Can you tell which bird is SW (mom) and which one is Buckeye (dad)?
Falcon facts: SW was hatched and fledged from the 37th floor of the Gulf Tower building in Pittsburgh, PA. Pennsylvania does not believe in naming wild creatures, so she goes by her band letters, SW. Buckeye was hatched in Columbus, Ohio. See if you can find these cities on a map of North America. Can you figure out how far SW and Buckeye had to fly to meet each other in Cleveland, Ohio?
When the male and female peregrine are together, the biggest clue to tell them apart is their size difference. Female peregrines, as in most species of raptors, are much larger than males, about a third heavier. While the males and females have similar appearance, there are individual differences.
SW is larger, and she is also darker grey. SW has a somewhat speckled chest, while Buckeye's chest is more white. Buckeye has a gray “helmet” and no white cheek patches. If you can see their bands, compare the USFWS bands on their right legs; SW's is silver and Buckeye's is purple.
As you monitor the FalconCam during incubation, you will almost always see a parent covering the precious eggs. A typical day in the life of SW and Buckeye during incubation finds SW doing most of the egg-sitting. Here she watches Buckeye as he flies in…..
Buckeye does a great deal of hunting and supplies SW with her favorite food…………
She rushes Buckeye for the food and takes it away..….
and then she departs.
Now it’s Buckeye’s turn to take care of the eggs, and that includes turning them about once every hour…..
As soon as SW returns, Buckeye takes off to continue hunting.
The FalconCams are sponsored by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and the Falcon’s website is getting a new look and new address. Be sure to bookmark the new address in order to watch the falcons live:
Photos are courtesy of Scott Wright, volunteer peregrine nest monitor. They may be used by children for school and/or personal projects, but please give Mr. Wright photo credit. All others must contact Mr. Wright directly for permission to use his photos.
National Environmental Education Week is April 16-22, 2006, culminating on Earth Day.
Each year our falcons hatch their chicks right around Earth Day! Raptors in the City joins over 250 organizations/schools that have signed on to be partners for National EE Week. Please join us to encourage kids of all ages to learn and care about our environment and visit: http://www.eeweek.org/
