Breaking News

The Earthspan family celebrates one of its heroes

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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...

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Spring Peregrine Survey at Padre Island Complete

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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...

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Earthspan Study on Oil Spill Effects Published

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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...

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Earthspan at the Ward Museum in January

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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...

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Fall Peregrine Surveys Complete

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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...

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Conference Presentations Scheduled

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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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Social media, here we come!

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So we’re a little late, you say. Nevertheless, cut us some slack and check out our initial effort here. It’s a Facebook page for our Padre Island Peregrine Falcon Survey, so please “like” us and tell your...

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Bad News and Good…Along With Sincere Thanks

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Personal and professional demands have made it necessary that Gregg Doney (left in photo) step down as Earthspan Director and Program Director of our autumn Padre Island Peregrine Falcon Survey. A long-time collaborator, Gregg has done a tremendous job since 2006 of maintaining the Survey’s scientific integrity, improving data collection methods and digitally archiving decades of field notes and band records.  He leaves the Survey in good order, and we will continue to rely on his advice regarding the direction of all Earthspan initiatives. We sincerely thank Gregg for his innumerable...

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Government Shutdown Endangers Peregrine Surveys

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The October 1 partial shutdown of the U.S Government closed all National Parks, Seashores and Refuges. At Assateague Island National Seashore (MD) Earthspan researchers were forbidden to enter the study area just three days after beginning our 44th annual survey. We are in place and poised to resume the survey if Congress so allows, but the migration waits for no one and our window of opportunity is rapidly passing. At Padre Island (TX) Earthspan researchers can no longer access portions of the study area on Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, but the beachfront and State lands are...

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Results in from 2012 Peregrine Surveys

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Results from Earthspan’s 2012 peregrine falcon surveys have been incorporated into our annual reports for both the Assateague and Padre Island surveys. A summary of results and both reports may be found under the Research tab on this site. The life of our colleague and friend Scott Francis was celebrated at the onset of our autumn Padre survey. An immature female was captured and released at Deer Island. She was dusted with some of Scott’s ashes and released by his wife Karen to carry them along on her southward journey. The rest of Scott’s mortal remains were scattered...

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