Various peregrines have irregularly occupied a territory
in Hyde Park since 1990. During 1994 and 1995 a pair successfully utilized a
nest box on a Lake Shore Drive apartment building. The adults present in 1994
and 1995 were Magnolia (22R), released in LaCrosse, Wisconsin
in 1991 and Orion (77T), released in Madison, Wisconsin in
1990.
Behaviorally the adults are very aggressive and defend not
only the roof near the nest box but also terraces on all sides of the building
and adjacent buildings. Because of the frequent interactions between the falcons
and residents, a decision was made to remove the nest box. The box was closed
since 1996.
In early April of 1997, Mary Hennen of the Chicago
Academy of Science's Chicago
Peregrine Release & Restoration Project (CPRR), got a tip that some
peregrines were roosting on our steeple. Mary and John Else,
the church administrator, climbed the steeple and saw that Orion and Magnolia
took up residence in the gutter at the base of the steeple spire. After
a few brushes with a dive-bombing angry mother, an egg was seen lying in the
gutter . On subsequent visits three additional eggs were found.
One egg hatched and on June 12th, a female named
Angelica was banded.
In late March of 1998 the falcon pair of Orion and Magnolia appeared again to be roosting on the east side of the steeple. With the help of Mike Green, the church custodian, John brought up two buckets of pea gravel to lay in the gutter to help keep rainwater from washing on the eggs. Then in the middle of April, Matt Geis, from the Lincoln Park Zoo and one of the founders of CPRR, found four eggs. In early May two babies were seen and a date was set to come back for the banding.
However, when Mary, Matt, John and a biologist returned on May 29 to do the banding and take blood samples three babies were found -- two males and one female.
For another six weeks the falcons replaced their fluffy white down with feathers, hopped around the steeple and learned to fly. Sometime in the beginning of July the whole family left for parts unknown. We will look forward to their return next March.
As nest owners of the falcons, the church had the privilege of naming one of the new males. It was decided to name the baby TG Cool after our departing Senior Minister, Terasa G. Cooley..
Check out our Peregrine Falcon Photos Pages.
Chicago Academy of Science's Chicago Peregrine Release & Restoration Project
Other falcon and raptor sites:
The
Raptor Resource Center of the University of Minnesota
The Peregrine Fund
Peregrine Falcon
Slideshow: Pictures taken by the live Northern State Power's Web Cam
The Raptor Resource Project