Peregrine falcon fledgling euthanized after it was shot in Ann Arbor
A young peregrine falcon, one of three hatched in a nest at University of Michigan Hospital this spring, had to be euthanized after it was found on campus with a gunshot wound, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources has confirmed.
The bird’s death is a blow to those celebrating the Ann Arbor falcons’ first successful hatching of chicks.
Shooting one of the birds is a misdemeanor crime, punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.
The three peregrine chicks hatched this spring in Ann Arbor. One of the birds was shot last month and had to be euthanized.
Photo courtesy of Barb Baldinger, MDNR
“It’s difficult to understand why anyone would shoot a bird,” Wyman said.
The bird, with a badly injured wing, was found between two buildings at 300 E. Hoover St. about 7 a.m. on Aug. 15.
The bird was taken to another wildlife rehabilitator in the area who had its wing X-rayed. Wyman also examined the falcon and the rehabilitators determined it would not recover from the wound, so it was euthanized.
The fact that one of the chicks died within a few months of its birth is not terribly surprising, said Janet Hinshaw, collections manager at the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. Young birds do tend to have accidents and often die in their first year of life. “But to have it shot is just really too bad and kind of bizarre,” she said.
Tom Cooley, wildlife biologist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, said the bird’s wing had obvious round entrance and exit wounds consistent with being shot by a bb or pellet gun. He said it was not an injury from which a peregrine falcon could recover.
Cooley said the shooting had to have occurred near the spot where the falcon was found because the severity of the injury would have prevented it from flying.
Anyone who has information about the falcon’s shooting is encouraged to call the state’s Report All Poaching hot line at 800-292-7800, said Lt. Jane Gordon of the law enforcement division of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
Meanwhile, bird watchers and biologists remain hopeful that the nesting pair will stick around and hatch another brood next spring. Peregrine falcons are on Michigan’s endangered species list, though they were removed from the federal list in 1999
Two peregrines had been seen around Ann Arbor since 2006, most often on Burton Tower, but they had not been successful nesting there, said Karen Cleveland, an all-bird biologist with the DNR. Cleveland said she brought a nesting box to University Hospital, where it was installed. The birds soon set up housekeeping in the box, and this spring, hatched three chicks.
Assuming the other two fledglings are still healthy, they will likely leave the area, Cleveland said. Young peregrines tend to roam far afield. Also, the Ann Arbor area is likely to only support one nesting pair. There aren’t enough tall structures in the Ann Arbor area far enough apart to avoid conflicts between two nesting pairs, she said. “Somebody’s just going to get beat on all day long.”
Comments
Millie Dailey
Thu, Sep 8, 2011 : 10:51 p.m.
Tragedy is a subjective term. A plane crashed and 43 people died. Is it a tragedy because the number of deaths was larger, or because they were 'people', Sonny?
OLDTIMER3
Thu, Sep 8, 2011 : 12:14 p.m.
Just like the SWAN story , everyone jumping to conclusions that someone shot it. Years ago we had a horse had what we thought was a bullet hole in it's leg even after being examined by a vetanarian, until we found a strand of fench broken with blood on it.
bedrog
Thu, Sep 8, 2011 : 8:15 p.m.
wow.. gotta watch out for that dangerous fench .
Ron Granger
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 11:20 p.m.
When investigating any shooting, you must look for means, motive, and opportunity. If you've ever visited the Belltower, you have probably seen the remains of the pigeons who are ruthlessly hunted by the Falcons. It isn't pretty. There is your motive, and your opportunity. Find the pigeon who bought the firearm, and you have your means. I'd start with the family members of the dead pigeons.
EyeHeartA2
Thu, Sep 8, 2011 : 12:01 a.m.
A BB gun is not a firearm. Other than that, I think you are on to something.
Fatkitty
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 10:43 p.m.
The individual who shot the fledgling falcon needs to get a life. What, your smartphone is on the fritz? Or maybe Your TWITter doesn't tweet anymore? Bored? Got no friends? I suggest you find some other form of entertainment, or target practice - if that's your preference, that doesn't involve KILLING. What's next? Your neighbor? Girlfriend? A commuter waiting for a bus? This act is indeed a tragedy when we contemplate the poor judgement that preceded it.
julieswhimsies
Thu, Sep 8, 2011 : 4:58 p.m.
I guess I would say that "judgment" didn't occur at all. It was probably an opportunistic impulse.
Fatkitty
Thu, Sep 8, 2011 : 12:51 p.m.
Correct, however, his/her "poor judgment" (flawed thinking, mental disturbance, etc) preceded the heartless and cruel act of shooting the bird.
julieswhimsies
Thu, Sep 8, 2011 : 1:38 a.m.
