2001 Newsletter - The Peregrine Fund

THE PEREGRINE FUND 

working 

to conserve 

birds of prey 

in nature 

summer/fall 2001 

newsletter number 32

Imagine a world 

without… 

…the next generation. 

Photo by Bill Burnham 

One Hundred Percent of All Donations Go Directly to Programs! 

The Peregrine Fund is working to conserve birds of prey around the world. All of our programs 

are dependent upon contributions. Help preserve future generations of birds of prey. Make a 

tax-deductible contribution to The Peregrine Fund today. To learn more, visit our web site. 

www.peregrinefund.org

Business Office (208)362-3716 

Fax (208)362-2376 

Interpretive Center (208)362-8687 

tpf@peregrinefund.org 

http://www.peregrinefund.org 

The Peregrine Fund will soon be constructing a new 

collections building at our location in Boise, Idaho. 

With the addition of this new building our mailing 

address is changing. Our new mailing address is 

5668 West Flying Hawk Lane, Boise, Idaho 83709. 

THE PEREGRINE FUND STAFF 

United States 

Linda Behrman 

Roy Britton 

Bill Burnham 

Kurt K. Burnham 

Pat Burnham 

Jack Cafferty 

Jeff Cilek 

MaryAnn Edson 

Nancy Freutel 

Bill Heinrich 

Grainger Hunt 

J. Peter Jenny 

Russ Jones 

Lloyd Kiff 

Paul Malone 

Kim Middleton 

Angel Montoya 

Amel Mustic 

Brian Mutch 

Trish Nixon 

Shaun Olmstead 

Nedim Omerbegovic 

Sophie Osborn 

Chris Parish 

Carol Pettersen 

Dalibor Pongs 

Rob Rose 

Cal Sandfort 

Randy Stevens 

Russell Thorstrom 

Randy Townsend 

Rick Watson 

Dave Whitacre 

Chris Woods 

Archivist 

S. Kent Carnie 

OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS 

D. James Nelson 

Chairman of the Board 

President, Nelson 

Construction Company 

Paxson H. Offield 

Vice Chairman of the 

Board 

President and CEO, 

Santa Catalina Island 

Company 

William A. Burnham, 

Ph.D. 

President 

J. Peter Jenny 

Vice President 

Jeffrey R. Cilek 

Vice President 

Karen J. Hixon 

Treasurer 

Conservationist 

Ronald C. Yanke 

Secretary 

President, Yanke 

Machine Shop, Inc. 

International 

Aristide Andrianarimisa 

Francisco Barrios 

Adrien Batou 

Be Berthin 

Noel Augustin Bonhomme 

Eloi (Lala) Fanameha 

Martin Gilbert 

Noel Guerra 

Ron Hartley 

Kathia Herrera 

Mia Jessen 

Herman A. Jordan 

Loukman Kalavaha 

Eugéne Ladoany 

Magaly Linares 

Jose Lopez 

Jules Mampiandra 

Moise 

Angel Muela 

Charles Rabearivelo (Vola) 

Berthine Rafarasoa 

Norbert Rajaonarivelo 

Jeannette Rajesy 

Gérard Rakotondravao 

Yves Rakotonirina 

Norbert Rajaonarivelo 

Gaston Raoelison 

Christophe 

Razafimahatratra 

Lova Jacquot Razanakoto 

Lily-Arison Rene 

de Roland 

Leonardo Salas 

Simon Thomsett 

Gilbert Tohaky 

Ursula Valdez 

Jose Vargas 

Munir Virani 

Zarasoa 

Tom J. Cade, Ph.D. 

Founding Chairman 

Professor Emeritus of 

Ornithology, Cornell 

University 

Roy E. Disney 

Chairman of the Board, 

Emeritus 

Vice Chairman, The 

Walt Disney Company 


Shamrock Holdings, Inc. 

Henry M. Paulson, Jr. 


Emeritus 

Chairman and Chief 

Executive Officer, The 

Goldman Sachs Group, 

Inc. 

Julie A. Wrigley 


Emeritus 

Chairman and CEO, 

Wrigley Investments LLC 

THE PEREGRINE FUND 

NEWSLETTER NO. 32 • SUMMER/FALL 2001 

Letters 

Our colleagues around the world respond to the tragedy of September 11 . . . . . . . . .2 

Aplomado Falcon Recovery 

Captive-bred falcons get some extra protection from predators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 

California Condor Restoration 

Released California Condors officially “come of age” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 

Greenland Project 

Satellite tracking reveals the range of the incredible Gyrfalcon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 

Harpy Eagles 

New facility in Panama provides tropical environment for captive breeding . . . . . . .8 

Madagascar 

Local people assume protection of natural resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 

Cape Verde Kite 

Capturing one of these rare raptors puts our biologists to the test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 

Zimbabwe Falconers Club 

How a falconers club assists in shaping national conservation strategies . . . . . . . . .13 

Notes from the Field 

From Peru to Pakistan, our researchers share their triumphs and worries . . . . . . . .15 

Development 

Our future is in your hands! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 

Education 

Up-close encounters with birds of prey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 

Lee M. Bass 

President, Lee M. Bass, 

Inc. 

Robert B. Berry 

Trustee, Wolf Creek 

Charitable Trust, 

Falcon Breeder, and 


Harry L. Bettis 

Rancher 

P. Dee Boersma, 

Ph.D. 

Professor, University of 

Washington 

Frank M. Bond 

Attorney at Law and 

Rancher 

Robert S. Comstock 

President and CEO, 

Robert Comstock 

Company 

Derek J. Craighead 

Ecologist 

© 2001 • Edited by Bill Burnham • Design © 2001 by Amy Siedenstrang 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE PEREGRINE FUND 

DIRECTORS 

Scott A. Crozier 

Senior Vice President 

and General Counsel 

PETsMART, INC 

T. Halter 

Cunningham 

Business Executive/ 

Investor 

Patricia A. Disney 

Vice Chairman, 

Shamrock Holdings, 

Inc. 

James H. Enderson, 

Ph.D. 

Professor of Biology 

The Colorado College 

Caroline A. Forgason 

Partner, 

Groves/Alexander 

Michael R. Gleason 

Investor, Culmen 

Group, L.P. 

Z. Wayne Griffin, Jr. 

Developer, G&N 

Management, Inc. 

Jacobo Lacs 

International 

Businessman and 


Patricia B. Manigault 

Conservationist and 

Rancher 

Velma V. Morrison 

President, Harry W. 

Morrison Foundation 

Ruth O. Mutch 

Investor 

Morlan W. Nelson 

Naturalist, 

Hydrologist, and 

Cinematographer 

Ian Newton, 

D.Phil., D.Sc. 

Senior 

Ornithologist (Ret.) 

Natural Environment 

Research Council 

United Kingdom 

Thomas T. Nicholson 

Rancher and 

Landowner 

Lucia L. Severinghaus, 

Ph.D. 

Research Fellow 

Institute of Zoology, 

Academia Sinica 

Taiwan 

R. Beauregard Turner 

Fish and Wildlife 

Manager, Turner 

Enterprises 

William E. Wade, Jr. 

President (Ret.), 

Atlantic Richfield 

Company 

James D. Weaver 

Past President, North 

American Falconers’ 

Association, 

and Raptor Biologist 

P.A.B. Widener, Jr. 

Rancher and Investor 

1

Nature Makes the Whole World Kin 

– Shakespeare 

During the week of 11 

September 2001 we were 

holding our annual planning 

meeting. There were staff 

members and cooperators from 

many countries, cultures, and religions 

gathered at the World 

Center for Birds of Prey to present 

programmatic results from the 

past year and to make plans for 

what we hope to achieve in the 

following five years. The first 

news of the terrorist attack came 

via the Philippines when the 

President of the Philippine Eagle 

Foundation called. For the next 

two hours we sat and watched in 

horror and disbelief as the events 

were reported and displayed on a 

television in our meeting room. 

As we sat there the sadness and 

rage were no less or more for 

those of us from the United States 

than those from Europe, Africa, 

Asia, or Latin America. The attack 

was not just on and about the 

United States, but directed at the 

world’s humanity and the very 

core of civilization and human 

freedoms. 

Over the next few days we 

received a stream of messages, 

some of which are shared here. 

Receiving these messages it was 

increasingly obvious that 

although “we work to conserve 

birds of prey in nature,” the effect 

is far greater than just on raptors, 

or even nature conservation. We 

have found a common interest 

and bond on which relationships 

and understanding are established 

and nurtured, helping bridge cultures, 

nations, and peoples of the 

world. As we learned in uniting 

the vast diversity of people and 

organizations to restore the 

Peregrine Falcon, it is seldom possible 

to agree on everything, but if 

we can find something in 

common on which to agree, many 

of the other problems can eventually 

be resolved through understanding 

and finally trust. 

“Allow me to share my outrage at 

the cowardly assault on your 

country. At the same time, my 

family joins me in prayer for the 

thousands of lives that have been 

lost and affected by these terrorists. 

I wish I could be of some 

help in any way. Please let me 

know.” Philippines 

“We are shocked to learn about 

the recent tragedy in the US. We 

share with you all the grief and 

sorrow. We strongly condemn 

and resent this act of terrorism. 

We take it as crime not against 

the American government or 

American people, but against 

humanity. We wish that we 

could have been with you at this 

sad and evil event.” Pakistan 

“We are deeply shocked with the 

terrorism act in the US. We join 

all of Malagasy people and 

nation to condemn such act. We 

hope the US government will 

2 

We have found a common interest 

… helping bridge cultures, nations, 

and peoples of the world. 

find quickly those responsible for 

this act and punish them severely 

to let the liberty, freedom, and 

peace settle forever.” 

