Here is one way that we raise scholarship money for students studying Wildlife Biology At CalPoly! This Prime Day can benefit you also!
All our thanks for your commitment to our efforts. It pleases us to know that you are out there.
Happy trails, Bob and Heather
Observation date: 15 June 2018
Here’s an early view of a downy chick before the naming discussion.
Downy chick Photo by Cleve Nash
The young falcons are doing exceptionally well. The young male has exceeded everyone’s expectations. He is just a real rocket! In twenty minutes of flying, he made many high speed maneuvers, stoops and high G turns. Once nearly crashing into his father who in turn went after him scolding the youngster. The antics of this young bird is so reminiscent of an adult tiercel in courtship flight. The young female with five days less flying time never the less has advanced her flying skills from cargo plane to P47 Thunderbolt faster, but still big and heavy where he the young tiercel is F18 Hornet material.
“Hey Bob, have you named the birds yet?”
“How about this? What do you think about that?”
“Why does everyone think they have to have a name? I don’t name birds, but if I did it wouldn’t be any thing that I heard. It would be after someone known and beloved by many in the area.”
“Well, like who, Bob?”
“Like Louisiana Clayton Dart.* So now it’s Weezy and Dart? I still don’t name birds.”
Eager peregrine watchers with Bob Photo by Heather O’Connor
Happy trails, Bob.
Item: Louisiana Clayton Dart – Past Curator of the San Luis Obispo County Historical Museum
Observation date: 30 May 2018
The fledging of young falcons was completed today with the young shy female taking her first flight at 6AM in a light breeze. The male chick had fledged Saturday, the 27th, just 44 days from hatching.
The young male has flown like a journeyman from the start. He sticks about fifty percent of his landings from day one. On his second day of flight, he was seen by many of us chasing his father over the top and around the cliff faces of Morro Rock never more than fifty feet behind him. His turns are not as sharp yet, but give him another week. Both of the adult falcons have been flying in front of him with bird kills trying to get him to fly up and take the prey away, but he hasn’t done this yet.
Young female waiting for courage Photo by Bob Isenberg
The young female is another story. Even though she has flown today she is much further behind in all aspects. After two short flights with an hours rest between each, she made a longer flight landing on a steep face 200 yards from the nest site. She has been there for 9 hours. Caryl Pearson, one of our falcon watchers, has been camped out underneath her all day. At 6:30PM, Carol and I watched the adult female make many passes near the chick vocalizing then landing near her. In the past, I have seen parents knock them off to make them fly. I’ll be there in the morning. I hope to see her and not a pile of feathers.*
Happy trails, Bob
Item: *This is when they are most vulnerable to predators like foxes and Great Horned Owls.
P.S. I held posting this story until I found out what had happened to the young female. After 32 hours of clinging to cliff faces, she made it back home. All were there to greet her.
Observation date: 5 May 2018
For the past six weeks, we have been waiting through agonizing times with nothing happening. Then on April 10th, they started incubation. We were only seeing one bird at a time. So you can see, there was not much to write about. Then on the 13th of April we saw food go into the nest site. Now, we have some excitement. Now, I know the chicks have hatched. After twenty one more days, we saw prey items for the chicks go into the eyrie and still no sign of young chicks. Finally on the 1st of May, I saw just the head and wing flap of a young falcon.
A tourist and I saw it happen, but none of my cronies did. Of course, they said “B.S..”
I called Cleve Nash, renowned photographer, and said “Come to the rock, we’ve got young falcons.” The following day, Cleve shot the photos below of two young falcons and all my cronies were there. No more “B.S.!”
Flying out for more food Photo by Cleve Nash
May 4th we saw 7 mid-air kills and 2 mid-air food transfers … food for the chicks. They were small birds, mostly swifts and swallows and one Yellow-rumped Warbler. Today, one large bird with just the body, no wings or head was delivered to the nest site by the tiercel.
