The birding populace on Nantucket certainly seem to have taken Quest into their hearts. The latest sighting comes from Edie Ray, who had a close encounter with Quest on the 25^th of January. She sent along some pictures to go with her engaging story too. You can view the pictures by clicking the pictures and highlighted links below. Edie writes:

Late in the afternoon on [January 25, 2009] I pulled into the parking area at Low Beach in ‘Sconset on the Eastern edge of Nantucket Island, Ma. As I exited my car and began pulling on numerous layers of clothing (it was COLD), I noticed a woman with several dogs walking up the trail from the beach. Just beyond her and seemingly undisturbed by this activity I observed a Peregrine Falcon sitting on a sign on the beach. “Must be Quest”, I thought to myself.

I asked the dog-walker as she hurried past if she had seen the Peregrine and would she like a closer look using my binos. She replied that she had indeed seen the bird and had wondered what “that funny stick was on it’s back”. Aha, Quest for sure…

Now on a quest for Quest I headed to the beach and managed a pic or two of her sitting on the sand. As I watched I could see her looking at a flock of Bufflehead ducks feeding just offshore. All of a sudden she took flight and headed out over the startled ducks. I then lost sight of her over the water.

Turning my attention to gulls I amused myself for about forty minutes counting and admiring the many Iceland and Lesser Black-backed Gulls feeding just North along the beach from Quest’s take off point. As I left the gulls and began to head back along the beach to the path I once again saw Quest. She now was sitting on a “shipwreck” looking piece of flotsam and jetsam and looking very photogenic indeed.

     

     

Not wanting to disturb her I approached slowly, pausing at times to let her get accustomed to my presence. At one point she lifted her tail and produced a “nice poop”, good evidence of her success in hunting I think! With her “consent” and a telephoto lens I was then able to get a number of nice shots of her basking in the late afternoon sun.

Leaving Quest I headed up the path to my car. While greeting some arriving birders in the parking lot one of them (Vern Laux) yelled “Peregrines!” I turned just in time to grab my camera and get a pic or two of Quest embarking on an aerial dogfight with a smaller Peregrine right over the beach. Even at a distance we could her vocalizing!

After watching this amazing display until both birds were out of sight I headed for home having had a most memorable encounter with a true master of flight. All in all an afternoon I won’t soon forget!

We’re so grateful to Edie and all of Quest’s fans on Nantucket for keeping us informed about her, and especially for sending along all of the terrific pictures! Quest looks great, and she sure seems to be having a good time on her island winter home.

-Jess

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No new real news about Quest, who has stayed close to Tom Nevers for the past week. Most of the stong transmissions came in the early morning hours when Quest is presumably sleeping, so perhaps we aren’t seeing the full scope of her wanderings. What is clear is that she’s returning to the same small area day in and day out, and most likely not venturing very far from it. In fact, on the 28^th of January and February 2^nd, Quest was in exactly the same spot, a wooded area adjacent to the residence at 68 Tom Nevers Road. Since these data points occurred in the early morning and late evening hours, it’s likely this is a sleeping spot for her. If anyone currently resides at that address, they might have a good opportunity to see her.

Other interesting plots for Quest occurred on the 29^th of January, and again on February 1^st. These place her in the vicinity of the Coast Guard radio tower at Siasconset. This is probably the highest point on the island, and if she’s perching at the top of the tower, Quest doubtless has an unobstructed view of much of Nantucket.

If you’ve been following the reports from our on-scene watchers at the FalconWatch Blog, you’ve already heard the good news. If you haven’t, why not??? Anyway, we’re happy to announce that Mariah flew back into Rochester a few days ago! A non-resident falcon (female) and tiercel (male) had been making themselves at home at many of the perching spots familiar to our volunteers for the past couple of months, but they both left the area as soon as Mariah returned. Some research suggests that migrating Peregrines may have nearly as much affinity for a particular wintering site as they have for their home territories. Interestingly, these winter migrants aren’t often interested in taking over a territory, just in having a place to roost and hunt during the winter. When the regular residents return, the migrants often leave without engaging in territory battles or other disputes, to head back to their own “home” territories. Perhaps that’s the case with our winter visitors this year. In any event, we’re glad that Mariah has returned to Rochester for an astounding 14^th year!

She’s been spending a lot of time on the Kodak tower, so there’s still some uncertainty as to whether she’ll find and move into one of the two nest boxes that have been placed downtown for her. Our dedicated watchers will be braving the mid-winter freeze here in town to keep an eye on her, so keep checking back for more reports!

-Jess

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Thanks to Quest’s regularity, continuing gaps in the location data from her transmitter haven’t hindered our ability to follow her movements. As you’ll see from the latest map she continues her stay in the Tom Nevers neighborhood. In an unusual coincidence, Quest’s trip up the beach on 22 January found her in exactly the same location as she was on the 1^st of January, right down to 1/1000^th of a degree! The time stamps for the location data are different for each day, so this might indicate that she has a favored spot at that location.

