Peregrine Falcon Chicks

A female Peregrine Falcon returns from a successful hunt…exhausted! She caught a Killdeer. She may have carried this Killdeer a long way to get here because she seemed very, very tired.  She stashed her prize on an I-beam of the Port Washington Generating Station and rested.

Her name is 'Brinn'.  She comes to us from Minnesota.  She was hatched in 2012 on Gold Hoist cliff, Split Rock Lighthouse State Park on the north shore of Lake Superior.

This is NOT Indy Froona, a female known to nest at this site for the past three years. Two-year-old Brinn may have battled five-year-old Indy Froona for ownership of this site and won…driving Indy off. Indy Froona was born in Indiana in 2009, but now her whereabouts is unknown.

Before dismembering the Killdeer into bite size pieces to feed her chicks, Brinn plucks the misfortunate bird clean…tossing feathers to the wind. 

'Ives' was Indy Froona’s mate the last several year and is still the resident male in Port Washington. Ives was born in 2004 in Sheboygan, at Edgewater Power Plant.  He is believed to be the father of Brinn's chicks, but that is still to be determine.

This nesting site is one of several in Wisconsin managed by WE Energies Peregrine Falcon Recovery Program.

Early in the courting ritual the male Peregrine Falcon offers several nesting sites to the female and she picks one. 

(See previous stories of Indy & Ives at links below)

The nest box sits at 120 feet on the very edge of the WE Energies, Port Washington Generating Station.  It mimics a cliff that Peregrine Falcons would naturally choose.  

It overlooks Lake Michigan.

(LOCATOR: The nest box is at the top of the building, bottom of the nearest chimney.)

A ledge in the box keeps the chicks from falling out, but also keeps them from seeing anything but sky.  They  essentially have been isolated for twenty-three days except for parental feedings and a webcam. 

So, if something unfamiliar, like a human presents, it's bound to be scary.

(Click any picture to enlarge)

Peregrine Manager Greg Septon is in charge of banding, sexing and blood sampling the new chicks. 

Twenty-three days is an important point in the peregrine chicks' lives.  Greg must retrieve them before they feather or they could mistakenly believe they can fly, which they cannot.  

If frightened into running away at the sight of him, they could fall to their deaths.

Blood samples are drawn.

Bands are secured to their legs.

                                                             A general check of their physical health is made.

They are returned to the nest. 

Steve Jagow assists with a 'falcon swatter’ (broom) to repel attacks from angry falcons.

Peregrine Falcons have been delisted from the Endangered Species list, but are still protected. They were nearly wiped out last mid-century due to the residual effects of DDT in the environment.

The first pair of captive peregrines was reintroduced in 1987. 

Since then ‘Juneau’ (female chick, left) and ‘Noel’ (male) have brought the Port Washington nest box numbers up to 49 & 50, generated by the efforts of WE Energies Peregrine Falcon Recovery Program.

Allan

Links:

http://weenergiesraptors.blogspot.com/

http://www.we-energies.com/environmental/protect_wildlife.htm

http://feathertailedstories.blogspot.com/2013/10/peregrine-falcon-indy-ives.html 

http://feathertailedstories.blogspot.com/2013/09/peregrine-falcon-seagull.html

Peregrine Falcon (Indy & Ives?)

When I arrived, Indy and her friend were chilling out and warming up in an orange October sunrise. 

Click on any picture to enlarge.

October in Wisconsin means cool nights, warm days and brightly colored leaves.

Enjoying these conditions, while relaxing 200’ high…if  a Peregrine Falcon…you got it made! 

I was fairly sure this was Indy Foorna and her mate, Ives.  She is the resident falcon at the Port Washington Generating Station, Port Washington, WI.  At this distance though, I’m wasn't sure which bird was which. I couldn’t see their leg bands.

 According to the We Energies Peregrine Falcon 2013 Nesting Season Report, the male in Indy’s life is named Ives and wears black and green bands on his right leg.

Ives has been Indy’s mate for a couple of years and is probably the father of the chicks hatched this April 29-30. The four youngsters have been named Gasco, Bucky, Griff and Lightning.  You can see pictures of them and read the We Energies report at the link below. 

Indy Froona was born in Indianapolis, Indiana in 2009 and has been making the Port Washington Generating Station her home for the last three years.  She seems to have quite a fan base still following her in Indiana.  According to Gigi Caito, who responded to a previous Feather Tailed Stories post on Indy Froona in September, they were glad to hear she was doing well.  You can read Gigi’s reply on Indy at the link below. 

When one of the pair suddenly departed from their sunny perch, it seemed to have a goal in mind.  There could have been a tasty target out there somewhere worth investigating, but it was only visible from the 200’ foot balcony.  The mate quickly followed on the same course.  My chances of getting the hunt on camera were near zero, considering I never saw what they saw in the first place and both were out of sight over Lake Michigan in seconds.

If these few pictures were all I was going to get this day…so be it…there is always tomorrow, but I wasn’t ready to quit quite yet.  I lingered and it wasn’t long before I saw one of the pair return with prey-on-board.  That made both of us happy.

NOTE: Depictions of predation follow.

I didn’t know which bird got lucky, Indy or Ives. Typically the female Peregrine Falcon is larger (2-3lb vs. 1.6lb for the biggest male). That’s common in raptors, but sexing them is difficult when you can’t see the birds in a side-by-side comparison.  They look alike.  Nor could I read their leg bands.

 The feather plucking began quickly after the streetlight landing…interrupted only to keep one eye on me.  Now I could see the prey was a Northern Flicker, a medium sized bird slightly larger than the American Robin (thrush).

Peregrine Falcons take a huge variety of birds as prey from hummingbirds to Sandhill Cranes and even small mammals.  But they prefer medium sized birds…pigeon, doves, and gulls…meaty birds like the Northern Flicker. 

What happened to the other Peregrine Falcon?   It hadn’t returned while I was there…little concern…there wasn’t going to be any flicker sharing anyway.  

I discovered this is Indy Froona when I downloaded the pictures later and enlarged her leg bands on the computer.

She looks fit and healthy.

Now I’m wondering about Gasco, Bucky, Griff and Lightning, her four offspring.  I couldn’t find a status report on them, just that they were banded before fledging.  

It would be good to know they survived and are doing well. Are they enjoying the warm October sunshine and blue skies of Wisconsin or did they fly to Indiana?

Allan

Credit: We Energies Peregrine Falcon 2013 Nesting Season Report by Greg Septon

Credit: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds

Credit: Wikipedia

http://www.we-energies.com/environmental/2013PEFA_finalrpt.pdf

http://feathertailedstories.blogspot.com/2013/09/peregrine-falcon-seagull.html#gpluscomments