SW and Buckeye have been courting, and an interesting falcon behavior during courtship is that the male peregrine often “bows” to the female. Can you tell which falcon is bowing in this picture? It’s Buckeye. What explains this behavior? Female peregrines are larger than the males and they can be aggressive toward their mates. Sometimes the female will take food from the male and chase him. Some scientists believe the male approaches his mate cautiously and bows in submission. Scientists also think that because the male is a fierce predator, he may bow to show his mate he is not a threat.
As humans began to build skyscrapers in the 20th century, peregrines adapted to the cliff-like buildings and found cities to their liking. At first, peregrines would lay their eggs on a skyscraper ledge and the eggs would often roll off the building during bad weather. Humans have helped nesting peregrines in cities by building nestboxes to avoid this problem. If you have been watching the FalconCam, you may have noticed Buckeye and SW scrape an indentation in their nestbox gravel just as they would on a rocky cliff in the wild. In the following picture you can see Buckeye putting the final touches on a scrape that he made in the gravel of the nestbox on the 12th floor ledge of their skyscraper home.
Our thanks to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History for sponsoring the FalconCams and for the still.
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.
After a heavy snowstorm this week, SW and Buckeye have been busy clearing snow from their scrape. This image from the FalconCam shows SW at work warming the scrape to melt the snow.
SW and Buckeye, like many other peregrine couples, nest on a skyscraper. However, throughout most of their natural history, peregrine falcons have nested on high, remote cliff ledges that are difficult to reach. The nestsite or "eyrie" (also spelled "aerie") really is not a nest but a shallow depression, or "scrape," in the rocks and soil. The following photo from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shows what a peregrine nestsite looks like on a rocky cliff.
