Kathy Maechtle releases an adult female at Tom's memorial gathering
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.