Madagascar 

“From me personally and from 

my country and the whole of 

Europe I send you my deepest 

sympathy. I do not know what to 

say. We all support you.” 

Denmark 

“On rare occasion, even fanatical 

raptor conservationists can be 

diverted from their cause. This is 

one such occasion. No words can 

express the level of revulsion that 

these unjustifiable acts have generated 

around the world. Our 

thoughts are with our American 

friends and colleagues at this 

tragic time. Let us hope that this 

despicable attack only serves to 

unite every civilized individual of 

all nations to eradicate this evil 

from our world. This is a shockingly 

terrible day in the history of 

mankind.” United Kingdom 

“I express my deepest condolences 

of my heart to all Americans who 

have lost their relatives in today’s 

terrorist attack. I know there is 

little comfort in words, but I do 

want to express how deeply we 

all feel for you. We are shocked, 

horrified, and saddened. God 

bless all Americans and us.” 

Mongolia 

“Please accept my (and all or our 

staff’s) sympathies to the attacks 

of terrorists!” 

Hungary 

“I think all of us in Europe are 

deeply shocked and saddened by 

the terrible events of yesterday. I 

personally feel deeply for all of 

you who are friends across the 

Atlantic. I grieve for the thousands 

so callously slain. It is a 

joint tragedy and shame to whole 

humankind that soil our planet.” 

Estonia

Aplomado Falcon Recovery: 

Dealing with Other Predators 

This year our biologists 

were able to locate 33 

by J. Peter Jenny pairs of Aplomado 

Falcons in South Texas, and although 

some of these pairs were immature, 22 

(66%) attempted to breed. Perhaps 

most encouraging was that the number 

of young to successfully fledge from 

these nests more than tripled from last 

year. Only eight young were able to 

fledge from nests last year as a result of 

predation by raccoons, coyotes, and 

Great Horned Owls. This season breeding 

pairs successfully fledged at least 

29 young. 

We experimented with several proactive 

management techniques in an 

effort to reduce predation from ground 

predators at nests. When our biologists 

located an active nest they circled it 

with a single strand of portable electrical 

fence. Next, small sticks were 

treated with “Renardine,” which was 

developed in Great Britain to protect 

ground nesting birds from foxes. A few 

of the sticks were placed directly under 

the nest, and others were placed in a 

30-yard circle around the nest. 

Although some losses still occurred, we 

found that predation by raccoons and 

coyotes at nests receiving these management 

techniques was significantly 

reduced. 

We are also developing artificial 

nesting structures designed to make it 

more difficult for predators to gain 

access to the falcon’s eggs or their 

young. The Great Horned Owl remains 

the most difficult predator for us to 

manage, and in some areas of south 

Texas the species may ultimately limit 

the recovery of the Aplomado Falcon. 

The interaction of species in nature 

is one of the many challenges encountered 

in restoration biology. Although 

the effects of these interactions are 

often extremely frustrating, they are, in 

the end, one of the aspects of working 

with nature that makes our work so 

very interesting. 

From top: Adult Aplomado Falcon above 

nest. 

Photo © W.S. Clark 

Photo by Amy Nicholas 

The interaction 

of species in 

nature is one 

of the many 

challenges 

encountered in 

restoration 

biology. 

Photo by Brian Mutch 

Aplomado Falcon eggs in White-tailed 

Hawk nest. Aplomados and other falcons do 

not build their own nests, and may use 

nests constructed by other birds. 

Biologists place electric wire around base of 

nest tree. 

3

Major Milestone Achieved for 

25 March 2001 

Photo by Chris Parish 

Adult Condor 

soars at the edge 

of the Grand 

Canyon. 

…the object 

he was pushing 

around 

was large and 

smooth and 

elliptical and 

looked exactly 

like – an 

EGG!! 

For those of us who have worked 

with the condors and those of you 

by Sophie Osborn who have watched them at the 

Vermilion Cliffs and Grand Canyon or read of their 

trials and tribulations in The Peregrine Fund’s home 

page field notes (www.peregrinefund.org), the 

thrilling discovery on 25 March was deeply moving. 

It will forever mark an unforgettable milestone in 

our efforts to restore the condor. 

Sunday, 25 March 2001, started out in the same 

way as almost every other day in March, with the 

various crew members headed out early to the 

release site and the Colorado River corridor to track 

and monitor Arizona’s 25 free-flying condors. I 

headed out to the river to observe our “trio,” male 

Condor 123 and female Condors 119 and 127, and 

to monitor a newly released juvenile, Condor 198, 

who had left the Vermilion Cliffs a mere six days 

after his release (more on him later!). Perched on 

the cliff edge, I watched Condor 119 fly over to the 

cave the trio had been investigating on and off for 

several weeks, and disappear inside at 1020 hours. 

Condors 123 and 127 were content to perch on a 

nearby ledge. Much to my surprise, an hour and a 

quarter later, Condor 198 appeared, flying down a 

side canyon and heading straight for the cave and 

the lounging adults. After several days perched 

alone on cliffs overlooking the town of Marble 

Canyon, he had finally found his way to the river 

and found some companions! 

Dodging the pesky Peregrine Falcon that was 

relentlessly pursuing him, Condor 198 landed by 

the cave next to Condors 123 and 127. The adults, 

however, did not appear to appreciate their space 

being invaded by an intruder. Chaos erupted! 

Condor 119 emerged from her cave and, surprisingly, 

was promptly attacked by her mate, Condor 

123, while Condor 127 began attacking Condor 

198. The Peregrine wisely retreated! As Condor 119 

dropped off the ledge, she turned her attentions to 

pursuing Condor 198. Condors 123 and 127 

quickly joined in the chase. A few minutes later 

Condor 198 circled and landed by the cave and the 

three adults settled nearby. Perhaps the adults’ 

aggression would have abated had Condor 198 not 

decided to fly again and land even closer to the cave 

entrance. No sooner had he landed than the adults 

attacked again. Finally, Condor 123 escorted the 

young bird out of the territory. 

Upon his return, Condor 123 flew to the cave 

and walked part way in. Nine minutes later, he was 

in full view in the cave entrance and was pushing 

something around with his bill. Such behavior was 

not unusual, since these three adults have been 

engaging in frequent nest grooming behavior where 

they push pebbles and debris around the “nest” 

cave and ledge with their bills. But as Condor 123 

stepped back, I saw that the object he was pushing 

around was large and smooth and elliptical and 

looked exactly like—an EGG!! A condor egg!! I 

don’t know if I breathed. Time seemed suspended. 

Frantically I tried to focus my scope for a closer 

look, but it was already zoomed in as far as it would 

go! I stared and stared. Could this in fact be the 

first condor egg laid in the wild since 1986?!? Or 

was it just a large, oval rock? Frantically, I searched 

my memory. Had I noticed a smooth white rock in 

the cave entrance earlier? Surely, I would have 

noted it if I had. I struggled to contain my excitement. 

As an emotional person, caught up in my 

affection for the condors and the ever-unfolding 

drama of the efforts to recover them, I wanted to 

jump and shout, to rush off to tell the world what 

an amazing thing these incredible birds had done! 

But the biologist in me won out. I needed to be 

absolutely 100% sure of what I was seeing. I could 

not afford to be wrong about this. Motionless, I 

continued staring through the scope. Calmly, I 

described what I was seeing in my field notes. For 

almost an hour I stared at the beautifully smooth 

4

California Condor Restoration 

object, pausing only to call Chris 

Parish, our project manager, on 

the cell phone to let him know 

that I might be looking at a 

condor egg! 

While I watched, Condor 119 

left the area and Condor 123 went 

into the cave for several minutes, 

then perched by the entrance. At 

1236 hours, Condor 127 walked 

up to the cave entrance and 

stopped by the possible egg. 

Reaching down, she placed her bill 

inside its hollowed-out back end. 

Then I knew. I was elated ... and, 

for a brief moment, crushed. It was 

indeed an egg! No rock could be 

so smooth, elliptical, white, eggshell 

thin, and hollow to boot! 

But it was broken. Still, none of us 

had realistically expected the birds 

to successfully hatch an egg this 

year. Condors do not usually 

manage to hatch an egg on their 

first attempt. Typically, the egg gets 

broken or is infertile. The fact that 

this egg was broken in no way 

diminishes the fact that these birds 

who had been released as two-year 

olds in 1997 and faced extraordinary 

odds over the ensuing years, 

including almost being killed by 

lead poisoning in the summer of 

2000, had found themselves a nest 

cave and laid their first egg!!! I 

felt overwhelmed by the enormity 

of the moment. Although dozens 

of people had contributed infinitely 

more to the release effort 

than I had, I happened to be the 

lucky person in the right spot at 

the right time to see the first egg 

laid by free-flying condors in 15 

years! It gave me a surge of hope 

that despite the infinite obstacles 

these magnificent birds face, they 

will succeed. 

Photo by Chris Parish 

5

Female Gyrfalcon at her 

eyrie after being tracked 

by The Peregrine Fund 

for nearly a year. Note 

satellite-monitored 

transmitter antenna 

extending from her 

back. 

Gyrfalcon 

Tracking Provides 

Valuable Information 

Photo by Alberto Palleroni 

Gyrfalcon 

with satellite 

transmitter. 


Gyrfalcons are the largest of all 

species of falcons. They breed 

by Kurt K. Burnham in the arctic regions of the 

world, feeding on ptarmigan and many other kinds 

of birds as well as Arctic Hare and small mammals. 

