![]() Today, they occupy just four percent of their former range in Central America where a small population of fewer than 40 pairs persist in areas of Belize, Guatemala, and Panama. Historically, their range may have been from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. Orange-breasted Falcons have probably always been rare because of their specialized habitat: large cliffs where they nest and large areas of unbroken tropical forest where they live. Some of our released males have mated with wild females and produced eggs or young chicks. When these young falcons are 20-40 days old, they are transported directly to Belize, thanks to the generous support of LightHawk, a flying service for conservation. Though the young falcons are raised in Wyoming, they are released far from there in the country of Belize. ![]() Other falcon species, such as the Peregrine Falcon and Aplomado Falcon, are dependent for about half that time. Another unique aspect of this falcon is the long period of time – about five months – that the juveniles depend on their parents for food. After a week or two of flying wild, these young falcons quickly grow wary of any potential predator – including humans! Nonetheless, even wild Orange-breasted Falcons are naturally relatively unafraid of humans, to their detriment. If they are tame, biologists can pick them up and place them in a safe spot high off the ground and away from predators. It is also helpful during the young birds' first flights, as they often end up grounded in the dense tropical forest. If the chicks are tame, biologists can release the older birds while still climbing up to the box in the evening to feed the younger birds that haven't yet flown for the first time. This is helpful because the chicks vary quite a bit in age when they arrive at the hack site. This is to help keep them tame while they are in the hack box, where the chicks become accustomed to their new surroundings, and for a short while after they are released to the wild. The Orange-breasted Falcon chicks are hand-raised in small groups by a biologist. The techniques used to release young Orange-breasted Falcons to the wild are similar to those used for releasing Aplomado Falcons and other birds of prey – with several important differences. By 2012, 45 Orange-breasted Falcons had been produced in captivity and 30 released to the wild in Belize. We conducted our first experimental release for this species in 2005. In 2006, we began a captive breeding program at our facilities in Sheridan, Wyoming. Because this rare falcon appears to be largely absent from much of Central America, we recognized the need to begin a breeding and release program to help maintain genetic diversity and to prevent further decline. ![]() Today, we are focusing our efforts on studying the behavior, breeding and hunting habits, threats, and habitat requirements of the only known Orange-breasted Falcon population in northern Central America. This confirmed that the small declining population in Belize and Guatemala is isolated by almost 1,000 miles from the larger population in South America. During one survey over a two-year period (1999-2000), they checked nearly 400 cliffs but never saw a single Orange-breasted Falcon in Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, or Costa Rica. Our biologists have worked very hard to find these falcons in Central America, searching on foot, by plane, and by helicopter. Peregrine Fund biologists have been studying the Orange-breasted Falcon since 1978, initially in Ecuador and Peru and then in Belize and Guatemala.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |