Spring Peregrine Survey at South Padre Island Complete
Our 39th annual spring survey at South Padre wrapped last week. The kickoff on April 12 included an expedition to Deer Island, where a few close friends of Earthspan Director Tom Maechtle joined wife Kathy and daughter Ireland to honor his memory. Extensive flooding of the wind tidal flats and several days of dangerously high winds combined to reduce productivity this spring, and our final capture total was 36. Three falcons originally banded during previous autumn surveys were among those captured, and we continued sample collections for collaborative studies.
Read MoreEarthspan Family Suffers Devastating Loss
Earthspan must tearfully advise its friends and supporters of the untimely passing of Director and founding member Tom Maechtle. A talented biologist and internationally known expert on peregrines, he directed the Padre Survey for many years. Tom was a key figure in most Earthspan projects for decades, working alongside us on peregrine projects in Greenland, Alaska, Mexico, South America and Russia. He authored or co-authored many scientific publications, built his highly successful Bighorn Environmental Consultants firm in Sheridan, WY, and still found time for a rewarding family life with...
Read More2016 Spring Peregrine Survey at Padre Island Complete
The spring survey began on April 14, and was conducted by Bill Seegar, Mike Yates and Carl Thelander. For several days we had full access to the wind tidal flats and interior trails. High Laguna Madre and Gulf tides soon reduced our survey area and a severe thunderstorm in the early morning hours of April 19 limited our access to a small northeast segment of the island. Just as the flats had begun to dry another storm event early on April 24 returned them to April 19 conditions. Thunderstorms that afternoon curtailed survey activities until April 26, and left the survey limited to patrolling...
Read MoreFall Peregrine Surveys Completed
The 46th annual autumn survey at Assateague Island and the 39th at Padre Island were completed in October. Numbers were down at Assateague due to the effects of a prolonged nor’easter and Hurricane Joaquin. Padre had a good season despite the challenges of a red tide and flooding of the wind tidal flats. More details and final reports are now posted under the Research tab.
Read MoreThe Earthspan family celebrates one of its heroes
Bob Whitney, DVM, MS, ACLAM (see Volunteer Profiles) is Earthspan’s founding President and an inspiration to its members for over four decades. Bob turns 80 this year, and on the weekend of May 8-10 his “kids” (Stacy Whitney, Tara Gillam, Laura Perrotta and Mark Whitney) held a celebration at Chincoteague Island, VA. We were proud to be included among the dozens of attendees and to present a program at the banquet on Earthspan’s work, the success of which bears so many of Bob’s fingerprints. We were not at all surprised to meet various impressive individuals...
Read MoreSpring Peregrine Survey at Padre Island Complete
Fifty-two peregrines were captured in April and all were blood sampled. Three of those individuals had been initially banded during last autumn’s survey. Equipment breakdowns delayed the survey’s start, and previous rains had left the flats soft but navigable except for a few treacherous spots. Falcons were mostly unresponsive for the first few days, at which point nighttime thunderstorms curtailed access to the study area April 13-16. After that the wind tidal flats north of Deer Island could only be accessed via beach travel due to standing water to the south. Periodic nighttime...
Read MoreEarthspan Study on Oil Spill Effects Published
Ecotoxicology has published Earthspan’s collaborative study documenting polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contaminants in migrating peregrines relative to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Gulf oil spill. Results demonstrate an increased incidence (frequency of detection and blood concentrations) of PAH contamination in 2010 fall migrants sampled along the Texas Gulf Coast, declining to near basal levels in 2011. The publication can be found on our Research and Publications...
Read MoreEarthspan at the Ward Museum in January
Earthspan is an invited participant on January 16 at the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art’s Eastern Shore Conservation Showcase in Salisbury, Maryland. Board members Bill Seegar, Jim Dayton and Blake Henke will share information on our 45 annual fall migration surveys of peregrine falcons at Assateague Island. Details of our satellite tracking studies in partnership with North Star Science and Technology, along with our investigations of chemical and biological threats to the environment will also be highlighted. Among other participants will be the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge...
Read MoreFall Peregrine Surveys Complete
Earthspan’s Assateague Island (MD) Peregrine Falcon Survey completed its 45th annual autumn migration survey on 18 October, and its Padre Island (TX) Peregrine Falcon Survey completed its 37th annual survey on 26 October. The Assateague effort, conducted by Directors Mike Yates and Bill Seegar, experienced a series of productive fronts that generated some big days on the beach. Just one 2 ½ -day period in mid-October produced 47 captures. At Padre, Director Tom Maechtle and his volunteer biologists had a more challenging season. A major storm on 27 September dumped 8 inches of rain in...
Read MoreConference Presentations Scheduled
Two Earthspan oral presentations are set for the 2014 Raptor Research Foundation annual meeting this month in Corpus Christi. Director Tom Maechtle is scheduled to present “Migrating Tundra Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus tundrius) accumulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons along the Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.” Co-authors are Bill Seegar, Mike Yates, Peter Jenny and Gregg Doney. Director Mike Yates is scheduled to present “Long-term standardized studies of migrating Tundra Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus tundrius) on the East and Gulf...
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