Their prey varies from location to location, and 

even time of year, as they take advantage of changes 

in abundance and seasonal availability. Plumage 

also varies, but not seasonally, as they molt only 

once annually. Gyrfalcons nesting in the northern 

arctic frequently have light-colored plumage and 

some are near white, while those in the more southern 

arctic are mostly gray in color. Their plumage 

color may offer them an advantage when hunting 

prey as more snow and ice occur in the northern 

arctic than in the southern. 

To breed and survive in the severe arctic conditions, 

Gyrfalcons have special adaptations beyond 

plumage color. Their legs are covered with feathers 

and they have very dense plumage with thick down, 

all to hold in body heat. During long arctic storms 

they may have to go for days without feeding, and 

conservation of energy is important. In the early 

spring, and particularly during incubation, temperatures 

may be well below zero Fahrenheit. 

6

Four nearly fledged 

young produced by 

tracked Gyrfalcon. 


Rock-climbing: 

one of the many 

challenges of 

studying the 

Gyrfalcon. 

Gyrfalcons have held great fascination for some 

biologists and for centuries have been highly 

regarded by falconers; however, very little is actually 

known about them in parts of their range, and in 

particular in Greenland. We are trying to answer 

many questions about this species in Greenland, 

including their seasonal movements. Using transmitters 

monitored by satellite (PTTs) is providing 

detailed information. 

On 13 October 2000, we placed a PTT on a 

female Gyrfalcon at a fall trapping station near the 

Arctic Circle on the west coast of Greenland. The 

data gained from this transmitter allowed us to track 

her for the entire winter and into the following 

spring and summer. After we attached the PTT to 

her, she proceeded about 480 miles (800 km) down 

the west coast of Greenland and spent the winter 

months in southern Greenland. In mid-March she 

began to migrate back up the west coast and settled 

into an area northwest of Kangerlussuaq, most likely 

her breeding territory. In June, using the best locations 

we had received from her PTT, we were able to 

find her, and shortly afterwards her nest. Her nest 

contained four 30+ day old young and was tucked 

into a cliff above a high mountain lake surrounded 

by snowcapped peaks. The valley contained willowchoked 

gullies, excellent ptarmigan habitat that 

was most likely one of the reasons she chose to 

breed at this location. After several attempts at capturing 

her we finally were successful and replaced 

her current PTT with a new unit that will last until 

the summer of 2002. 

With the information gained from this Gyrfalcon 

and additional falcons carrying satellite-monitored 

transmitters, we are gaining important new information 

for the conservation of Gyrfalcons. This 

research will continue for several more years with 

between 15 and 25 Gyrfalcons being tracked annually. 

To obtain more information on our work in 

Greenland and Gyrfalcons, please visit our home 

page at www.peregrinefund.org. 

Photo by Bill Burnham 

Her nest 

contained four 

30+ day old 

young and was 

tucked into a 

cliff above a 

high mountain 

lake surrounded 

by snowcapped 

peaks. 

7

Harpy Eagle. 


Harpy Eagles Arrive at Neotropical 

Raptor Center, Panama 

There are now five pairs of Harpy 

Eagles at the Neotropical Raptor 

Center, located a short distance 

from Panama City within the former 

U. S. Fort Clayton, renamed the City of 

Knowledge. This new entity was created 

by an Act of the Panamanian 

Congress to establish a center of excellence 

for intellectual, business, and 

environmental activities in Panama. 

Fundo Peregrino—Panama (The 

Peregrine Fund—Panama) has offices, 

staff housing, and the Neotropical 

Raptor Center there. We were one of 

the first organizations to become a resident. 

With the completion of six large 

steel and chain-link breeding chambers, 

Harpy Eagles from the World 

Center for Birds of Prey in Idaho were 

moved to the Neotropical Raptor 

Center in October 2001. Each chamber 

was constructed within the forest and 

visually separated from other chambers 

and any human activity, creating as 

natural an environment as possible for 

captive breeding. Although Harpy 

Eagles were successfully bred and many 

8 

young raised at our World Center’s 

Gerald D. and Kathryn Swim Herrick 

Tropical Raptor Building in Idaho, we 

could not achieve the desired rate of 

reproduction nor plumage and condition 

of the eagles. It was simply impossible 

for us to duplicate a tropical environment 

indoors for such large eagles. 

Our Panamanian cooperators were 

excited by the arrival of the eagles. Of 

special interest was the repatriation of 

Ancon, a male Harpy Eagle formally 

loaned to The Peregrine Fund in 1991 

by Panama. Ancon hatched in the 

wilds of Panama in 1985 and was illegally 

captured. He was rescued by a 

premier Panamanian environmental 

organization, “ANCON,” thus his 

name. With that organization’s assistance 

the eagle was transferred to The 

Peregrine Fund. Soon after his arrival 

at the World Center for Birds of Prey 

he was paired with a young female and 

over the years they produced eight 

young Harpy Eagles, including three 

previously returned and released in 

Panama. 

International Conference 

on Neotropical Raptors 

and Harpy Eagle 

Symposium 

❖ 

The Peregrine Fund 

Fondo Peregrino – Panama 

❖ 

Panama City, Panama 

24 - 27 October 2002 

The Peregrine Fund and Fondo 

Peregrino – Panama invite you 

to join scientists, conservationists, 

resource managers, falconers, 

representatives of zoos, government 

and non-governmental organizations, 

and other persons and institutions 

with an interest in research 

and/or conservation of birds of 

prey in Latin America and the 

Caribbean to participate in a meeting 

to share knowledge, interests, 

and concerns and help develop a 

network of practitioners in the fields 

of raptor conservation, research, 

captive-breeding, and falconry. 

For further information, contact: 

Neotropical Raptor Conference 


5668 West Flying Hawk Lane 

Boise, Idaho 83709 

United States of America 

Tel: 208-362-3717 

Fax: 208-362-2376 

E-mail: tpf@peregrinefund.org 

Details and registration forms are 

also available on The Peregrine 

Fund’s web site at: 

www.peregrinefund.org/ 

nrconference.html

Natural Resource Management 

Transferred to Local Population 

Madagascar is 

the fourth 

by Russell Thorstrom largest island 

in the world and is inhabited by some 

of the most unusual and unique plants 

and animals in the world. The are 24 

species of birds of prey in Madagascar 

of which 14 occur only on the island. 

Due to its uniqueness, number of 

endemic animals and plants, and loss 

of primary vegetation, Madagascar has 

become one of the primary hotspots in 

the world for conservation. The 

Peregrine Fund’s interest 

in Madagascar began Madagascar 

many years ago with Fish Eagle. 

research and conservation 

of the critically 

endangered endemic 

Madagascar Fish Eagle 

and Madagascar Serpent- 

Eagle. In Madagascar, 

both wetlands and 

forested habitat continue 

to be lost at an 

alarming rate and conservation 

remains critical. 

Wetlands are extremely threatened 

due to the dependency of the Malagasy 

people on them for cultivating rice, 

their staple food. 

We began research work on the 

endangered Madagascar Fish Eagle in 

the wetlands of central western 

Madagascar in 1991. Our work has 

been focused at Lakes Soamalipo, 

Befotaka, and Ankerika on what we 

estimate to be 10% of the entire breeding 

fish eagle population. These three 

lakes also support an abundant fisheries 

resource. In the early 1990s there 

was an increasing number of seasonal 

migrant fishermen coming to these 

lakes to catch fish to sell. This increased 

pressure conflicted with the needs of 

the local people and their laws, and 

eventually reduced fish stocks. 

In 1993, we proposed the idea of a 

community-based conservation project 

to protect the wetlands and natural 

resources shared by the local people 

and fish eagles. By 1996, the government 

of Madagascar created and 

encouraged empowerment of local 

communities to control and manage 

their natural resources (Law Project 

No. 17/96). We then began working 

with the local people around the three 

lakes to help achieve local control. In 

1997, with our support and aid, the 

people around Lakes Soamalipo and 

Befotaka formed a chartered association 

for managing 

their resources of the 

lakes and surrounding 

forest. Two years later 

the people on Lake 

Ankerika did likewise. 


was challenged with 

convincing the local 

people of the need to 

group together, how to 

improve their existing 

traditional laws and 

sanctions, the importance 

of managing their resources sustainably, 

and thinking in terms of their 

future. We have been helping these two 

associations to reach their objective of 

controlling their natural resources. 

Finally, in 2000 these associations 

requested the transfer of the resource 

management from the government of 

Madagascar to them. After five long 

years it became a reality on 29 

September 2001. 

For the next three years, during a 

probationary period, the local organizations 

will be required to demonstrate 

adequate care and management practices 

over their resources. Upon the 

completion of the probationary period, 

the review process will be extended by 

the government of Madagascar to every 

10 years. The Peregrine Fund will continue 

to be a resource for the sake of 

the eagles. 

Photo by Russell Thorstrom 

Photo by Russell Thorstrom 

Natural 

resources: 

canoe 

made 

from a 

nearby 

tree and 

fish from 

the wetlands. 

Presentation ceremony transfers natural 

resource management to local people. 

Photo by Lily-Arison Rene de Roland 

9

Cape Verde Kites 

Boavista 

A 

F 

Cape Verde 

Kites are 

known to 

survive only 

in these 

islands off 

the coast of 

Africa. 

R 

I 

C A 

by Rick Watson 

Endangered species conservation 

always presents challenges. 

Some are easier to 

deal with than others; some are predictable 

bureaucratic challenges that just take time 

and endless patience; others are of “cuttingedge 

science” in nature; and yet others relate 

to unexpected behavior of the animals themselves. 

The Cape Verde Kite project has had 

its fair share of all these! 

Scientifically, the Cape Verde Kite presents 

an interesting dilemma to conservation 

biologists. It was only recently proposed as a 

distinct species, Milvus fasciicauda, despite 

the fact that its nearest relative, the 

European Red Kite, Milvus milvus, was found 

over 1,800 miles (3,000 km) away. Of this 

substantial distance, at least 400 miles 

(645 km) is over the Atlantic Ocean. 

The Cape Verde Kite is geographically 

isolated from its nearest relatives, but 

since when, and how they got there, we 

do not know. Like other island species 

(e.g., Darwin’s finches in the 

Galapagos) once isolated, these kites 

probably followed their own evolutionary 

path as the species adapted to local 

conditions. New information collected 

in the mid-1990s on the behavior and 

morphology of the Cape Verde Kite is 

consistent with this theory. This new 

evidence, combined with conservation 

biologists’ revised understanding of what defines a 

“species” for the purpose of conservation (based on 

acceptance of populations with a different evolutionary 

history being the basic currency for conservation), 

we now recognize the Cape Verde Kite as 

unique and different from its European relative, and 

worthy of conservation in its own right. The tragedy 

of this new understanding is that many species may 

have already gone extinct because they were not previously 

recognized as worthy of the time, effort, and 

substantial cost of conservation. This may have been 

the fate of the Cape Verde Kite, except The Peregrine 

Fund went to work “just in time”—we hope! 

When we began this project over a year ago, there 

was a possibility the species may have become extinct 

One call produced 

the hint of a kite, 

so Sabine spent 

her last dollars on 

a flight to the 

island of Boavista. 

European Red 

Kite, closest 

relative of the 

Cape Verde 

Kite. 

in the previous few months. Only two 

widely separated individuals had been seen 

in the species “stronghold” in 1999 on the 

island of Santa Antão, and two were 

reported from neighboring São Vicente island in 

2000. In October 2000 we recruited Sabine Hille, a 

German biologist studying kestrels on the Cape Verde 

islands and then finishing her PhD at the Konrad- 

Lorenz Institute in Vienna, to mount a search for the 

Cape Verde Kite to establish whether or not the 

species survived. If found, we proposed to capture the 

last remaining birds for captive breeding. This, we 

felt, was another Mauritius Kestrel, a species so decimated 

by human activities that only captive breeding 

could save it from extinction. In captivity, the chances 

of the adult birds surviving are much higher than in 

the wild. We can control and optimize their diet for 

breeding and we can manage the breeding to increase 

Photo by Sabine Hille 

10

Found 

the number of eggs laid and hatched, increasing survivorship 

of nestlings. Put together, this kind of 

intensive hands-on management can greatly improve 

the chances of species survival when only a few individuals 

remain. 

Sabine immediately went to work organizing a 

team of volunteers to help her scale the rugged 

mountains of Santa Antão and São Vicente islands 

in search of kites. The Cape Verde islands are literally 

“desert islands,” not the Robinson Crusoe-like 

(or “Cast Away-like”!) “deserted islands” rich in 

tropical vegetation. They are volcanic, dry islands 

that rise from the sea to over 3,000 feet (900 m) to 

where scarce moisture allows vegetation to hold on 

to a precarious life, or they surface to only a few 

hundred feet where only drought-hardy plants 

manage to dot the barren landscape. 

Survey work began in May this year and by late 

June the team of 10 sadly concluded the Cape Verde 

Kite was now extinct. There were none to be found 

in its “last stronghold” on Santa Antão or neighboring 

São Vicente Islands. Five days before her scheduled 

departure, Sabine called around to friends and 

biologists working on other islands “just in case” 

someone had seen something like a kite on another 

island where they had not been recorded in 

decades. One call produced the hint of a kite, so 

Sabine spent her last dollars on a flight to the island 

of Boavista. Two days later I received an excited 

phone call, “They’re here! Four kites, Cape Verde 

Kites,” yelled Sabine’s elated voice over a crackling 

phone line from a mid-Atlantic desert island. Her 

last few days were spent in intensive study of the 

birds’ hunting behavior, daily routine, and habitat 

preferences. Armed with this information she 

returned to Austria to plan for the capture and 

translocation of the birds, while her local friends 

began “training” the birds to come to a predictable 

food station. 

A month later, our field team flew in to Cape 

Verde, arriving in Sal Island’s international airport in 

the early morning hours. Sabine was joined by longtime 

friend of The Peregrine Fund Jim Willmarth and 

our Project Manager from Kenya, Simon Thomsett, 

both experts in the capture and translocation of birds 

of prey. But that is a story I will let Jim tell. 

Kite Capture Depends 

on Patience, Timing, 

and Technology 

by Jim Willmarth 

After meeting Sabine Hille, I was shepherded 

through customs and experienced the unusually 

complicated process of flying from one 

island to another in Cape Verde. Sabine speaks Crioulo, a mixture 

of Portuguese and various West African languages, as well as 

the official language of Portuguese. She has worked in Cape 

Verde for years so everywhere we went we were greeted by smiling 

acquaintances. Arriving in Boavista Island after a night of 

limited sleep on the airport floor at Sal Island, we hitched a ride 

and stowed our gear with friends. We then 

went directly to the site where Sabine’s friends 

I had the 

uncanny 

feeling they 

were waiting 

for us. 

had been leaving food for the kites every five 

days. To my amazement, as soon as we turned 

off the cobblestone main road onto the dirt 

track leading to the feeding spot, there they 

were. All four kites were sitting together on the 

phone lines about 100 yards from us. I had the 

uncanny feeling they were waiting for us. 

As soon as we left food at the feeding site 

and backed off a few hundred yards, the kites 

flew in to inspect the food from a cautious distance. 

Ravens came first and began to take a 

few morsels and immediately the kites all came, chased them off, 

and began to carry off small bits of food. 

As the days passed it became clear that these four kites had 

two ravens that they were associated with on a daily basis. If the 

ravens did not go to a source of food first, the kites would not 

approach it. Often we watched as the kites found a new meal 

and waited for the ravens to come and do a security check. If the 

ravens found the offered meal suspicious, they would jump up 

and down and cry loudly, making such a fuss that the kites 

would fly off. 

About this time we caught up with Simon Thomsett, the third 

member of our party. We knew Simon was on his way but we 

were not sure of the exact day or time of his arrival. We had all 

been communicating by e-mail but as Simon explained to us, he 

lives miles outside of Nairobi, Kenya, at a place with no phone 

or electricity. For him to get a message involved the reception of 

the e-mail in Nairobi that was copied onto a floppy disc and 

(continued on page 12) 

11

12 

Kite Capture (continued from page 11) 

“placed in the end of a cleft stick and 

given to a runner who proceeded on 

foot to Simon’s house in the traditional 

manner of local mail delivery.” 

Simon then put the floppy in his 

portable computer to read the message. 

He said this whole procedure 

“took a bit of the convenience out of 

e-mail communication” for him! 

Drawing on Simon’s experience of 

capturing Black Kites in Africa, we 

decided to make a blind so we could 

be closer to the birds when we caught 

them and to aid our observations. At 

mid-day when the birds went off to 

soar they were often gone for hours. 

One day, when I thought the kites 

were out for the afternoon, I took a 

small shovel and started to make a 

place where we could hide. I scraped a 

shallow depression in the ground and 

started to pile some large rocks around 

the perimeter. I noticed the shadow of 

a bird move by me. Looking up, I saw 

two of the kites only about 40 yards 

above. They were watching with great 

interest. I walked away feeling foolish. 

That evening all four of the kites came 

and perched near the aborted hiding 

place. The ravens came, and upon 

seeing the depression and out of place 

rocks, they jumped up and down and 

cursed the place so loudly that the 

kites flew away without even inspecting 

the nearby food we had left for 

them. 

We discussed what we had learned 

so far and between us tried to come up 

with a solution for catching these 

birds. If we could get them all at once 

to feed within a few feet of each other, 

we would have a chance of capturing 

them all with a bow net. A bow net is 

a circular net with a ridged frame that 

can be placed flat on the ground and 

pulled over whatever is within its 

perimeter. We soon found we could get 

the kites to feed together, but only 

once every four or five days. 

We set up the bow net and tested it 

several times in a place hidden from 

the kites’ usual haunts. Each time it 

took almost four hours to set up so 

that is was hidden from the critical 

eyes of the ravens by carefully sprinkling 

it with a fine layer of sand. Once 

satisfied that the trap worked perfectly, 

we set it up one final time, and even 

brushed our tracks from the sand as 

we retreated 300 yards to our observation 

spot. It was days later before the 

Cape Verde Kite habitat 

on Boavista Island. 

ravens, and then the kites, found the 

bait. The ravens came in first. They 

walked around and around the carcass, 

calling softly to each other. After about 

10 minutes they moved in very close 

and began tentatively pecking at it. 

Finally, they started to eat. Our careful 

preparations had succeeded in deceiving 

even the smart ravens! 

Then the kites arrived, all at once. 

They sat about 50 yards away and 

watched suspiciously. Then they began 

to walk in, slowly at first, stopping and 

going, waiting for the ones behind to 

catch up. As they got closer, they 

seemed more excited; their pace quickened 

until they began to run, stopping 

only for a second or two in their rush. 

Finally, one ran straight in with wings 

slightly spread in a threatening posture. 

Reluctantly, the ravens flew off a 

short distance. Now, suddenly, all the 

kites were on the carcass. They looked 

around and began to feed. 

After weeks of patient learning 

through observation and trial and 

error, we had all four kites together 

and within the perimeter of our trap. 

Success seemed to be at hand! We 

looked at each other with wide eyes. 

