2003May29webcam

FALCON FLASH
Dateline: Cleveland, Ohio
June 2, 2004

First Chick Flies

Several local falcon fans have sent reports from the nest. Two eyewitnesses reported that all 3 chicks were perched on the edge of the ledges, flapping away. They saw one chick airborne a foot or so over the ledge for a few moments -nearly flying.

Yesterday (June 1), eyewitness Tony Rinicella reported: "I swear I saw a juvenile flying today. I went outside for a quick break and I heard the Peregrine alarm call. I looked up, and there was a brown falcon (juvenile color) flying above me BEING ATTACKED by two much smaller birds. They disappeared over the Federal Reserve building. I looked over at the TT and I saw another falcon flying kind of frantically in front of the tower. Then it seemed to figure out whatever it was looking for (that alarm call, I assume) and BOLTED straight to the area that I saw the other disappear to.

Could it have been our male on the wing already??? Was the 2nd falcon coming to the first one's rescue??? I am not POSITIVE it was brown (juvenile color), but it did not look peregrine grey (adult color). And you rarely ever see smaller birds attacking an adult. They know better, and an adult is much more able to get away from a situation like that. I'm optimistic it was our little male learning to hunt, and some smaller birds. If it was indeed a fledge, and I really think it was, he is flying very well. Just not very high yet. High enough to be able to get back to the ledge, but you could tell it was not the sure-flighted flying stance of the adults."

Scott Wright, volunteer peregrine falcon nest monitor for the Ohio Division of Wildlife, was at the nestsite today assisting Macy Hallock with FalconCam repair. He reports:

"49-P (Tory) is flying. When I got to the site I could only locate the two females, 10-B (Tempest) was all the way over in the far corner to the left of the nest. Did she walk all the way over to this spot or fly? 9-B (Amelia) was right by the nest.

I went outside to look for Tory and he took to wing from the 14th floor and flew and landed right at the nest. Then Macy showed up and we took a gander at the web cams. SW actually at one point made contact with Macy's left hand! I was blocking and only SW made attacks on us.

I saw all 3 young. All are well and fine."

Here is another interesting story about a faraway cousin of our falcons. The following report comes from Mrs. Mathies, program director for Raptors in the City:

"Last week we received a call for help from an American working in Iraq on the Raptors in the City Falcon Forum. Here is his message:

'I found a falcon chick on the ground in one of our (airplane) hangers. I'm with Halliburton in Iraq. We provide the military with animal control, but I don't know a lot about falcon chicks. I need to know if I can return it to the nest, will its parents feed it, or do I have to raise it?

Help if you can!! Eric in Iraq'

Eric sent a picture of the chick and added, 'We talked to a falconer in Dubai, he said it was a red-napped shaheen. I can tell you it loves to eat, and it's not a morning person (just look at the picture).'

We asked Ms. Hope Douglas from Wind Over Wings, a wildlife rescue organization specializing in birds of prey in Connecticut (visit them at http://www.windoverwings.com/) and she recommended that the chick be returned to its nest as soon as possible. Eric returned the chick to its nest, and he reported that it was doing fine when he checked on it several days later.

The Iraq falcon, the red-napped shaheen, is nicknamed the "desert falcon" and is a member of the peregrine family, a little smaller than our own peregrine falcons in the U.S. Shaheen means falcon in Arablic."

Watch the falcons live at http://www.falconcam.apk.net/ Our thanks to EcoCity Cleveland for providing the FalconCams as a public service. Thanks to Macy Hallock, FalconCam sponsor and advisor, and to Scott Wright for maintaining the FalconCams.

Thanks to Scott Wright for his photos and to Ernie Cornelius for the picture of the falcon taking off from the ledge. And thanks to Eric Sapp in Iraq for his photo of the red-napped shaheen chick.