A Morning Of Flying For Jemison – Friday, July 2 7-8AM
Watcher: Jim P
Before Jemison ran into trouble on Friday, he did some terrific flying. I captured the action and I’ve finally had a chance to write it all up:
http://birdblog.marchlords.com/2010/07/before-trouble-some-terrific-flying.html
July 5th, 2010 at 4:06 PM
My kids and I are wondering if Jemison is she or he and why some people have picked he over she? If we missed an earlier explanation, my apologies but I wish it would go one way or the other. Perhaps the wildlife rehabber can help out?
July 5th, 2010 at 10:55 PM
@Melinda – When the DEC banded Jemison they determined that “her” gender was female. But by size, she’s much closer to a male than a female. Males are typically 1/3 smaller than females (thus the name “tiercel”, a Middle English word that ultimately comes from the Latin word “tertius”, meaning “one-third”). Jemison is much smaller than Callidora and Beauty, and very close in size to Archer, so most watchers have decided that Jemison is male. Of course, there’s no way to actually know unless someone observes Jemison mating.
We’ve had a few instances over the years in which the initial gender determination has been incorrect. The most convincing example of that is Sabrina from 2006. ID’ed as a female by the DEC, Sabrina remained on the small side, and eventually was found nesting on a bridge in Ogdensburg, NY. When mating was observed, we were able to verify that Sabrina was indeed a male. Luckily, the person who named Sabrina also provided a male name, Valiant, so we’ve changed his name. Of course, names don’t mean anything to the falcons, nor to the scientists at the DEC, but for us fans and watchers, having a name that agrees with the falcon’s gender makes more sense.
July 7th, 2010 at 12:01 PM
Thank you Jim! That definitely gives us a better understanding of the status of “Jemison “. We appreciate the time/effort put into your reply.