I wouldn't call it "poor judgment". I would call it heartless and cruel.
Tru2Blu76
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 10:30 p.m.
Thanks, A2.com for the Google map showing the location of this sad event. Indeed, it's also puzzling because, if accurate, the map shows the shooter was in a non-residential area where the sight of someone carrying any kind of gun (near to Elbel Field, the natatorium, etc) would likely be reported. Also, August 15th was a Monday. But 7 AM - that probably explains why no one has come forward with such a witness report. Spring driven BB guns and compressed air driven pellet guns produce little noise. That's a possible indication that the person responsible was an adult or near-adult consciously trying to avoid being noticed. That speaks to possible motive. Probably, it was one of those who have a grudge against wildlife conservation, ecology and anything nature lovers support. You know: one of those "lets minimize government, government regulations and tree-hugging" types.
Not from around here
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 10:15 p.m.
Sad and unfortunate, but in today's society, not shocking. We glorify athletes and musicians who engage in dog fighting, extol music that encourages people to "put a cap" (aka shoot) in people they don't like or understand and shows callused disregard for people in general and women in particular. There is a reason I'm no longer from around here. I saw where this was heading and left a while ago.
Mary
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 8:36 p.m.
This is so sad! I am a employee of the Medical Center and I know there was a contest for the patients at Mott Childrens Hospital to name them. To whom ever is responsible I hope you are proud of yourself!
dogpaddle
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 8:35 p.m.
@sonnydog09: Yes, the plane in Russia was indeed a tragedy. But I don't think you have the right to decide for the rest of us what is and isn't a tragedy. To animal lovers everywhere, a senseless killing of an endangered species is indeed a tragedy. We don't have to have a contest to decide which is worse. I think we all know the answer to that one. As for the duckling killer and who gets a worse sentence, let's not forget that the duckling killer had a previous record with AAPD. Until or if the perpetrator of this crime is caught, we won't know how that person (and I use the term "person" lightly) will fare. Wrong as it is, perhaps that person was trying to sleep and heard birds chirping outside his or her window and was attempting to simply shoot in the air to scare them away and unfortunately, hit one. We don't know. We do know duckling killer purposely and maliciously went back to run over the ducklings.
Major
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 8:25 p.m.
Sad, but not shocking. This stuff goes on all day, every day in A2. We are not some island of purists here, we are just like the rest, some smarts, zero common sense. Being a college town, it seems the smarter one is, the less common sense they possess. Case in point...I was staining a deck with a friend one day in May back a few years ago. Location was on Cambridge in the Oxbridge side of Washtenaw. I hear a shot ring out...asking my friend if he heard a gunshot, he said "are you kidding, in the middle of this neighborhood!?". Hearing another shot, which sounded like a .22, I decided to call the police. They came and said, "how do you know it was a gunshot?"...and..."we highly doubt anyone would be shooting around here"...then crack...another shot!!! Let me tell you, that sent the cops in action!! What they quickly found was...a U of M professor (retired?) shooting a .22 rifle out his window mad at the squirrels eating "his" maple tree buds!!! Of course they only gave him a warning.....nothing shocks me in this town anymore!!!
julieswhimsies
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 8:23 p.m.
I KNEW I shouldn't have looked at this blog today...Sigh.
paulczar
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 8:03 p.m.
Not to minimize this story... it is certainly very sad. But lighten up people, birds die from humans all the time. I know this was preventable, but still, it will be okay everyone.
a2zoo
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 11:19 p.m.
Alot of dumb comments here, but this has to be the dumbest...
johnnya2
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 8:41 p.m.
"But lighten up people, birds die from humans all the time" is that the argument you wan tto make? Ok People die from humans all the time too. So when an idiot takes a gun, shoots your child and the child dies, we can say humans die from humans all the time, it will be okay.
julieswhimsies
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 8:27 p.m.
Hey. Leave the mentally ill out of this. This was probably just some local yahoo, getting his "jollies" with a gun.
Townie
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 8:10 p.m.
'Not to minimize this story...', then you minimize it. There's a pretty sick individual out there with a gun (I don't believe you can go 'hunting' in Ann Arbor legally) and that, to many of us, is a significant concern. Mentally ill people need to be kept away from acquiring guns and this is a good example of why. Studies have shown that disturbed people often start with small animals and eventually graduate to people. The 'birds die from humans all the time.' - another minimization. I guess 'humans die from humans all the time' so we should just dismiss the multiple victim shootings we hear about so routinely now?
Atlas Shrugged
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 7:47 p.m.