Feeding voracious chicks Photo by Cleve Nash
Just another bite… Photo by Cleve Nash
If you want to see falcon young and parents, now is the best time to see them. They will be feathering out quickly. Right now they are pure white. They should fly around the 27th of May or so. Don’t miss it.
Happy trails, Bob
Observation date: 12 March 2018
After spending a month shopping for a new nest site, the pair of falcons on the north side settled on last year’s eyrie where they had a failed nesting. Yesterday and today they started incubation. Twice they exchanged sitting on eggs. The female for three hours, the male for one hour.
Feeding at the “butcher bush” Photo by Bob Isenberg
The male has been feeding her for last few weeks while egg laying. He brings mostly small shore birds, but Gordon and I while watching saw a small tuft of bright yellow feathers. It looked to be a Meadow Lark breast. It’s just a guess, but nothing else is that bright of a yellow. I forgot to mention, but between incubation exchanges, he bred her each time.
The south side pair are not nesting yet, but we can always hope they will!
Tiercel arrives with a blue check rock dove for female Photo by Bob Isenberg
Happy trails, Bob
Item:
If this is the second day of incubation, chicks should hatch around April 15. We will know when they have hatched when we see food go into the nest site.
Female on the north side nest site Photo by Bob Isenberg
Observation date: 27 January 2018
On the north side, breeding continues daily with air shows in between. A spectacular display of speed and acrobatics by the tiercel were today’s highlights. Not to mention a noon repast of Snowy Egret which the tiercel brought to his new “butcher bush.” This is a new spot that I have seen him eating at the last couple of weeks. It’s about the same elevation as the nest site and a hundred yards north.
North side tiercel Photo by Bob Isenberg
Both birds continue to land at last year’s nest site and copulate there and also on the skyline. The few people that did stop by to see them didn’t stay long enough to see the great aerial falcon show. Only Jennifer Wilson, a California State Parks Ranger newly transferred from Oceano District, and I were able to see all of the exciting antics.
Happy trails, Bob
Wednesday, January 3, 2018
On the weekend following Thanksgiving, Bob and I had the pleasure of meeting another one of our CalPoly Scholarship students, Nicole Robin Durtschi. In 2016, she had graduated with a degree in Wildlife Biology and now was on her way from visiting her family in the San Francisco Bay area to Simi Valley, where she lives with her boyfriend. A stopover in Morro Bay at Morro Rock gave us the chance to meet her.
Nicole with a California Quail
This picture was from when she was using mist nets to catch and release birds at CalPoly’s Swanton Pacific Ranch, up near Santa Cruz. The course she took was “all about field techniques” and she was able to do “some small mammal trapping, practice shooting a dart gun, and getting the chance to see some bats up close!” That course was one of the things she loved most about her time at Cal Poly. Her appreciation gave her “the chance to learn about the incredible diversity of life” and “to know what’s around her, from the peregrines soaring above, to the plants and animals below.”
She takes pride in being able to now “identify birds, trees, mammals, even some insects. To her, those classes were more than just learning a list of species.” Being able to identify what she sees in nature has made her appreciate it so much more. She learned just how much diversity is out there showing the need for conservation. “So many species today are threatened, by human activity and by a changing climate, and we need to do what we can to prevent extinction.”
Currently, she is in a temporary job and looking for a job where there is field work similar to the point count work she did at California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco and the experience she had at Swanton Pacific Ranch in Santa Cruz County. Her interest is in any sort of research or field work that will get her outside, and learning more about animals, always keeping conservation in mind. If you know of any possibilities, we’ll link you up with her.
Nicole Durtschi tells Bob about her studies at CalPoly
We recognized her deep appreciation for the PCPW Scholarship that she received. Thank you for making your contributions! Remember the Amazon Smile button to the right…
Education never wears out, never becomes broken or goes out of style.
Bob and Heather
Shop for everyone on your gift list this holiday at http://smile.amazon.com/ch/46-1442299and Amazon donates to Pacific Coast Peregrine Watch Inc. #YouShopAmazonDonates
Remember a gift to our scholarship student is a gift of education.
