Paicines
– Climbers can once more look forward to scaling the peaks at
Pinnacles National Monument.
Paicines – Climbers can once more look forward to scaling the peaks at Pinnacles National Monument.
Monument staff announced Friday that the park’s raptors had completed their breeding season and the last of this year’s fledglings have left the nest, freeing up cliffs for climbers and off-trail hikers.
“It’s been a pretty good year for our raptors,” said Gavin Emmons, raptor biologist for the Pinnacles.
Two species of bird are monitored by Pinnacles staff particularly closely each year – the Peregrine falcon and the Prairie falcon – because they are considered “sensitive species,” according to Emmons. These are animals that aren’t necessarily endangered, but have the potential to wind up on that list if their populations aren’t protected.
This year, 32 young Prairie falcons flew away from their nests and three Peregrine falcons fledged, as well. Pinnacles staff spotted 58 raptor nests around the monument or just outside its perimeter, from 12 different species including American kestrels, red-tailed hawks and horned owls. Each nest can house anywhere from one to several young raptors.
“These numbers are consistently good each year,” Emmons said. “So that means that our climbers and hikers are doing a good job of following our advisories.”
The Pinnacles’ climbing areas are almost always closed for the raptors’ breeding season, which lasts from January to June or late July. Keeping humans, however well-intentioned, away from the birds is essential to ensuring the future of the young raptors and the species as a whole.
“A lot of studies have shown, fairly conclusively, that raptors experience a certain amount of stress when humans are nearby, and some are very easily stressed,” Emmons said. “Sort of like people can be more irritated by certain activities than others.”
Climbers and hikers, then, can frighten raptors by their very presence, even if they’re not directly disturbing the nests.
Hundreds of climbers visit the Pinnacles each year, but for the most part they are good-natured about the monument’s efforts to protect the raptors, Emmons said.
“When they see you out there working, they know that we’re actually trying to balance the raptor’s safety against human interests, and it makes them feel better,” he said. “I do a lot of rock climbing myself, and when I get to meet people they’re always very interested in what we’re doing.”
The Pinnacles’ raptor monitoring program, which has been operated consistently for 20 years, is the longest-running such project in the country.
For more information visit www.nps.gov/pinn.
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or
ds****@fr***********.com
