Decades after getting it started, Racine native still guides state's peregrine falcon recovery

From JSOnline:

Paul A. Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Published 12:12 p.m. CT Nov. 16, 2018 | Updated 3:38 p.m. CT Nov. 23, 2018

 

Greg Septon returns a young peregrine falcon to its nest box on the roof of a Veolia North America building in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The bird and three other nestlings were banded as part of the Wisconsin Peregrine Falcon Recovery Project led since 1986 by Septon.(Photo: Paul A. Smith)

The bird specimen bottle had been sealed for nearly 60 years, collecting dust in a storage area at the Milwaukee Public Museum.

In December 1979, Greg Septon, then 27 years old and a taxidermist for the organization, grew curious about its contents.

He held up the jar of murky alcohol and looked for clues. His heart jumped: A notched beak was pressed up against the glass.

A licensed falconer and raptor bander, Septon immediately knew the jar held falcon chicks. Once opened, the container produced three young peregrine falcons.

A tag inside the bottle revealed the birds' origin.

Read more:  https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2018/11/16/peregrine-falcon-recovery-wisconsin-racine-natives-life-work/1760759020/