The 2010 peregrine falcon nesting season is underway at Ranger and SW's home sweet home located on the 12th floor ledge of a skyscraper called "Tower City" in downtown Cleveland, Ohio (the red circle shows the nestbox location).
This is a picture of SW with Cleveland’s Public Square in the background. The nestbox overlooks Public Square.
Longer daylight hours and warmer days are now triggering the birds into courtship, and SW and Ranger have begun the annual nesting life-cycle. Peregrines generally mate for life, but will accept a new partner if their mate dies. Because SW’s longtime mate, Buckeye, has died, we are now witnessing a normal phase of peregrine life as new mates choose each other and bond.
The following picture was taken in November, shortly after Buckeye’s death. You can see that SW (the larger falcon) is unsure of this new guy in town who was trying to begin a courtship. Ranger had to convince SW of his worth in a variety of ways.
Mr. and Mrs. Saladin were watching the nestsite in November and December as Ranger began to woo SW. They reported that at first, SW was defensive, but it didn’t take long for her to begin to accept Ranger as a potential mate. She would allow him to perch near her, which is a part of pair bonding, and she began to allow him to eat with her. Sharing food is a sign of acceptance. Soon they were flying together. Scott Wright, peregrine falcon nest monitor at this site for 19 years, describes courtship flight:
“The male peregrine falcon must showcase his flying ability with stunning displays. Ranger will do a dance in the sky by making long soaring, diving, and gliding displays with tail feathers and wingtip feathers wide open. He will pass close by SW with his tail feathers all displayed and stretched out, and he and SW will vocalize to each other. This will continue for some time, and on warmer days with higher winds, the couple will take to the air and together fly a dance across the sky”.
In this picture Ranger and SW perform their courtship dance.
Here's a good idea for young scientists from Sara Jean Peters, of the Ohio Division of Wildlife (retired):
"The FalconCam "hour review" of images provides an interesting way for kids to practice "sampling" techniques used by wildlife researchers. One would assume that, as the pair extends its courtship, the birds would be seen more and more frequently at the nest tray. By counting the number of frames that contain a view of a peregrine and dividing by 60, the students can calculate the percentage of time spent at the site during the sample period. They could choose several sample periods during the day and see if visitation varies by time of day... How does it change when the chicks are 12 days old...."
The cameras are being worked on right now, and we hope all 3 cameras will soon be functioning well. In the meantime, you can watch one of the cameras. This is a still taken from the FalconCam.
To see the "hour review" each day, go to the live FalconCam at
http://www.falconcam-cmnh.org/news.phpUnder each of the 3 pictures of the nest on the front page there is a link that will take you to the archives. The live FalconCam takes a picture each minute of every daylight hour. There are 60 pictures for each hour each day. Looking at the archives will give you a quick review of all the day's activities. As you observe the nest every day, why not take Peterson's suggestion and record how much of the time the falcons are at the nest in one hour and what their activities are? Sampling the nest every day will give you some interesting information about falcon behavior.
There has been a great deal of courting behavior going on at the falcon nestsite and mating has been reported. Will there be eggs this year? Is Ranger too young to be a dad?
Our thanks to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History for sponsoring the FalconCams.
Our thanks to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History for sponsoring the FalconCams and for the still.
Thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Saladin for most of the pictures and the video clip. The photo of the Tower City skyscraper is courtesy of Tony Rinicella. The photo of SW with Public Square in the background is courtesy of volunteer nest monitor Scott Wright. The pictures can be used in any non-commercial publication, electronic or print, but please give photo credit.
In January, the pair was seen hunting together, another phase of courtship. Mr. and Mrs. Saladin reported on SW’s “dive down” technique for hunting pigeons that had gathered on lower windowsills. Here she begins her dive…….
Then she draws her wings in so she is shaped like a bullet. This dive-down flight is called a “stoop”, and it is in the stoop that peregrines achieve their highest speeds, which some say can reach 200 miles per hour.
As the pigeons flushed, Ranger would join in and chase them.
Mr. and Mrs. Saladin took the following video of the pair in the nestbox demonstrating the interesting falcon behavior during courtship of “bowing”.
Male peregrines are about one-third smaller than females and are called “tiercels”, which comes from an old French word meaning “one-third”. Female peregrines are larger than the males, and they can be aggressive toward their mates. Some scientists believe the male approaches his mate cautiously and bows to her to as if to say “please don’t hurt me”, but since the male is a fierce predator also, he may be bowing to show his mate he is not a threat to her.
