Local falconer rescues raptors

COMMENTARY

Local falconer rescues raptors

One of the most terrifying moments in movie history is the kitchen scene in “JuCarol Niemi is a marketing consultant who lives on the Dunwoody-Sandy Springs line and rassic Park,” in writes about people whose lives inspire others. Contact her at worthknowingnow@gmail.com. which two relentless veloWORTH ciraptors hunt two trapped KNOWING children. Don’t remember? BY CAROL NIEMI Watch it on YouTube and hold on tight. Then imagine bringing a smaller version of those killers into your home.

That’s what Brookhaven resident JaCarol Niemi is a marketing consultant who lives on the Dunwoody-son Green does. A licensed master falconSandy Springs line and writes about people whose lives inspire er, he brings winged raptors, also known others. Contact her at worthknowingnow@gmail.com. as birds of prey, into his home to acclimate or “man” them.

“In the beginning, they either want to kill you or escape,” he said of these born killers at the top of the bird food chain.

Manning is part of the ancient sport of falconry, in which birds of prey are used to hunt small game. During manning, the bird is brought into close, controlled contact with a falconer to learn that it’s going to be safe and well fed. Eventually, if the bird is young and willing to hunt, the result can be a partnership lasting two or three years, until the falconer releases it into the wild to mate and reproduce. Despite the bond romanticized in movies like “Brothers of the Wind” and “My Side of the Mountain,” raptors never actually bond with anyone. “The birds are purely exploitative,” said Green. “They’re motivated by food and stay as long as they get what they want.” “They never love you like a dog or cat,” said his wife, Alba. As proof, Green says his body is full of scars. “When startled, they go for you with their talons,” he said. Like most falconers, he’s totally devoted to the falconry way of life. Becoming a licensed general falconer requires a twoyear apprenticeship and passage of a rigorous exam. Becoming a master falconer requires five years more. Having a bird involves intense training and considerable expense for shelter and equipment. Today, Georgia has 213 licensed falconers. Green has been a falconer for 29 years and receives frequent calls for raptor rescue. Recently, he rescued a small male Cooper’s hawk from a pigeon racer’s trap. The bird had a visibly broken tail. Brookhaven resident Jason Green and red-tail hawk Caramel.

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He thought it would heal and become his next hunting bird, but it had internal injuries and lived only a few days.

Other recent rescues included a young female barn owl caught in a pigeon loft and another male Cooper’s hawk. The owl was lethargic and dehydrated but recovered in two days. He released her at nearby Murphey Candler Park to find a territory and a mate. He’s registered the Cooper’s hawk with the state in the hopes of keeping it for hunting.

But his most memorable rescue was and may always be a female redtailed hawk he named Caramel. She was a hungry lost fledgling discovered on a farm near Athens. Though she had her flight feathers, she hadn’t learned to hunt, probably because her parents had been feeding her till abandoning her. She had no chance of survival alone in the wild. He brought her into his home, where he manned her by keeping her on a perch in his office while he worked and initially sleeping with her on a perch in the guest room.

Caramel was not a typical raptor.

“She was very flexible,” he said. Over the next year, he and Alba often took her for walks at Murphey Candler Park. “People wanted to pet her,” said Alba. Once when she seemed to have flown away for good, they opened the front door, and there she was, waiting to come in. But they couldn’t keep a raptor in their home forever. The problem was she had no drive to hunt and could not simply be released.

Last month, he gave her to Winged Ambassadors, an educational program at Historic Banning Mills run by his good friend and mentor, Master Falconer Dale Arrowood. Alba cried the day she left “Now she’s a Winged Ambassador,” he said, as he looks forward to an upcoming visit to see her. Dale Arrowood is training her to perform in his birds of prey show and visit schools and other organizations interested in wildlife preservation. Considering that a red-tail’s favorite prey is mice and a single pair of mice can produce 2,000 offspring in six months, having a red-tail in your neighborhood is a very efficient way to maintain the ecological balance!

To meet Caramel, check with Banning Mills at https://www.historicbanningmills.com/adventures/bird-prey. To have a Winged Ambassador visit your school or organization, visit the Winged Ambassador Facebook page or call Dale Arrowood at (404) 408-8138.

ABOVE THE WATER LINE

BY SALLY BETHEA

Meet Our New Arachnid Neighbors

Giant Joro spiders have arrived in North Georgia, but impact is unknown

Because he spends so much time outdoors in nature for work and pleasure, photographer Alan Cressler rarely comes upon something that shocks him. Yet, that is exactly what happened in early October, when Alan spotted “literally thousands of golden webs with large, female spiders,” draping powerlines near the Chattahoochee River in north Fulton County.

The early morning sunlight perfectly illuminated a massive procession of Joro spiders (Trichonephila clavata): the non-native, invasive species that is currently all the buzz on mainstream and social media outlets.

Seven years ago, these strikingly colorful Asian spiders that “look like Halloween decorations come to life” were discovered in Hoschton, Georgia; they likely arrived via a shipping container from China or Japan. Since then, they have moved rapidly throughout northeast Georgia and into metro Atlanta suburbs – and more recently into the Carolinas.

A Jorogumo is a spiderlike creature or goblin from Japanese folklore, hence the name.

Alan speculates that powerlines are providing easy routes for the Joros to cross obstacles like roads and rivers, as they move quickly and efficiently into new territory. They also travel long distances (50 to 100 miles) by ballooning – using wind power by catching a breeze with the silk threads that they spin. And, like other spiders, they often hitchhike on cars and trucks.

On a recent walk in Chicopee Woods in Gainesville, I observed my first Joro: a palm-sized female on a bright yellow, three-dimensional web of silk that was amazingly strong, as I learned by tugging on it – strong enough, I have read, to capture hummingbirds and massive enough to capture pollinating bees that help maintain genetic diversity in plants and ensure seed production for crops.

Some good news is that these non-native spiders are harmless to people and will eat (the nasty) brown marmorated stink bugs, themselves an invasive that was accidentally introduced; our native spiders apparently have discriminating tastes and do not consume stink bugs. Joros also feed on mosquitos, flies, and yellow jackets.

Impacts Unknown

While some are extolling the “pest control” benefits to be reaped from our new arachnid neighbors, others – including Dr. Bud Freeman with the UGA Odum School of Ecology – are cautioning that much still remains unknown about them. How will they affect local ecosystems? Will they outcompete and displace other orb weaving spiders? Will they reduce important insect populations? Should there be efforts to eradicate these trespassers in an attempt to control their populations, as some suggest?

Joros represent yet another non-native species that must be monitored and evaluated for any unexpected economic and environmental consequences. In their homelands, these spiders are kept in check by local predators and defense mechanisms developed by their prey; however, in a new place, without those checks, they can spread widely, and sometimes with devastating outcomes.

How are invasive species defined and what other types have we experienced in Georgia, both currently and historically? The Georgia Invasive Species Task Force (gainvasives.org) describes them as non-native species that have been introduced – either intentionally or accidentally – into areas outside their natural ranges and that cause economic or environmental harm of impacts to human health.

While most introduced species pose little threat to the environment, many constitute a significant risk. In fact, invasive species rank second only to habitat destruction as a threat to biodiversity – in other words, a threat to every living thing from humans to tiny organisms. In Georgia, we have seen the major impacts that invasives can have on forests, farmland and parks.

What You Can Do

If you spot a Joro spider, take a photo and tag it with the date and location. Then, send it to Dr. Richard Hoebeke at rhoebeke@uga.edu and/or post your observation on the iNaturalist app.