Welcome to another exciting Banding Day event! We’re glad you could join us for this, our eleventh year. For the next hour or so we’ll bring you up to the minute coverage of all the action here in the Media Center at Kodak’s World Headquarters building on State Street in downtown Rochester, New York! So sit back and enjoy, and remember to click your browser’s Refresh button often to see the latest information.

We have many special guests today, including students from the Quest Elementary school in Hilton, New York. We also have some long-time members of the Genesee Valley Audubon Society’s annual Fledge Watch in attendance, including Kathy Guchione, Kathy Olney, Larry O’Heron, Lou Capuano and “Shaky“. And all the way from Germany, we’re very happy to welcome Baerbel Winkler to her first Banding Day event! Other guests include Dennis Money and Brad Carney, emeritus members of the extended Rochester Falconcam family whose involvement goes back to the earliest days of the program and beyond. Representing Kodak today are Tom Hoehn, Chris Veronda, and Pam Young, Kodak’s Director of First Impressions!

Performing the banding work once again are Mike Allen and Barbara Loucks from the New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation. Kenn Martinez is here to keep an eye on the website, and Jim Pisello will be updating the Banding Day webpage. Rochester Falconcam team members June Summers and Carol Phillips will be handling the emcee duties, while Lisa McKeown and Grace Tillinghast provide updates to the media and watchers assembled to view all the action outside the tower.

We’ll be heading up to the nest box soon to retrieve the eyases, so stay tuned!

OK, we’re back after some very exciting moments out at the nest box! Mariah was her usual aggressive self, striking the helmets of many of the Eyas Extraction team.

Our first eyas is a Female, though Mike says she’s on the small side. Her name is Seneca. She was named by the Moderators of the “Kfalconcam” online discussion group. Kfalconcam is a group of over 1500 fans who meet on the Internet to discuss the Rochester falcons and keep in touch throughout the year. The moderators keep the discussion group running smoothly.
Her band number is black/green 95 over V. Her USFWS band will not have any tape, so she’ll be SILVER.

The Seneca Nation is one of the “older brothers” and the largest tribe of the Iroquois confederacy of North American Indians. They are known as the “People of the Great Mountain” and are the “Keepers of the Western Door”. The Senecas originally lived between the Genesee River and Canandaigua Lake in what is now, Western New York State. What better name for a young Peregrine born on the edge of the Genesee River Gorge. She will learn to fly high above this river, gaining the knowledge she will need to survive and someday raise young of her own.

For the fiirst time in three years, we have a boy! Our second eyas is named Diamante. Diamante was named by Ms Dawson’s Class at Rochester City Humboldt Elementary School (#28). Diamante is the spanish word for a diamond. A diamond is the hardest substance on earth, just as the Peregrine is the fastest bird on earth. The students in Ms. Dawson’s class are bilingual so they found it fitting to use a Spanish name for their choice.
Diamante will have a RED tape band over his USFWS band, and his ID band is black/green 21 over R.

Our third eyas is a girl. Her name is Quest She was named by the students in Mrs. Pilon’s Class at the Hilton Quest Elementary School, Hilton NY. A quest is a journey towards a goal, used in mythology and literature as a plot. In literature, the objects of quests require great exertion on the part of the hero, and the overcoming of many obstacles, typically including much travel. The students chose it because Peregrine means “wanderer” and one who wanders often goes on a quest. They liked the connection to mythology and heroes. The Peregrines are heroes to the students because they have overcome many obstacles and they continue to do so.
Quest will wear BLUE tape over her USFWS band. Her ID band will be black/green 96 over V.

Our fourth eyas is… another boy! Continuing the wind theme with the Rochester falcons, he will be named Zephyr. Zephyr was named by the Genesee Valley Audubon Society Fledge Watchers. This group of volunteers monitor the early flights of the falcons when they leave the nest and help ensure their safety.

In Greek mythology Zephyr was the name given to the West Wind. Today it means a gentle breeze. This name follows the tradition of giving Rochester falcons wind-themed names.
Zephyr will get YELLOW tape over his USFWS band, and his ID band will be black/green 22 over R.

And our final eyas of 2008 is a female. She will be named Susan B, in honor of Susan B. Anthony, a pioneer for womens rights, especially sufferage, or the right to vote. Anthony lived in Rochester and did her most important work in social activism here.
Susan B will receive GREEN tape over her USFWS band, and her ID band will be black/green 97 over V.

Now that all five eyases have received their names and bands we’ll be returning them to the nest box. Thank you to everyone for joining us, and to Kodak and the DEC for all of their assistance. Be sure to check Imprints for a recap of all the Banding Day events!