Anticipating the sprint to the net to 

retrieve the captured kites, we grabbed 

the transmitter that triggers the trap 

and pushed the release lever. 

Nothing happened. We passed the 

transmitter from hand to hand, pushing 

more and more vigorously on the 

lever. A good number of technical 

expressions were uttered in several different 

languages. But it did not help. 

Simon even crept in closer to the trap 

to see if perhaps reducing the distance 

to the receiver on the trap would help. 

But to no avail. 

Later, as we inspected the failed 

trap, we realized that over the days of 

patient waiting, sand had gradually 

trickled into the trap’s mechanism and 

packed tightly around the bow so that 

it was effectively jammed tight in the 

ground. We tried a variety of solutions, 

but with very limited materials available 

to work with, none were reliable 

Photo by Jim Willmarth

enough to work consistently. We 

tried other methods like various 

noose traps and others, but by now 

the kites had a new and abundant 

source of food—locusts that grew 

larger by the day. They were maturing 

at about five to six inches in 

length and had started to breed, 

which made them very easy prey. 

The kites would 

catch them two 

at a time by 

I noticed the 

shadow of a bird 

move by me. 

Looking up, I 

saw two of the 

kites only about 

40 yards above. 

simply sailing 

over the acacia 

trees and plucking 

them off the 

top branches 

like ripe fruit 

until they were 

full. The kites 

lost interest in 

other food completely 

and 

stopped coming 

to our suspicious 

offerings. 

We have 

hopes of returning 

with traps 

built specifically 

for the difficult conditions on the 

islands. The locusts should be gone 

by then and the birds should be 

more interested in the food we 

offer them. 

Cape Verde is a very unique 

country culturally, geographically, 

and biologically. I feel honored to 

have taken away this small experience 

of it. The kites are not the only 

endangered endemic on this special 

group of islands, but I try not to 

think of that. It is worrisome 

enough when I think of the four 

birds on Boavista Island preening in 

the morning sun, soaring over their 

high rocky ridge, inspecting every 

new thing they come across with 

curiosity, completely unaware of 

how small their tribe has become. I 

worry about them and hope that we 

will meet again. 

Raptor Conservation and Research in Zimbabwe 

Falconers 

Lead the Way 

The stimulating part of 

heading up the 

by Ron Hartley Zimbabwe Falconers 

Club (ZFC) is the variety of work 

required. With some 66 species of 

diurnal raptors and 12 of owls, it is 

vital that we prioritize our efforts. 

There is just one full-time professional 

ornithologist in the country, Peter 

Mundy, who represents the 

Department of National Parks and 

Wild Life Management. Fortunately he 

has always been forward looking and 

part of his responsibilities has been to 

facilitate the conservation policies of 

non-governmental organizations like 

the ZFC. Having worked closely 

together for nearly 20 years, we have 

structured a policy which focuses on 

the biology of the birds, their conservation 

needs, and developing public 

awareness through a two-pronged educational 

program. This policy is also 

formally recognized by way of the government 

policy toward falconry. Peter 

Mundy looks to me and the ZFC program 

for key input on the national 

strategy for raptor biology and conservation. 

Our approach has been supported 

and refined by our association 

with The Peregrine Fund, which goes 

back even further to the late 1970s. 

Getting the right people involved is 

always the key to a successful operation. 

Falconers are hands-on operators 

and they are passionate about their 

sport and the raptors and prey that 

they use. Our program is based on this 

passion. Falconers are encouraged to 

make use of the wild resource. In 

return they are expected to contribute 

to the research program by sharing 

information on the raptors they 

Young Teita 

Falcons at 

the eyrie. 

encounter. Many contribute as volunteers 

to the research program and they 

include doctors, veterinary surgeons, 

farmers, hunters, businessmen, and 

tradesmen. Access to such a wide range 

of skills has proved most helpful in the 

program. My job is to help design and 

direct the projects, and to encourage 

participation from the volunteers. I 

also lead several of the key projects 

and get involved in all of the fieldwork 

and much of the writing up. 

Operating from an idyllic base in 

the bushveld at Falcon College in rural 

Matabeleland, I have also run the high 

school’s falconry club and natural history 

unit for nearly 20 years. Students 

range from 14 to 18 years of age, and 

several graduates now form an important 

part of the national research program. 

The college is surrounded by an 

extensive area of wild lands, including 

the eastern edge of the famed Matobo 

Photo by Ron Hartley 


13

Zimbabwe Falconers (continued from page 13) 

Photo by Ron Hartley 

…students learn 

first-hand the habits 

of breeding birds, 

sometimes climbing 

to nests, banding 

chicks, and collecting 

prey remains. 

Hills which hosts one of the richest 

arrays of birds of prey in Africa. Species 

studied in detail include Crowned, 

Martial, African Hawk, Tawny, and 

Wahlberg’s Eagles, Black, Ovambo, and 

Little Sparrowhawks, and Gabar 

Goshawk. Students have been involved 

in long-term studies of raptor communities 

in this area. Some students also 

accompany me on expeditions into 

study areas at Batoka Gorge, Chizarira, 

Chirisa, Siabuwa, Save Valley, and 

David Maritz, a former student at Falcon 

College, searches for raptors at Batoka 

Gorge. 

Bubiana Conservancies, and 

Malilangwe. These are all wonderful 

wilderness areas with abundant 

wildlife, including big game such as 

elephants. In the field the students 

learn first-hand the habits of breeding 

birds, sometimes climbing to nests, 

banding chicks, and collecting prey 

remains. Some students have done 

research projects, which I have helped 

stimulate, plan, and supervise. These 

projects are also published and the 

unit has an enviable publication 

record. 

As one of our unique attributes is 

the hands-on approach, an important 

focus has been on the biology of littleknown 

species such as Teita Falcons 

and African Peregrine Falcons, Ayres’ 

Eagle, and Bat Hawk. We have produced 

some useful new information 

on all of these species. I have been fortunate 

to handle all of these species 

and study them also in the wild. 

Watching a pair of Teita Falcons tending 

young at the nest is most exciting, 

not the least because nests are invariably 

located in pristine wilderness 

areas. Feeling the tree shake as an adult 

Martial Eagle alights near the hide and 

then drops onto the nest, its baleful 

yellow eyes gazing suspiciously, while I 

hardly breathe as I will it to settle is 

another golden moment. Spotting a 

dark nondescript raptor wrench off a 

stick and then follow the raptor to find 

that it is the elusive and enigmatic Bat 

Hawk busy building its nest is equally 

captivating. Being able to share such 

experiences with like-minded colleagues 

is both fun and inspirational. 

Not all of our activities involve 

such appealing and ground-breaking 

biological work. Human impacts are a 

constant factor, requiring basic and 

sometimes innovative approaches. The 

growing environmental catastrophe 

from the widespread and chaotic land 

invasions in Zimbabwe, with attendant 

deforestation and poaching, threaten 

one of the country’s most valuable 

assets—its wild land. When Peter 

Mundy, Warren Goodwin, and I spent 

a weekend at Wabai Hill on Debshan 

Ranch early this year we observed over 

50 newly built huts below the feature, 

an important bird area. Wabai Hill 

hosts the northern-most colony of the 

Cape Vulture in an area with a rich 

variety of other raptors and wildlife. It 

was an appropriate venue for our 

meeting to contribute to a new threatened 

and endangered species list for 

Zimbabwe, as our deliberations were 

made right on the hard edge of human 

pressure. As we cooked dinner in the 

bush, we heard a dozen rifle shots in 

this erstwhile pristine and protected 

area. The following day some of the 

invaders boasted how they had shot 

(illegally) some antelope on the open 

plains. We have some daunting challenges 

and times ahead. 

14

Notes 

theField Field 

from 

Isidor’s Eagle. 

Isidor’s Eagles: 

Owners of the 

Cloud Forest 

© Heinz Plenge 

It was about 11 years ago when I 

saw an Isidor’s Eagle for the first 

by Ursula Valdez time. I was crossing the cloud forest 

on my way to Amazonian lowlands in Peru. From 

a comfortable tourist truck that was giving me a 

ride, I could see a fantastic scene. A few meters 

from the road there was a mossy tree emerging 

from the steep slope and on the top of it there 

was a nest with an Isidor’s Eagle and a nestling. I 

remember jumping from the truck and staying 

while the tourists were heading to a lodge not far 

down the road. I stayed there for three hours just 

watching the eagles, and I was fascinated with the 


15

...we went through a mysterious 

A treacherous one-lane mountain 

road provides access to the study 

area on alternating days. 

16 

The author 

builds a 

trap. 

Photo by Ursula Valdez 

Photo by Ursula Valdez 

Isidor’s Eagle (continued from page 15) 

experience. By that time I was a newly graduated 

biologist looking for a direction for my career and 

my interest in birds, and especially raptors, was 

starting to grow. Sadly, years later I found out that 

the eagles were not nesting there anymore. A man 

had cut down the tree and since then there was not 

evidence of any nesting activity around. During the 

next years, however, I had the chance to pass by that 

road several times and some of those I still was 

lucky to see an Isidor’s Eagle flying along or across 

the valley. 

By July of 2000, I was hired by The Peregrine 

Fund as a research biologist and I was assigned to 

find breeding pairs of Isidor’s Eagles in South 

America. After a talk with Rick Watson where I told 

him about my sightings in Peru, we decided to 

search for the eagles on the cloud forest of the 

Cosñipata Valley. As a Peruvian biologist I considered 

this a great opportunity to conduct research in 

my own country and with raptors that have became 

my passion. But I was also excited about going in 

search of those enigmatic eagles that years ago fascinated 

me and that inhabit the pristine cloud forest 

of the southeastern Andean slopes of Peru. 

