By Gail Walter –
Our resident Peregrine Falcons, Rebecca and Kewpee, stayed in their territory in downtown Kalamazoo all winter and were courting in late February. Courting for Peregrine Falcons generally means the male will bring food to the nest area to demonstrate that he is a good provider, and the female will accept it and fly off to eat it. Kewpee is certainly a good provider, although Rebecca is no slouch when it comes to hunting. Rebecca laid four eggs between March 24 and 31. The entire incubation period was very cold this spring, and one of the parents was sitting on the nest almost all the time. Like last year, only two eggs hatched (May 2 and 4). We don’t know why but speculate that the age of the parents (15 and 16 years) may be a factor.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources changed the status of Peregrine Falcons in 2024 from endangered to threatened, and because of that change, they were not able to devote time or resources to banding. Although the peregrine population in Michigan has recovered well enough to warrant the change of status, the species is under threat from avian influenza and monitoring data in many states has documented sharp declines.
The data from banding are important to track populations numbers and active sites, so we were disappointed and frankly concerned about the loss of this tool for the state-wide population. We reached out to the banding folks at the Kalamazoo Nature Center to see if they would be able to step in. We appreciate their efforts in obtaining the necessary licenses and bands for the task. We are also grateful that the DNR provided assistance to them in getting all the permits and paperwork in order.
So, on May 28, the intrepid team of Rich Keith and John Brenneman donned hard hats and ventured into unknown territory, with assistance from Brenda Keith and Laurel Ridgway inside doing the recording. There was one female and one male chick, and they both appeared to be healthy and vigorous. Rebecca was relatively cordial (for her) until she ran out of patience. During the clean-up process and returning the chicks to the nest box, she gave Rich a good strike which jolted his hard hat enough to cause the shell to separate from the inner straps (not an OSHA-approved hat apparently). At any rate, Rich was not hurt and now has a great story to tell. Based on suggestions from falcon fans, the chicks were named Dot (female) and Dash (male).
We tried to dodge the extreme hot weather and storms to return Dash to Kalamazoo after a couple weeks in Flight Camp. He had a strong flight on release but was grounded within a couple minutes. We were concerned that Rebecca may not have recognized him or didn’t welcome him back as she has always done with her offspring. He was recaptured quickly without injury and returned to rehab. Because of concern that he may not do well in Kalamazoo, he was placed with an experienced falconer and is doing well. Hopefully he will be released into the wild and have a successful career. (Photo of Dash above by Andrea Zinkus) Towards the end of July, Dot started to act aggressive and possessive of food. She would grab food from Rebecca and mantle over it by spreading her wings and vocalizing loudly. We think Rebecca lost patience with this behavior and “encouraged” her to leave on her next adventures. Late July is typically the time when young falcons leave town to start their own journeys, so this was not unexpected. The parents will most likely stay this winter as they have in the past. Although Peregrine Falcons are great migrators, the Midwest birds tend to stay on territory all year. There is plenty of food for them during the winter, and they will defend their territory from any migrating falcons. They visit the nest box daily and often perch on the edge of the box.
Dash made his first flight prematurely on June 11. It looked like a strong, but short flight, and he landed safely in front of the 5/3 building, where he was spotted by Kathy K and rescued quickly. Because he was young, small, and thin, we opted to send him to “Flight Camp” at Wildside Rehabilitation and Education Center. In the meantime, Dot was in no hurry to fledge. She had it pretty good at the nest box. She really likes to eat, and food arrived frequently and there was no competition for it. She finally made a short flight on June 18 to an adjacent building. Her pattern was to take a short flight (usually after 9 PM!) to an adjacent building, then stay for several days and be fed well by her parents. We think Rebecca finally tired of her eating and lack of flying practice and pushed her off the roof of the 5/3 building. She turned into a good flyer after that! (Photo of Dot above by Andrea Zinkus)
We are delighted that the recent “Brush the Block” event in downtown Kalamazoo has several murals with birds, including one with a Peregrine Falcon created by Heidi Weiss and Chafe Hensley on The Stamped Robin, right near Peregrine Central!! Be sure to check it out when you are downtown. Thank you, Heidi and Chafe! Be sure to check it out and follow the activities of Kalamazoo’s favorite birds at www.KalamazooFalcons.com. There, you can watch the live cam, read detailed blogs, see the photo gallery, and watch video clips from the past year(s).
(Mural by Heidi Weiss and Chafe Hensley)