The Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) in Gorham, Maine focuses mostly on bird research and during my time as an intern there during January 2012 I was able to do a considerable amount of research on Peregrine Falcons. As part of their outreach and education programs, BRI has a few different webcams which are available on their website for free. The webcams focus on the nests of Bald Eagles, Ospreys, Loons, and Peregrine Falcons. During my internship I worked with Patrick Keenan, who oversees the webcam operations, on researching and observing the Peregrine Falcons.
The breeding population of Peregrine Falcons in Maine is listed as endangered under the Maine Endangered Species Act. Under this listing, the pair that the BRI webcam focuses on is considered endangered. Peregrine Falcons can be found on every continent except Antarctica and Peregrines in some regions migrate while others have only one year-round territory. BRI’s webcam Peregrines have never migrated as long as they have been observed with the webcam, which has been active since 2007. As part of my internship, I wrote a short paper on why birds migrate and what the costs or benefits might be for Peregrines who migrate and those that keep a year-round territory.
The majority of my time at BRI was focused on Peregrine Falcon research and observations at the nest site. There are a few different Peregrine nest sites in Maine and using my GIS experience from Colby I was able to create a GIS map displaying the approximate locations of Peregrine nests or habitats in Maine and their potential ranges. From research that I conducted, I found that an average (non-hunting) flying speed for Peregrines is about 30 miles per hour. Using this estimate I was able to show on the map just how far Peregrines in Maine could travel. However, Patrick Keenan and I believe that most Peregrines in Maine would not fly more than 30 minutes or 15 miles from the nest site because, in all likelihood, if a Peregrine has a nest in an area, there are probably good sources of prey nearby. Prey for Peregrine Falcons consists of small birds, mainly pigeons and small shore or game birds. Also, most of the Peregrine nests in Maine are near large bodies of water which theoretically would provide ample amounts of prey, limiting the distance an individual is forced to travel.
Apart from viewing the Peregrines each week, I was able to go in the field one other time with BRI’s forest songbird biologist, Allyson Jackson. We went to Rangeley, where Allyson had deployed nest boxes the summer before in the hopes of attracting Boreal Chickadees, a species that is common in Canada but extends only as far south as the Rangeley region and Northern Maine. We met a research assistant from the University of Maine at Orono who was placing digital temperature readers in the boxes in order to determine if the Chickadees were using them.
Overall, I enjoyed my experience at BRI and am glad that I was able to meet so many fascinating people who are all clearly passionate about their work. I learned a considerable amount about Peregrine Falcons and their habitats, migrations, and territory, and I was able to incorporate skills I learned from Colby in creating valuable products for future use by BRI.