After some paperwork and lots of bureaucracy in 

Lima (capital of Peru), I departed to Cuzco, a small 

city high in the Andes, which became our contact 

with civilization and source of supplies. In mid-July, 

after getting food supplies and all we might need 

for the following weeks, my assistant, Cynthia King, 

and I left Cuzco towards our field site. A dirt road 

that joins Cuzco and the Pilcopata Valley took us to 

the cloud forest inside of Manu Biosphere Reserve, 

the largest and most famous protected area in Peru. 

Since the very first field trip, each journey has 

been an adventure—breakdowns, flat tires, landslides 

and waiting, sometimes days, for huge earthmovers 

to clear them, a truck jammed against a cliff 

after a misjudged corner, gruesome accidents at the 

bottom of the precipice, and more. The mountain 

road itself shows one of the most peculiar (and 

scary) transit systems. The road is so narrow and

and magic cloud forest... 

with deep precipices that traffic going down to the 

lowlands is allowed only three days a week 

(Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays), while traffic 

going up goes on the rest of the days. On Sundays 

when there is not much traffic, vehicles are allowed 

to go in both directions—at one’s own risk. Of 

course, more than once we found a truck coming in 

our opposite direction. I swear, every time we had 

checked carefully which day to depart. 

In many places along the road we saw crosses 

with flowers and some inscriptions marking the 

location of accidents and deaths, as a reminder of 

how careful you need to be when driving this road. 

However, every trip was a fantastic journey going 

across the high Andes, contemplating the high and 

vast mountains and going through passes to the eastern 

slopes that go down to the Amazonian rainforest. 

On the highest location of the road 

we stopped the vehicle to look at the 

fantastic scenery. A green carpet-like 

vegetation covered the slopes below 

and then far in the horizon we could 

see the Amazonian plain. 

When we arrived in our study area, 

Cynthia and I explored for several 

days, walking up and down many 

hours along the road. We camped in 

wet forests where mornings and nights 

were in fact wet and cold. Then we 

went through a mysterious and magic 

cloud forest, in which we walked 

under the rain or through dense fog. 

But we did not complain. We also had 

magnificent sunny and blue-sky days. 

During the walks, I stopped every birdwatcher 

we found along the road (not many) and 

asked if they had seen the eagle. Several times I just 

had a sympathetic smile for an answer as most of 

them consider the Isidor’s Eagle one of the hardest 

species to see. But finally, by mid-August our efforts 

were rewarded with the sighting of our first Isidor`s 

Eagle high in the sky. Despite our exhaustion we 

jumped and celebrated with hugs and dances. For a 

couple of days we were able to see the eagle around 

...we saw the adult pair 

displaying to each other, 

grappling talons in midair 

and cartwheeling 

from the sky toward the 

forest canopy 

the same area. On the same field trip, we found 

another Isidor’s Eagle flying in a higher elevation 

locality. We were so excited. Our first goal was 

achieved: we confirmed that Isidor’s eagles were 

living in our study area. The next step was to find 

more individuals and nesting sites. 

For the next three months my colleague, Sophie 

Osborn, gathered information on more individuals 

of Isidor’s Eagle and their behavior, and the areas 

they frequently visited. In January 2001, during the 

visit of Rick Watson to our study area, we decided to 

put all of our efforts into finding a nest of Isidor’s 

Eagles and in trapping an individual so we could 

radio track it. More challenges, but we took them 

again with my new and determined crew (Bryan 

Evans, Jose Campoy, and Daniel Huáman as my 

field assistants). 

During the next five months we 

had one of the most fascinating experiences 

watching these eagles and 

observing their behavior. We will 

hardly forget the day we witnessed, 

not far from us, a young individual 

flying with its parents. Or when we 

saw the adult pair displaying to each 

other, grappling talons in mid-air and 

cartwheeling from the sky toward the 

forest canopy, and minutes later, 

mating. I observed in awe as an adult 

Isidor’s Eagle captured a woolly 

monkey. Unfortunately, we haven’t 

found a nest yet, but we found certain 

evidences of nesting activity. Our trapping 

attempts were unsuccessful as 

well. However, so far we have gathered 

information on the behavior and important 

aspects of the biology of the Isidor’s Eagle. 

No matter how much longer we want to keep 

searching for eagles’ nests or how many more long 

days we want to walk, we want to know more about 

Isidor’s Eagles. We know, though, that Isidor’s Eagles 

are the lords in the cloud forest and we hope they 

remain like that for a long time. 

17

Experiences of an Aplomado Falcon 

Hack Site Attendant 

Aplomado Falcon 

hack site. 

It is a struggle for me to 

awake at 5:30 a.m. The 

by Swathi Sridharan 20-minute drive to 

work is different every morning, 

enthralling in the way of slowly 

revealed secrets: deer, vultures swooping 

on road kill, snakes, and an eastern 

sky that shines gently some mornings 

and burns fiercely on others. 

At around 8:00 am the first of the 

Aplomado Falcons makes its way to the 

tower, its black and gold form outlined 

clearly in my scope. Beautiful in their 

vivid colors and playful soaring flights, 

these birds have the ability to look like 

a fat pigeon one minute and like royalty 

the next. For the brief time that 

they are present, the tower is alive. The 

falcons eat the quail with small, rapid 

bites, often ripping feathers to get to 

the unexposed flesh. 

The tower becomes still again after 

the birds have fed and they huddle 

together on the far side in the shade. 

They scatter, screaming abuses when I 

approach at 11:30 to remove the bones, 

feathers, and any other remnants of 

their breakfast. 

Besides feeding and identifying the 

birds, my job also includes scaring off 

any approaching vultures that are interested 

in the quail on the tower. To do 

this I run out of the blind and wave my 

arms in silent protest until the vulture, 

feigning indifference, shifts direction 

with a lazy beat of its wings. 

At about one month of age, the falcons 

are flown in from The Peregrine 

Fund’s headquarters, the World Center 

for Birds of Prey, in Boise, Idaho, and 

are delivered to us in specially 

designed carriers by one of the four 

supervisors stationed in Texas. Each 

release site usually receives two sets of 

birds, sometimes even three. The 

young birds scream, bite, and scratch 

vehemently in protest at being moved 

18 

into the large wooden box on top of 

the tower where they will stay for 

about a week. This is one of the few 

times that the Aplomados are handled. 

I have transferred two females, Blue P8 

and Orange KD, into their new home. 

Their beaks stretch wide as they 

scream, revealing little pink tongues. If 

held long enough they become quiet 

and stare right at you, their midnight 

black eyes lined with eyelashes and 

protected by eyelids that close from the 

bottom up. 

While the falcons are in the box they 

are fed once a day by dropping halves 

of quail through a chute in the top of 

the box. Three sides of the box are 

made of wood with peepholes drilled in 

various positions, while the fourth side 

of the box is made out of metal netting 

to provide the birds with a view of the 

surrounding landscape and other birds. 

I spent an hour creeping around on the 

tower on all fours peering into the 

peepholes to determine whether each 

bird had eaten and noting any differences 

in plumage and personality. Once 

they have been released anything that 

will identify each bird helps, since more 

often than not, the color bands around 

their legs are obscured by an inconsiderate 

branch or leaf. 

By the third or fourth day in the 

box, the birds start to get restless. As 

the wind picks up in the evenings, they 

stare out toward the lake behind our 

tower. They experimentally stretch out 

their wings and give a halfhearted flap 

before settling down. Red NX, one of 

the females from our first set of birds, 

was always determined, if not always 

successful. She was forever the first to 

respond to an all-consuming urge to fly 

and was usually still going strong when 

we left. She would walk around the 

box, her steps getting faster until she 

was almost running. Then Red NX 

would pause, bob her head as she concentrated, 

and focus her eyes on a far 

corner of the box. She would make a 

prodigious leap, wings flapping hard as 

she propelled herself straight into the 

side of the box where she would drop 

down with a loud thud that never 

seemed to bother her, but made me 

cringe. The others, emboldened by her 

success, would start making leaps of 

their own. It was a funny sight to see 

seven birds hopping determinedly from 

one side to the next, often bumping 

into each other or the box. As I 

climbed down the ladder, I could still 

hear their feet scrabbling across the 

gravel in excitement. 

Release day is a birthday of sorts— 

the day the birds make their first flight, 

the day we can no longer control where 

they go. The goal of release day is to 

open the door to the box and allow the 

birds to come out at their own pace. 

Motivated by curiosity and hunger 

instead of fear, they eat the quail conveniently 

placed in plain view and learn 

that the tower is a safe place to return. 

They remain there until the sun begins 

to set and they make their first shaky 

flights to the nearby trees to roost for 

the night. 

Photo by Amy Nicholas

Young Aplomado Falcon. 

Photo © Robert Rattner 

...they become 

quiet and stare 

right at you... 

While this first flight suggests freedom 

and autonomy, as Angel, our field 

supervisor, puts it, “Life just got very 

difficult all of a sudden.” The birds are 

now susceptible to all of nature’s 

threats and while I stood there, exulting 

in their achievements, I could not 

help but be aware of the forces acting 

against them. As I write this article only 

three out of our original seven are alive. 

One flew far without stopping on 

release day and disappeared, two more 

were eaten by Great Horned Owls. Red 

NX, who in her impatience to fly was 

the first one off the tower, was never 

seen again. 

Their frailty was brought home by 

their clumsy landings and shaky sense 

of direction, for often the wind was 

stronger than their wings, and they 

would end up in a nearby tree looking 

faintly baffled. But their strength was 

made evident as well, for within a few 

days their flights were graceful, their 

landings superb. It is a pleasure to 

watch them playfully chase each other, 

diving and swooping in a relentless 

game of catch where no one is “it.” 