Oh, come on. It seems like it was a cute little bird, and although I'm in favor of shooting people who do bad things and deserve to be shot, who the heck would be so sick as to shoot a little bird? No, it's not a tragedy for our city, and the story doesn't deserve to be "front page" in what was the Ann Arbor Snooze, but Jeez, let's not condone killing innocent birds.
Kara Marie
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 7:41 p.m.
My grandmother is Dody and I am so mad that she has to deal with people like this...it is just outrageous..
SonnyDog09
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 7:22 p.m.
"This is a terrible tragedy for our city as well, for now we really have hit rock bottom as a community." There you, go, again. A dead bird is not "a tragedy." A plane crashed in Russia, today, and 43 *people* died. That is a tragedy.
jns131
Thu, Sep 8, 2011 : 4:43 p.m.
If figure skating was easy it would be called hockey. Nuff said.
a2zoo
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 11:18 p.m.
There is no comparison between the two.
jns131
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 10:27 p.m.
I am just realizing this. 50 years ago last February the US lost its world team in Belgium. Now? The USSR has lost its hockey team. Very sad and as a skater? Thoughts and prayers to the family.
Klaus
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 9:20 p.m.
Both the plane crash and the shooting of the falcon are tragedies but in different ways. One was a deliberate act while the other was an accident, or so we hope. Perhaps the deliberate act was more of a tragedy of the commons.
MjC
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 9:12 p.m.
Maybe not a tragedy, but definitely another example of just how CRUEL human beings can be. Gee, let's all go for a ride in our SUVs so we can run over baby ducklings or better yet get a gun and shoot a baby bird out of the sky. Are we to ignore this and pretend that we don't care about any kind of life unless it's human? I don't think so.
johnnya2
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 8:45 p.m.
Every person who went on that plane and knew the risk. The bird was completely innocent. There is a major difference. Yes, it is sad the hockey players died. MOST people would not even have heard about it except for the local connections on the plane. Many people died throughout the world today from starvation. If your point is to compare one with the other, we can play this all day.
paulczar
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 8:04 p.m.
Two ex-Red Wings died on that plane today, too
a2citizen
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 7:53 p.m.
Agreed. But had it been a plane full of ducks, well, a2 would have been taking up a collection.
Terri
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 7:14 p.m.
What in the world is WRONG with people?!
notnecessary
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 6:39 p.m.
Much more outrageous than Dillon Pearce (the horrid *maybe still accused* DUCKLING KILLER) and this person could only face a misdemeanor? Hmmm....strange.
notnecessary
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 7:49 p.m.
"Peregrine falcons are on Michigan's endangered species list" right from the article.
Chris
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 7:43 p.m.
It's not an endangered species as of 1999
notnecessary
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 7:12 p.m.
There are ducks everywhere to the point they are almost pests, this is an ENDANGERED SPECIES. I don't think running animals over with cars on purpose is exactly like a new craze that is going viral...I think you just don't hear about it that much because 99.9999% of people that do it get away with it.
buildergirl
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 7:08 p.m.
Didn't the Pearce case involve a family of ducklings? Either way. Shooting birds with bb guns, though wrong, has been going on for generations. Plowing them over purposely with cars is pretty new so stronger punishments?
Wolf's Bane
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 6:27 p.m.
Move the nesting pair outside of city limits! Don't make them suffer a similar fate!!!
jns131
Thu, Sep 8, 2011 : 4:42 p.m.
Now you have the bird sanctuary crying fowl because you are now disturbing its natural nesting areas. Endangered birds are pretty much that, endangered and moving its natural nesting areas makes it more endangered then ever. Catching the person who did the fowl deed, is more likely to spend time in its less gilded cage.
Wolf's Bane
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 6:26 p.m.
Regarding the Peregrine falcon shot in A2, Janet's sentiment says it all: "But to have it shot is just really too bad and kind of bizarre," Janet Hinshaw, This is a terrible tragedy for our city as well, for now we really have hit rock bottom as a community. Who in their right mind would shoot at a bird of prey in the city?
jns131
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 10:25 p.m.
This makes what? Third bird death this year? With a bullet they can find the smoking gun and bring that fowl bird to justice. Have they found the Penguin yet? Sad story to read. These are great birds to watch in the air.
Charlie Brown's Ghost
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 8:56 p.m.
"We really have hit rock bottom as a community" No, that happened when the city government became 100% Democrat.
Charlie Brown's Ghost
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 8:52 p.m.
Just because it was found in the city does not mean it was shot in the city.
glimmertwin
Wed, Sep 7, 2011 : 6:16 p.m.
Nice. Ann Arbor. The last place in my mind I would have expected to read this horrible story.