Falcon chicks banded in name of research

GREEN BAY - Things are a little bit louder now at Georgia-Pacific. The noise is not coming from machinery, though.

The paper mill on South Broadway recently welcomed four squeaking peregrine falcon chicks to the family.

The chicks — two male, two female — are just 22 days old. Falcon researcher Greg Septon tagged the chicks Friday with small, metal leg bands. He said researchers and conservationists around the world use the bands to track and learn more about the birds.

Septon has banded falcons for nearly 30 years. He said the ability to track falcons gives a detailed picture of how long they live, where they nest, how many young they produce as well as what threatens them in the wild.

"From a management standpoint, most of the birds nesting here in the upper Midwest are nesting in urban areas on human-made structures," Septon said. "So, we need to be able to manage that population and the more you know about their behavior and their lifespans, the easier it is to manage them on a large scale."

Although this particular type of bird was placed on Wisconsin's Endangered Species list in 1975, they are no stranger to Georgia-Pacific. Mike Moore, environmental engineer at the mill, discovered the first nest back in 2008 while performing an inspection.

"I happened to notice a large, adult bird fly up to the top of a lime silo that was slated for demolition the following week," Moore said. After he saw there was a chick in the nest he said he knew something had to be done. That was when he contacted Septon.

"It goes back to environmental stewardship," Moore said. "We have an obligation because once they nested here, they are going to nest here for the rest of their lives."

To date, the mill has seen 24 chicks hatch. Something Moore said brings all mill employees together every spring. He said the mill chatter turns to the return of the falcons, how many eggs there are and when they are going to hatch.

Septon said peregrine falcons got their name for a reason because "peregrine" means "wanderer." He said once the birds start migrating, they travel extraordinarily long distances.

Birds hatched at Georgia-Pacific and other Northeast Wisconsin locations, he said, have been spotted in places like Manhattan Island and even South America.

There is some time before chicks make big moves like that, though. It will be about eight more weeks until they are able to fly and hunt on their own. In the meantime, Moore said mill employees will be engaged in an intense chick naming contest as they do every year.

sleduc@greenbay.gannett.com 'Like' Shelby Le Duc on Facebook and follow her on Twitter @pgshelbyleduc