My daily routine ends with another 

four-hour shift at the blind in the 

evenings and I watch the birds eat and 

play around the tower until they head 

back to the lake for the night. I do not 

want to convey an idyllic picture of 

endless excitement and wonder. The 

Texas heat can be harsh, the ranch 

abounding with snakes and gruesome 

insects. And it is tough when some 

birds disappear, leaving only a handful 

of feathers as a testimony to a late night 

violent struggle. 

I think that we are all collectors of 

one sort or another. I collect brief 

moments when I am in awe of the 

beauty that surrounds me. And there is 

of course, one moment that I will 

replay in my mind’s eye forever. I woke 

up a little later than usual one morning 

and the falcons were already at the 

tower, waiting for their breakfast. 

Instead of scattering as they normally 

do at my approach, they let me get 

closer than I ever had or have been 

since. I was a little shaken and was 

debating how to get them off the tower 

when the first one took off in a small 

tight circle around me. Five other falcons 

flew after the first until I was completely 

encircled by gold and black 

wings beating against the still morning. 

I was honored to be surrounded by 

their fragile, tenacious beauty. 

Photo © W.S. Clark 

Soaring 

Aplomado 

Falcon. 

Five other falcons 

flew after the first 

until I was completely 

encircled by gold and 

black wings beating 

against the still 

morning. 

For more information on how to become a hack site attendant at The Peregrine Fund, contact Bill 

Heinrich at (208) 362-3716 or by mail at 5668 West Flying Hawk Lane, Boise, Idaho 83709. 

19

An Unexpected 

Christmas Present 

In place of the plastic reindeers of home were richly 

To my mind, Christmas 

is a time for family and 

by Martin Gilbert friends. Visions of 

frosty days, log fires, mantles draped in 

sprays of holly and mistletoe. At first 

glance, it is hard to relate these images 

to a Christmas spent in rural Pakistan 

studying dying vultures! To most eyes 

the vulture is hardly an evocative subject, 

with its scrawny serpentine neck 

and unsavory table manners, it holds 

none of the romance of the Bald Eagle 

or the Peregrine Falcon. Surely only a 

madman would spend the festive 

season searching for such a bird, in a 

remote land where Christmas is not 

celebrated and a whiskey toast to the 

New Year is an unknown pleasure?! I 

have to admit that many a friendly eyebrow 

was raised when I announced 

that I would be leaving Scotland in 

December to join The Peregrine Fund’s 

Asian Vulture Crisis Project. However, 

that was all a year ago and I am happy 

to report that both the vultures and 

Pakistan proved the doubters wrong! 

Colorful Pakistan was both a surprise 

and a joy to visit. The local’s own 

festival, the Islamic Eid el Fitr, fell by 

happy coincidence just two days after 

my own Christmas day. While my 

friends at home were busy sending 

Christmas cards and choosing their 

tree, Pakistan was buzzing to an anticipation 

of its own. At the time I was 

based in the provincial town of Dera 

Ghazi Khan along the western bank of 

the mighty Indus River. Late night 

shoppers hurried over their purchases 

of gifts and treats. The streets were 

filled with the scents of dishes being 

prepared and with bubbling wide-eyed 

20 

children brimming with excitement. In 

place of the plastic reindeers of home 

were stoic donkeys trimmed in tassels 

and bells, and richly decorated camels, 

their ankle-bracelets clinking as they 

strode past. As with Christmas at home, 

Eid was a happy season, marked only 

by the warmth and overwhelming hospitality 

of the Pakistani people. 

By this time, life within the vulture 

colonies was also full of activity. Most 

pairs were on nests, the parents sharing 

the burden of incubating their single 

white eggs. Four long months of hard 

work stretched ahead of them before 

the chicks would leave their tree-top 

platforms and make their way into the 

brewing heat of a Punjabi spring. But 

for now the colonies were shrouded in 

the chill of winter. Early morning mists 

blanketed the gnarled rows of sheesham 

trees, retreating with the rise of 

the winter sun. By mid-morning, air 

would begin lifting in columns from 

the warming fields of cotton and newly 

planted wheat. Large groups of vultures 

would circle together, climbing the 

thermals, dispersing high over the 

plains in the search for food. At times 

several hundred could be seen together, 

spiraling upward against a lapis-blue 

sky. A truly magnificent sight, yet all 

activity at the colonies was not of a 

feathered nature. 

On the ground below the trees two 

young men were carefully pacing the 

colony, recording the activity at the 

nests, while engaged in a second and 

more sinister task: the search for dead 

and dying birds. Shakeel Ahmed and 

Jamshed Chaudhry, two Pakistani students 

working with the Ornithological 

Society of Pakistan, under the training 

and coordination of The Peregrine 

Fund, had been charged with a vital job. 

With reports of dead and dying vultures 

coming from as far away as Asam in 

northeastern India (1,500 miles to the 

east), Shakeel and Jamshed, along with 

their colleagues in two further Pakistani 

vulture colonies, were working hard to 

piece together vital fragments of information 

in a conservation jigsaw puzzle 

stretching across an entire subcontinent. 

Stories of drastic declines in local 

populations of the Oriental Whitebacked 

Vulture and two close relatives, 

the Slender-billed and Cliff Vultures, 

had become depressingly frequent over 

the proceeding months. The picture 

that was emerging was a bleak one. The 

populations of these three species had 

dwindled to a fraction of their former 

size, or vanished entirely over much, if 

not all, of their former range. More 

shocking still was the speed with which 

the situation had unfolded. Where a 

decade ago many hundreds of pairs 

had nested in what were apparently 

healthy colonies, the trees now stood 

empty. It appeared that India had 

borne the brunt of the losses, with 

Nepal also heavily affected. Pakistan, it 

seemed, was yet to experience declines 

as dramatic as elsewhere, and apparently 

still boasted large colonies of the 

Oriental White-backed Vulture, at least. 

Work was demanding, there was a 

lot to do, and little time left to ponder 

Christmas back home. While the students 

tirelessly paced their colonies 

marking nests and recording occupancy, 

I was busy refining their studies, 

taking time to survey other sites, and

Martin Gilbert. 

White-backed Vultures. 

decorated camels, their ankle-bracelets clinking... 

Photos by Martin Gilbert 

attending to the myriad of chores clamoring 

for attention on the road to a 

smooth-running season ahead. 

Throughout my time in Dera Ghazi 

Khan, my Pakistani companions made 

sure that I was comfortable, and that I 

was never short of warm company. 

Although I may have been forgotten by 

Father Christmas, life was not without 

festive spirit, and on the night of 

Christmas Eve I was to be treated to an 

unexpected midnight gift. 

It was a dark 11:30 when a knock at 

the big metal gates echoed around the 

courtyard. The great door swung open 

to reveal a pair of wind-blown Pakistani 

students, their hair swept back and faces 

frozen by a late night motorbike journey 

from the field site an hour away. 

Shakeel and Jamshed came bearing an 

impressive gift! I took the large jute 

sack from the hands of the shivering 

Shakeel and opened its contents onto 

the floor. The body of a freshly dead 

adult vulture rolled out, its wings 

lolling passively. “We found it today,” 

announced Jamshed. The three of us 

stood in silence looking at the bird. 

Despite having been in the country for 

barely two weeks, this was already a 

very familiar sight to me. This magnificent 

bird, once a master of its element, 

was reduced to a cold and limp form at 

our feet, a stark reminder of the reality 

facing south Asia’s vultures. 

We worked together on the dead 

vulture through the night. Such a fresh 

bird was invaluable, and with careful 

examination might reveal clues, vital in 

piecing together the bigger picture. We 

took photographs and measurements, 

opening her up in an attempt to find 

the cause of her demise. Once again, a 

familiar site confronted us. Her organs 

were pasted in a thick white material, 

choked by uric acid. This was a sign 

that our vulture had died from kidney 

failure. This was a finding that had 

been seen not only by ourselves in 

other sites across the plains of Pakistan, 

but had been reported in birds within 

India also. We took samples of tissues 

for analysis, trying to gather as much 

information as possible. 

Our evening’s work was drawing to 

a close by the time the early morning 

call to prayer drifted out from the many 

mosques of Dera Ghazi Khan. The 

evocative chant lilted across the still 

darkened rooftops of the sleeping town, 

replacing the peals of church bells, 

which at that moment would be heralding 

a new Christmas day in my Scottish 

homeland many miles away. With sunrise 

approaching we returned to our 

beds for some much needed sleep. That 

is to say, I returned to my bed. For this 

night fell within the final days of the 

holy month of Ramadan, through 

which the students continued to 

observe their daily fast, allowing no 

food to pass their lips during hours of 

daylight. While I was sleeping these 

men were quietly offering prayer and 

preparing a last meal before the sun 

rose. To succumb to sleep would have 

meant an entire day in the field, working 

hard on empty stomachs to unlock 

the mystery of what was killing the vultures 

of south Asia. 

I remained in Pakistan until July. 

The cool of winter gave way to the 

lengthy and blistering days of 

summer, a journey of eight months 

and 85 degrees 

Fahrenheit! Eggs 

hatched, chicks 

grew steadily 

and finally took 

their first faltering 

flight into a 

very hostile 

world. Long days 

under the sweltering 

sun colored 

our students’ 

skin a 

dark shade of 

mahogany, and my 

own ghostly complexion 

a lobster 

red! With temperatures 

roaring past 

115° F on a regular 

basis, Christmas 

and Eid became a 

distant memory, yet 

one aspect did not 

change, the vultures 

continued to die. 

