Satellite Tracking and What Can Be Learned

Several falcons for the first two years of the project will be fitted with miniature, satellite-received PTTs (platform transmitter terminals) to track their nesting and migratory habits during a three-year period. The solar powered PTTs are light enough to be carried on the backs of falcons and weigh only 20 grams. They employ the Argos satellite system and allow for remote location and tracking anywhere on the face of the earth. PTTs are programmed to turn on for 8 hours each day to transmit their location data to the satellites.

The data will be collected, processed and forwarded to the park by email. The park's resource management staff will include the data on a web map which will show the current location of the falcons. The data for the Harpers Ferry falcons is also being sent to The Center for Conservation Biology at the College of William and Mary. The Center's website tracks all falcons that were outfitted with transmitters this year and last year in Virginia and Maryland .

The purpose of the tracking program is to gather information about this new breed of peregrine. In an effort to restore peregrines in the East, subspecies were bred to create this new population. The offspring are a product of migratory and non-migratory subspecies, and little is known about the habits of this new breed. Satellite tracking will provide constant monitoring of their movement collecting information on their migration routes, where they nest and winter, how long they stay in a given area, mortality rates, and other information that will be used by the scientific community. Some of the questions that may be answered include:

• Where and how much time do the young birds spend in the area before leaving?
• Do they return to where they were born? If so, how long does it take them to return? If not, where do they nest?
• Are they truly migratory? If so, where do they go? What are the hazards along the migration route and in the wintering areas, ie contaminants such as DDT or other prey? If not, what is their movement within the region?
• What is the mortality rate of the young falcons after one year? Two years? What are the implications of the mortality rate to recovery goals?