Perhaps the most interesting data from the past week concerned the temperature. Quest’s satellite transmitter has a small temperature sensor built into it. This sensor measures the temperature of the transmitter unit, which is influenced by the temperature of Quest’s environment, and also her own body temperature. Provided that the signal strength is good, we usually receive a temperature reading along with each location. Often, the temperature readings aren’t much different than the ambient temperature at her location. This most likely means that Quest is in a relatively exposed location.

The interesting bit is that for the past week, while average daily temperatures in Nantucket have hovered between -1° and -4°C, Quest’s temperature sensor has been reading 20 to 25 degrees higher than that. In fact, the temperature reading on 26 January was 32.39°C, or 90.3°F. That’s a pretty high temperature for the middle of winter, and it may indicate that Quest is finding good shelter from the elements. It’s yet another positive sign that her survival instincts are developing well.

-Jess

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It’s been a few days since our last update, but Quest didn’t give us any surprises. She has continued to spend her time in the Tom Nevers neighborhood, her home for the past few weeks. She ventured northeast east to Sankaty Head on the 9^th but for the most part she seems content to stay within a relatively small area.

We can assume that the very frigid temperatures that descended on the United States last week kept her movements to a minimum. We’re happy to see that she weathered the arctic blast without undue difficulty. It’s yet another hopeful sign that Quest may go on to a long, fruitful life.

-Jess

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True to form, Quest continues to make the Tom Nevers neighborhood her home. All of the satellite data for the past several days places her in a pretty small area of less than one mile. It seems that she has a taste for the upscale homes and wooded lots.

When she’s not in Tom Nevers, she’s at the beach, hunting. With the help of Rochester Falconcam member Carol Phillips we were very fortunate to have received a note from Vernon Laux, who described his encounter with Quest only a couple of days ago.

Jan. 6, 2009
Quest Successful Hunt

The wind died here on Nantucket on the afternoon of Jan. 6, 2009, a most unusual occurrence. I headed out to Low Beach on the southeast corner of the island to witness the “gull show” -far and away the best on the eastern seaboard. While looking at some 120 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 85 Iceland Gulls, 3 thousand Bonaparte’s Gulls, a couple of adult Little Gulls as well as finding some 15 Dovekies sitting in the water and flying about all the small gulls flew off the water and gathered in a dense flock. This is a sure sign of a falcon on the hunt. It was 2:30 in the afternoon.

Scanning everywhere I finally picked out the falcon, ringing at a considerable height and already almost out of sight in binoculars heading due east. The falcon then stooped on something and missed. Switching to a spotting scope I lost the falcon out over the water, guessing she was a mile and a half away. I had barely seen the bird and could not tell if it was fitted with a transmitter.

Approximately 15 minutes later I spotted a falcon coming back to shore from way out east. It was heading right for me and I could tell by the labored flight that it was carrying prey. As the bird flew almost directly me over me I could tell that it was a Dovekie in her talons. She flew right in to where I was on the beach and came fairly close heading down the beach about a half mile further to sit on a piece of driftwood. I could see the antenna as she flew past.

I decided to give chase to attempt to get photos for the folks in Rochester as I was aware that Quest had been hanging out. While not delighted that she was hunting Dovekies, quite a rare bird here and no match at all for a falcon, it was a good use of the hapless Alcid. Dovekies are always a scarce bird in these parts but that is the way it is.

She proceeded to pluck the bird with feathers flying. Normally falcons decapitate their prey and when done leave the head, feet, bits of the sternum and intestines. Dovekies being basically neckless, Quest was not able to do this and went to work plucking and eating. She allowed me to approach within about 25 yards when she moved up the beach a little further. At any rate she seemed to be enjoying her meal so I left her in peace. She went to roost with a full crop as the weather was about to get much worse. She looks very healthy and the transmitter does not seem to be slowing her down at all. Walking back down the beach I found a freshly dead Thick-billed Murre. Best- E.Vernon Laux

Vern took some great pictures of Quest. Here they are!

We agree – Quest looks terrific! Vern sent a few more pictures of some of the birds that Quest is sharing the beach with, including a Dovekie, Quest’s hapless lunch in the pictures above, and a variety of gulls.

We can’t thank Vernon Laux enough for his very detailed description and the fantastic pictures of Quest that he’s provided. To see her looking so healthy is a real treat for all of her fans around the world!

-Jess

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Quest spent the final days of 2008 in Tom Nevers, where she was a hit with a number of area birders. We received detailed descriptions of her movements from several people including noted Nantucket Birding experts Edith Andrews and Ken Blackshaw. Others have posted their sightings in the comments of the Quest update we posted on the 28th.

Here’s Edith’s account of seeing Quest on the 27th of December. She’s keeping up with Quest in her newspaper column that appears in the Nantucket Inquirer and Mirror:

In spite of rain and fog Nantucket had a good Christmas Bird Count on December 27. It was warm – temperature in the 50s and the wind was moderate SW. A relief from the gale we had during the week. One hundred and thirty-four species were seen by thirty-nine participants. Last year we had 130 species with over 50 participants. The grand total of individuals is three hundred and thirty-nine thousand and seven hundred and seventy.

