Falcons get glimpse of their N.M. home

WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, N.M. — An effort to reintroduce an endangered bird to the skies of southern New Mexico took another leap forward Friday as 11 captive-bred aplomado falcon chicks got the first glimpse of their new home.

But it was only a glimpse.

Biologists had planned to set the birds in wooden boxes several feet above the desert floor so they could get acclimated to their new home, but two days of rain resulted in a swarm of harvester ants that were looking for high ground — which turned out to be the boxes.

"We just don't want to take a risk," said Brian Millsap, state administrator with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Albuquerque. "We just want to make sure the birds are safe."

Angel Montoya, a biologist with The Peregrine Fund, plans to monitor the ants to determine when he can put the birds in their boxes. He said that could be a day or two.

"I might be an ant expert in a few days," Montoya joked.

The two men stared at the ant-covered boxes, not wanting to give up. After a few minutes, they decided to cut down the flowering stalk of a nearby yucca and attach it to the top of one box to attract the ants. It was working, but they decided to check back in the morning to be safe.

The falcons are the second set being released in New Mexico as part of a recovery effort by the nonprofit Peregrine Fund, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and state, federal and private land managers.

Expectations for the program are high since the last set, released in August 2006 on media mogul Ted Turner's Armendaris Ranch east of Truth or Consequences, went on to produce at least one nesting pair and some wild-born chicks.

Biologists showed off the 11 chicks Friday at the Rio Grande Nature Center in Albuquerque before trucking them south in cardboard boxes to a remote site that straddles the western edge of White Sands Missile Range and state and Bureau of Land Management land.

Officials at Friday's news conference said the recovery program would not be possible without the cooperation of private landowners, state and federal agencies and organizations such as the Peregrine Fund.

Benjamin Tuggle, regional director for Fish and Wildlife, noted that the agency announced the delisting of the bald eagle about a week ago, proof that species can recover.