Education never wears out, never becomes broken or goes out of style.
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Correction for the previous post:
“Just for clarification, I am the president of the Cal Poly student chapter of the Western Section of the Wildlife Society — a mouthful, I know. The president of the Western Section is Dr. Rocky Gutierrez!” My-Lan Le
Observation date: November 2017
Rather than read part of this on your mobile phone or Facebook, please click on the link, go to our beautiful website to read and sign up to follow our activities. You’ll see the whole picture then.
Our second CalPoly student who received a Pacific Coast Peregrine Watch scholarship of $1,000 due to your donations was Nicole Robin Durtschi. She was a student in Field and Wildlife Biology last year and has since graduated. We’ll be meeting with her over the Thanksgiving Holiday to tell you what she is up to.
On a sunny Sunday afternoon in October at Morro Rock, we met our third scholarship recipient, My-Lan Le.
My-Lan Le and Bob Isenberg
Both Bob and I were pleased to get together to hear her enthusiasm for Wildlife Biology. Her excitement covered her original request as a child to her parents for bird books, then birding in the Bay Area, now doing some small mammal trapping of ground squirrels, studying sea otters, and demonstrating study of fence lizard throat patches, etc. She is now the President of the Western Section of the The Wildlife Society. Her plans after graduation are to work for a nonprofit organization with her Biology degree. There is so much to do in that field to take care of our planet, Earth.
Biology Professor John Perrine and assisting student curator, My-Lan Le
“I have spent my undergraduate career doing fieldwork quantifying behavior across many taxa; the scientists I worked with studied community interactions, sexual selection, and life history to name a few. I look forward to applying my experiences to technician research and internships that will refine my focus for graduate studies. The collaborative environment of science is what pushes me to further understand the intersection of research, environmental education and outreach, non-profit organization, environmental management, and government policy. I will continue to be engaged in scientific communities outside of my undergraduate institution, like the Wildlife Society which I’ve been a part of for three years. My time at Cal Poly SLO and at the other institutions and organizations I’ve worked for have solidified my belief that science is something to be engaged with and discussed with all people.” My-Lan Le
There are always opportunities to contribute to a CalPoly student in the field of biology. Please take time to contribute by sending a check to us made out to “PCPW” and in the memo write “scholarship.” Mail to PCPW, 765 Center Ct., Morro Bay CA 93442
Another method would be to go to PayPal and send your donation to pcpw@me.com.
A third method would be to use the “DONATE” button to the right.
Before you spend your money on material possessions think about contributing to the education of a CalPoly Biology student.
Education never wears out, never becomes broken or goes out of style.
With gratitude for your contributions, Bob and Heather
Observation date: August 2017
The August Journal Plus was delivered all over the California Central Coast and made us so happy. Charmaine Coimbra wrote an excellent article telling everyone about what Bob Isenberg does to educate people who visit Morro Rock to see the peregrine falcons. It can be found on pages 16 and 17. We think you’ll enjoy reading it. It was Cleve Nash’s photo that became the cover photo. Thank you, Cleve!
August issue
August issue – pages 16, 17
Also, we want to let you know that those of you who purchase items on Amazon Smile benefitting the Pacific Coast Peregrine Watch have made a difference in our bank account. Amazon Smile made deposit for $21.93. Those of you who would like to participate please use the link off to the right.
We also had a person who used our donation button! All our thanks. Checks may be mailed us too.
We use any donations to run our 501(c)3 nonprofit educational organization to raise money for scholarship money to be given to a Wildlife Biology student at CalPoly in San Luis Obispo. News coming soon…
Another bit of information is that I’ll be participating for the second time in the San Luis Obispo County 2017 Open Studios Tour this October 14-15, 21-22. A portion of my profits will be directed to PCPW! I’m thinking about 25% will go to this effort. Follow me at my website, “A Wandering Illustrator.”
Until the next sketch…peace, Heather