One of the highlights was Quest, the Peregrine Falcon from Rochester, N.Y. She was seen and photographed at Tom Nevers in the morning and in the afternoon she was seen on the west side of Miacomet Pond, perched on the house with the name of “Full House” and then flew off, came back and perched on the ridgepole of the house next door named “Sandcastle”. She sat there quite a while, shifting her feet, turned around and looked at us. The antenna protruding from her back was very obvious, her feathers looked wet and bedraggled. It is exciting to think she is staying here on Nantucket. She was raised in a box on the Kodak Tower in Rochester, N.Y. When she fledged she flew down to the ground in the midst of traffic but she flew up and back to the Tower and was fed by her wild parents before taking off in an easterly direction.

We were fortunate to receive several pictures of Quest from the 27th as well, including this one from Rob Culbert:

Her appearance in this photograph fits very well with the accounts we’ve read. She looks like she’s in good shape considering the winter weather on Nantucket. We’re grateful to Falconcam team member Carol Phillps for connecting with Edith and Ken. We also extend our sincere thanks to everyone who has reported seeing Quest. Keep those sightings coming!

Quest took the opportunity of the new year to head up the coast, where it appears that she spent the day at the beach. A strong signal from the afternoon on New Year’s Day placed her on Atlantic Street/Baxter Road, a couple hundred meters from the Sankaty Head Lighthouse, and just east of the Sankaty Head Golf Club. The following day brought her back to the north end of the Tom Nevers neighborhood. It appears that she spent the night in the woodland near 27 Norwood Street.

She definitely seems to have found a home in Tom Nevers. Presumably there is sufficient shelter and food nearby to provide some level of comfort for her. We’re looking forward to seeing how she passes the rest of the winter, and hopeful that 2009 will be an exciting year for Quest!

-Jess

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Quest remained in the neighborhood around Tom Nevers Road in southeast Nantucket for the holiday. Several of the data points show her very close to some luxurious residences.

In fact, on Christmas Day, Quest appears to have been a surreptitious house guest at the seaside mansion of some wealthy landowner on Wanoma Way, close by Tom Nevers Pond. Locations on other dates also place her near several different houses. The winter population of Nantucket falls to about 10,000, so its anyone’s guess whether she has been spotted or not.

If you’re on Nantucket with some time on your hands, you might want to cruise the streets around Tom Nevers Road. Who knows? You might just spot Quest perched on a rooftop somewhere.

-Jess

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Despite some gaps in the daily emails from the ARGOS satellite tracking service during the past several days, there’s enough data to show that Quest is staying between the communities of Siasconset and Surfside on the southern shore of Nantucket Island.

The reliable data points indicate that she’s spending much of her time along Tom Nevers Road. Satellite imagery shows this to be a wooded residential neighborhood with plenty of single-family homes. Click the View Larger Map link then click the Satellite button to switch views. Some of the houseslook quite large. It’s likely that the woodland provides a refuge for Quest, sheltering her from the worst of the precipitation and especially the wind which has been quite fierce in recent days.

-Jess

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Well, she’s not from Nantucket exactly, but naughty limericks aside, it looks like Quest has decided to leave the Cape for a while. Since December 5^th she’s been visiting the old whaling port-turned-high class vacation spot.

She started at the northernmost tip of the island, spending the 5^th and 6^th at the historic Great Point Lighthouse. There is undoubtedly an abundance of shorebirds here to keep her fed. The data from the 7^th wasn’t very accurate but it also showed her at the northeast end of the island.

The 8^th and 9^th found her moving south to Siasconset. The morning reading on the 8^th showed her on the beach near Ocean Avenue, while a strong signal on the evening of the 9^th placed her in the wooded residential neighborhood along Tom Nevers Road. So Quest appears to be seeking out sheltered spots where she can pass the night in relative comfort.

After her long stay at the Cape we’ll have to see whether she returns to the mainland or decides to spend the holidays with the residents of Nantucket.

-Jess

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A look at the map might make it seem that way. The data shows Quest returning to some of her favorite haunts on the Cape, including Wellfleet Bay and Monomoy Island. But the timestamps tell a different story.

Quest usually takes her trips to Monomoy during the day, but our most recent data indicates that she has actually been spending her nights on the tidal flat. We didn’t receive any good data for the 3^rd but the data for the 29^th, 2^nd and 4^th places her there in the early morning and late evening. On at least one occasion we were fortunate to get consecutive good data passes at hourly intervals indicating that she is indeed spending the night on the northern end of Monomoy Island.

The data points are so closely spaced that it appears she’s found a particular area she likes. The satellite image doesn’t show any structures nearby, so it’s not clear where she’s staying, but something on the island seems to appeal to her.

-Jess