Ecology, Evolution and Behavior Ph.D. candidate Michael Henderson was featured in a July 2025 episode of the new Talons of Hope podcast (Season 1, Episode 3), speaking about his ongoing research on Arctic Gyrfalcons (Falco rusticolus), the largest falcon species in the world. Henderson has strong ties to Boise State University’s Raptor Research Center, having been a student participant in the center’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates – Raptor Biology program in 2015, graduating from the M.S. Raptor Biology program in 2019, and working for Boise-based The Peregrine Fund (a Raptor Research Center collaborator).
Notably, Henderson talks about being mentored by Boise State alum Travis Booms (M.S. Raptor Biology, 2002) while doing fieldwork in Alaska, and how that experience has now come full circle with him in a position to mentor other researchers working with birds of prey. As summarized in the podcast episode’s description, Henderson addresses how stable isotope analysis and nest cameras reveal shifting diets, why Willow Ptarmigan and Arctic ground squirrels are so critical to Gyrfalcons—and what happens as their ranges change, the rise of pathogens and parasites in the warming Arctic, what it is really like to study falcons in Alaska’s remote wilderness, and how he is working with the Mohamed bin Zayed Raptor Conservation Fund and other organizations to collaborate on conservation.
Podcast and Transcript Links
Use the following link to listen to the podcast episode, or search for Talons of Hope on your favorite podcast platform. A transcript of the podcast is also available.