregrine Fundhas been copied and applied in many similar situationsthroughout the country.

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The Global Raptor Information Network(GRIN) is a web-based project main-tained by The Peregrine Fund to provide

detailed information on diurnal birds of prey (eagles,hawks, and falcons) and to facilitate communicationbetween raptor researchers of the world. The GRINweb site can be accessed through our web site,www.peregrinefund.org, or at www.globalraptors.org.

Still in its initialstages, GRIN is an ever-evolving project designedto provide detailed bio-logical information onthe diurnal raptors of theworld, help identify pri-ority species for conser-vation actions andspecies in need of furtherstudy, provide access tothe technical literaturefor researchers and stu-dents in remote loca-tions, establish a globalnetwork of raptorresearchers and conserva-tionists, post informa-tion on new researchfindings and raptor con-servation issues, and pro-vide links to other websites of interest to raptorenthusiasts.

At the heart of GRINis a comprehensivespecies database whichallows users to generateraptor species lists for

260 countries and island groups, based on their conser-vation status, population trend, estimated populationsize, and family. The database supports searches onmultiple terms, so it is possible to generate a list of allthe endangered and vulnerable hawk species (Accipitri-dae) in the Neotropical Region or for any combinationof countries, for example, just those comprising CentralAmerica. This is useful for conservationists and landmanagers who wish to prioritize their efforts and alsoidentify species of concern that are not being studied.

In addition, handbook-style species accounts aregradually being prepared for each of the 330 species ofdiurnal raptors, and these include sections on distribu-

tion, taxonomy, movements, habits, habitat, food andfeeding behavior, breeding, conservation, currentresearch, and important references, plus at least onephoto of the species. For many species, the generalaccount is linked to pages with much more extensiveinformation on many of these topics. “Mini-galleries” ofphotos will soon be linked to the accounts, making itpossible to illustrate individuals of different ages andsex, plus multiple races of widely distributed species.

The species accounts are linked to the homepages orweb sites of persons who actually study each specieswith the hope that virtually all raptor researchers willeventually be willing to participate in GRIN. This hasthe added advantage of making the researchers them-selves aware of other individuals studying their“favorite” species, and it should lead to valuable newassociations. GRIN participants are able to post theircontact data, photo, biography, notes on their researchinterests, and lists of their publications on their home-pages, which they create themselves. Since the “release”of GRIN in August 2005, 31 researchers representing 13countries have signed up as participants.

Perhaps the GRIN feature of greatest interest toresearchers is the searchable bibliography of technicaland popular references on diurnal raptors. This data-base currently contains over 24,000 records with morebeing added daily. The Peregrine Fund Research Librarymaintains a standing offer to supply free pdf copies ofany of these articles in our collection upon request, andwe have already responded to over 300 such requestsfrom researchers from over 40 countries.

An extensive network of links is maintained to otherweb sites of potential interest to raptor aficionados,including raptor organizations, large information data-bases, raptor observatories, raptor listservers, and over200 technical journals which publish articles on raptors.The latter list is the largest of its kind on the Internetand, like several other GRIN features, is of interest toornithologists in general. There are also “bulletinboard” sections with details on upcoming raptor meet-ings, recent raptor news, requests for assistance, and jobopportunities.

It is hoped that raptor researchers will support theGRIN project by creating their homepages and by allow-ing their photographs to be used on the web site. Thegoal of GRIN is to provide a one-stop shopping destina-tion for persons interested in diurnal raptors, whetherthey are professional researchers, students trying to fleshout a term paper, or just plain folks who have a specialinterest in these magnificent birds.

GRIN:Global Raptor Information Network

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Lloyd Kiff

Adult OrnateHawk-Eagle.

The goal of GRIN is to provide a one-stop shopping destination forpersons interestedin diurnal raptors.

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The Peregrine Falcon isone of the few speciesever restored from theverge of extinction. Findout how it happened, astold by 69 of the falconers,conservationists, biologistsand others who partici-pated in this monumentaleffort. Full-color photo-graphs help tell the story,along with beautiful art-work by Robert Batemanand many others. This isone coffee table book thatwon’t gather dust! Hard-cover, 394 pages.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59.50

Support The Peregrine Fund’s projects with your purchases! The 2005

addition toour series ofholidayornamentsis the Amer-ican Kestrel.Engraved onthe back withthe year and thename of the bird,each ornament is a finelycrafted keepsake to give or to add to your own collec-tion. See our online store for ornaments from 1994through 2004. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.50

In this personal and highlyentertaining memoir, JimEnderson tells stories of alifetime spent studying,training, breeding, and sim-ply enjoying Peregrine Fal-cons. He weaves in thebiology and natural historyof the Peregrine, as well as

anecdotes about its traditional and widespread use in

falconry, to offer a broad portrait of this

splendid and intrigu-ing falcon.Paperback, 254 pages.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.95

NEW! Now you don’t have to choose among yourfavorite raptors—wear them all, on this preshrunk 100%cotton t-shirt. The back features a collage of a PeregrineFalcon, California Condor, Gyrfalcon, and Aplomado Fal-con. White only.

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Orders can be placed three ways:

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• Go to www.peregrinefund.org,where you can shop for these andmany other great items. We offerbooks, games, puzzles, apparel,educational toys, jewelry, and more.Ordering is secure and easy!

Our field biologists never leave home without one—cotton canvas embroidered hats sporting your favorite birdsof prey and “The Peregrine Fund.” One size; adjustable strap. Back vent embroidered with raptor name. Colorsavailable as shown (green, blue, khaki, orange, berry, and tan/gray) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17.95

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The Peregrine FundWorld Center for Birds of Prey5668 West Flying Hawk LaneBoise, ID 83709United States of America

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Peregrine Falcon, North Greenland.