By the time I left 

the subcontinent, 

the students and 

myself had located 

almost 700 dead 

vultures. At one site, 20% of 

I took the 

large jute 

sack from the 

hands of the 

shivering 

Shakeel and 

opened its 

contents onto 

the floor. 

nesting adults were dead by the 

end of the season. As the 

months tick past and we 

approach another year’s festivities, 

I am left wondering how 

many more Eid celebrations and 

out-of-place Christmases will 

pass under the watchful eye of 

the soaring vulture? 

21

Searching for Birds of Prey 

in Batoka Gorge, Africa 

…rushes of 

adrenalin 

were predicated 

by 

elephants, 

buffalo, and 

lions 

We had enjoyed an exhilarating 

morning with Peregrines at two 

by Ron Hartley nesting sites. One pair made a 

brutal attack on a pair of Black Eagles, fiercely 

defending two recently fledged juveniles. Three hundred 

meters from a Teita site, we located a pair 

nested on a huge cliff inside an old field with land 

mines remaining from the war in the 1970s. We had 

been in the bush for just over two weeks and other 

minor rushes of adrenalin were predicated by elephants, 

buffalo, and lions in the Chizarira National 

Park. Ancient elephant paths provided the key access 

points into those gorges which also hosted Teita and 

Peregrine Falcons, Bat Hawks, Augur Buzzards, and 

Crowned and Black Eagles. Close encounters with 

the huge pachyderms is part of the normal run of 

events in Chizarira. Three of my party were 18-yearold 

schoolboys and another was a recent school 

leaver. All accomplished young falconers, they were 

graduates of my Falcon College Falconry Club. 

Photo by Ron Hartley. 

Floating through the Zambezi River Gorge, the 

large blue Maravia raft dipped over rapid 11, tumbling 

and twisting as the professional oarsman inadvertently 

missed his line. Six of us in the black 

Achilles raft quickly diverted to the left bank and 

jumped out. The Maravia was in a big hole 

(whirlpool), oarsman and assistant nowhere to be 

seen. I shouted at my team to make their way downstream 

over the massive black basaltic boulders and 

search. A long 10 minutes elapsed before the two 

figures came into view. We had feared the worst, so 

it was an incredibly welcome sight! The oarsman 

was indeed fortunate as he had spent many long seconds 

of hydraulic motion in the whirlpool’s vortex. 

Then he told us that somebody drowned here the 

week before. Meanwhile, the raft was still stuck. 

Numerous casts of the rescue line failed to lock on 

the frame, and after 30 minutes of frustrating effort 

the raft bounced hard a few times, turned over, and 

spewed out downstream. We jumped into the turbulent 

Zambezi River, grabbing the raft and some of 

the gear that had separated. A barrel containing my 

Colt 45 pistol and a Kowa spotting scope had gone 

down. Losing a firearm was a major problem. I carried 

the pistol because on a previous trip our kayak 

support had been chased by a large crocodile—we 

pulled the kayaker onto the raft just in time–and I 

did not fancy the prospect of a “flat dog” (crocodile) 

popping the raft. 

Exhorting the team to pull hard, we extracted the 

Achilles from the river and portaged rapid 11. With 

15 km remaining to get to a pre-set camp, it was 

clear that the last section would have to be negotiated 

in the dark, probably a first. Fortunately we 

were able to take a “chicken run” around the notorious 

rapid 18 (sinisterly labeled Oblivion) in the twilight. 

Just downstream of this we passed a Pel’s 

Fishing Owl, beautifully poised on a rock just above 

the river, our first record of this species in the gorge. 

The glow of the campfire was a warm sight indeed. 

We still had another two days on the river. Raptor 

research in Africa provides many challenges! 

22 

Photo by Bill Heinrich 

Above: Rafting the Zambezi. 

Left: Victoria Falls viewed through the mist 

from the Zambezi River Gorge.

Our Future… 

Is in Your Hands 

Philippine Eagle. Photo courtesy of F.R.E.E. Ltd. 

Support The Peregrine Fund!! 

You may donate to The Peregrine 

Fund by using the enclosed 

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The Peregrine Fund participates 

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(#0945) and other payroll deduction 

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for a matching gift form, fill 

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At the discretion of our Board, 

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If you wish to make a provision in 

your will, the following general form 

is suggested: 

“I give, devise, and bequeath to The 

Peregrine Fund, Inc. an Idaho not-forprofit 

corporation, located on the date 

hereof at the World Center for Birds of 

Prey, 5668 West Flying Hawk Lane, 

Boise, Idaho 83709, the sum of $____ 

(or specifically described property).” 

For information on bequests and 

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You can also participate with The 

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23

Our Education Birds: 

Ambassadors for 

Conservation 

Each year thousands of people, young and 

old, from all walks of life, “meet” our education 

birds at the Velma Morrison 

by Nancy Freutel 

Interpretive Center at the World Center for Birds of Prey. 

While the birds do not ‘talk’ to our guests, they manage to 

speak volumes to all who see them. To watch the admiration 

of an avid birder gazing into the bright eyes of Gus, 

our young Peregrine Falcon, or to see the 

expression of delight on the faces of 

school children as they meet Jack, our 

Golden Eagle, is testimony to the 

power of up-close encounters 

with birds of prey. 

Each of our education 

birds is priceless when it 

comes to acquainting our 

visitors with birds of prey 

and their role in nature. 

Nothing can compare to 

experiencing the penetrating 

gaze of an eagle 

from a few feet away or 

feeling the rush of air as a Peregrine moves its wings. These 

encounters leave a lasting and memorable impression on 

people and provide them with an insight into the important 

role birds of prey play in our environment. 

Visitors to the Interpretive Center may see juvenile and 

adult Peregrine Falcons, Aplomado Falcons, Bateleur Eagles, 

California Condors, Bald Eagles, a Harpy Eagle, 

Golden Eagle, Barred-Owl, Eurasian Eagle 

Owl, Turkey Vulture, Northern Harrier, 

Rough-Legged Hawk, and an 

American Kestrel. Interactive displays, 

multi-media shows, guided 

tours, and a gift shop are also 

available. Come out and see 

us the next time you are 

“soaring” in our neck of 

the woods. For directions 

and more information on 

the visitor’s center, please 

visit our web site, 

www.peregrinefund.org, or 

call (208) 362-8687. 

24 

A few of 

our education birds, counterclockwisefrom 

top: Barred-Owl, 

Bateleur Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, 

and Golden Eagle. 

Photo credits: 

Owl, Kurt K. Burnham; 

Peregrine Falcon, Karen 

Wattenmaker; Bateleur 

Eagle and Golden Eagle, 

Stephen J. Krasemann.

Use the order form and envelope in this 

newsletter, or call 1-800-377-3721 to order. 

Visit our web site at www.peregrinefund.org 

for these and other great items. Remember all 

purchases from our catalog support our projects. 

Peregrine Fund Lapel Pin 

$3.95 

Our pewter lapel pin 

will declare your support 

of The Peregrine 

Fund. In the center is 

our logo, encircled in 

royal blue with the 

inscription “The 

Peregrine Fund— 

Founded 1970.” 

2001 Christmas Ornament 

$17.50 

The Peregrine Falcon is featured 

on the 2001 Christmas 

ornament. The image was 

created by John Schmitt and 

the ornament produced by 

Barlow Designs, Inc. Each 

ornament is engraved on the 

back with “The Peregrine 

Fund 2001.” 

Visit our web site for the seven-year collection of ornaments. 

1994 Peregrine Falcon 

1995 Bald Eagle 

1996 Aplomado Falcon 

1997 California Condor 

1998 Harpy Eagle 

1999 Madagascar Red 

Owl 

2000 Gyrfalcon 

(Left) Our national symbol, 

the Bald Eagle, in soft, 

huggable plush. Standing 

about 10” tall, this eagle 

sports a “World Center for 

Birds of Prey” banner. 

$7.75 

Eagle Stuffed Animals 

(Right) Our little Bald 

Eagle bean bag toy 

accented with bright 

yellow beak and feet. 

This eagle wears a 

removable blue World 

Center for Birds of Prey 

bandanna. Approximately 

6” tall. $5.95 

Peregrine Fund Hats 

$15.95 

Made of cotton canvas and embroidered with a 

detailed head of a Peregrine Falcon and the words 

“The Peregrine Fund.” Available in denim blue, dark 

green, and khaki. 

Denim Shirt 

$39.95 

A 100% cotton, long-sleeve denim shirt sporting 

The Peregrine Fund insignia above the 

breast pocket. 

Adult S, M, L, XL, or XXL 

Life with an Indian Prince 

By John J. Craighead and 

Frank C. Craighead, Jr. The 

experiences of the authors 

while living with the royal 

family of Bhavnagar, India, in 

1940-41. Vol. 2 in the 

Archives of American 

Falconry Heritage Publication 

Series complete with more 

than 350 illustrations, twothirds 

in color. Published in 

collaboration with The Craighead Wildlife-Wildlands Institute. 300 pages, 

limited edition. 

Standard Edition $135 

Patron’s Edition $320 (Includes half-leather case binding, handmade marbled 

endpapers, and photographic print of authors.)

Photo by Kurt Stolzenburg • Front cover photo by Jack Stephens, jackstephensimages.com 


World Center for Birds of Prey 

5668 West Flying Hawk Lane 

Boise, ID 83709 

United States of America 

Non-Profit 

Organization 

U.S. POSTAGE 

PAID 

Boise, ID 

Permit No. 606 

www.peregrinefund.org

2001 Newsletter - The Peregrine Fund

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