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Interview with a Nest Watch Volunteer |
Interview with Mr. Scott Wright: Ohio Division-Of-Wildlife Peregrine Nest monitor (Volunteer) N. Olmsted, Ohio
How do you watch the falcon nests?
At the Terminal Tower site I have established a relationship with the building owner and the law firm that the birds nest outside of. I have the ability to visit the Terminal Tower nest during normal business hours and am just a few feet away from the nest and only need binoculars and/or a spotting scope to read badly worn band numbers. At other sites I am on the ground looking up at the birds.
What is an average day like for you as a nest watcher?
It can be very boring at times. I primarily establish that eggs have been laid after pairs have bonded and when eggs are hatching.
How long do you spend watching the nests?
The time spent at the nest can vary by the time of the nesting cycle. Early in the season it can take some time to read band numbers - one bird took an entire week and I was given permission to be in the law firm on the weekend when it was closed. After pairs have bonded (the male does aerial ballet in the sky and brings his mate-to-be tasty pigeon du jour) I look for when copulation begins and for when eggs are laid to determine hatching date. On the two other sites I watch, I cannot see into the nest box, so I look for exchanges of incubation (but I am rambling and your question was how long do I spend, and the answer is WAY TOO MUCH!)
Do the birds know you are there?
Yes, the birds know I am there and will, some years, attack me behind the glass window. When this happens I retreat and leave the birds alone. At two sites I watch, you can get very close to the birds and they will just stare at you or try and attack you or fly away (this is a bad thing if they are incubating and it is cold out and the eggs get chilled).
Are they used to you?
Over the years at the Terminal Tower the birds have become more tolerant of humans at the nest. Are they ever used to me? I would like to think so but they are wild creatures and will always defend their young (maybe they look over to the window and think "that guy with the green hat is back, what the heck is his problem?")
What do you do if one of the fledglings falls out of the nest?
Well, they normally do not fall out of the nest. They will "fledge" and often end up on the ground. I pick them back up chasing them out of a busy street or from thick brambles or bushes. I then take them back to the nest ledge (Terminal Tower), or at the Hilliard Road Bridge, I take them back to the top of the bridge and try and place them on a ledge below the railing.
Do you watch one particular nest, or more than one nest?
Last year I watched three nests, in the early spring I can check as many as 5 nesting pairs.
Is there anything else interesting about your work that you would like to share?
I have been doing this for 10 years and the years kind of blur together. I took home a fledgling last year as a house guest. This young falcon had flown just before sunset as a nasty thunderstorm was approaching. I retrieved the young bird from the ground and took it back to the top of the bridge and it flew right away but ended up on the ground. By this time lightning was flashing and rain was falling. It took some time to locate the bird again. By this time the storm was at its strongest and I called the Law Enforcement officer for my county from Ohio Division of Wildlife to advise him of my actions. My house guest was returned to the bridge just after dawn the next morning.
Thank you for talking to us, and for all your beautiful photographs.
FALCON FLASH......
dateline: Cleveland, Ohio
Stopped by Cleveland nest site on
Terminal Tower and went up to the nest.
I only saw one bird from the street
and assumed it was Zenith. When I got
to the nest, I discovered
a male at the nest box and a female close by.
Funny it was not Zenith (color
was all wrong) but I could not see band
numbers. Male is Buckeye
(read his bands) and he was calling softly to her,
trying to get her to come
into the box. He was scraping in the box as he
called out to her.
We do have a new female at the Terminal Tower, but who she is and where she is from I cannot determine based upon the data I have on file. Will she over- winter with Buckeye and fan the flames of passion in the spring before Zenith returns from her winter wanderings?
Stay tuned.
Same Falcon Time
Same Falcon Channel
Until spring ......
Anything can happen.
Scott Wright
Ohio Division-O-Wildlife
Peregrine Nest monitor (Volunteer)
N. Olmsted Ohio
For pictures of Buckeye, Zenith and
their chicks in Spring 2000, go to
www.falconcom.apk.net
FALCON FLASH......
dateline: Cleveland, Ohio
January 2001
The new mysterious falcon lady who
has become friends with Buckeye, the male falcon that nests at the Terminal
Tower, is named "Clearpath". I could see her band numbers *5/A.
Last year, Clearpath nested with "Wizard" not far away in downtown Cleveland.
Usually, peregrines stay with the same mate until "death do them part".
So......the big question is...... where is Wizard and where is Buckeye's
mate of last year, Zenith?
Buckeye and Clearpath appear to
be getting along very well now. I watched
them for about 20 minutes yesterday
flying slow lazy circles in front of the
building. They would dive
at each other and then start flying in circles
again. A few times they were flying
side-by-side. I was hoping to see that
elusive pigeon or gull kill, but
there were none in sight, and the falcons looked like they were having
too much fun to even notice. Buckeye often makes a scrape in the nestbox,
all the time calling out to his new nest mate (he hopes) The attached
photo shows just how determined Buckeye is to win over Clearpath, but he
has a way yet to go. He must wait out a Cleveland winter and wait for spring
to thaw the heart of Clearpath. The real fireworks will be in the spring,
if and when Zenith returns to reclaim her nest and philandering
mate.
Scott Wright
Ohio Division-Of-Wildlife
Peregrine Nest monitor (Volunteer)
N. Olmsted Ohio
FALCON FLASH......
dateline: Cleveland, Ohio
A sky battle between two falcons
has been reported next to Cleveland's Terminal Tower, and Buckeye has not
been seen lately. A new male has claimed the 12th floor nesting ledge
at the Terminal Tower. All signs point to the male who nested at
a nearby steel mill (LTV) last year and who lost his mate (possibly in
a fight between two females - she was found dead near another female's
nest, not far from the nest that the new Terminal Tower
male once used.)
The new male was not used to me
watching him at the window, and it took just over 6 hours for him to not
instantly fly off when he saw me. He would not tolerate me making sudden
movements but did accept me at the
window eventually.
When I arrived at the nest site
I watched from the street first. A few moments after I arrived, a
male made three steep dives directly at the nest box pulling out of his
dive moments before he would have collided with the
Terminal Tower. On this fourth
dive at the box he pulled up and landed, and a second or two later a female
joined him on the ledge.
By the time I arrived on the 12th floor, only the male remained, and we began our 6 hour test of wills: he barely tolerating my presence and I determined to read his bands.
I stayed VERY STILL and held my
binoculars at the ready to read his bands. At first I was too close
to the window and he flew off repeatedly, so I backed away many feet from
the window. Very slowly I moved
forward and read his bands:
Black/Red (Left) A/2. His bands show heavy wear (as if to say he
has scraped his share of scrapes in a few nest boxes). They tell us he
was hatched in Pittsburgh in 1992.
Where is Buckeye?
Will Zenith return in the spring and fight off her rivals as she has done triumphantly several times before????
Stay tuned for future updates......
Scott Wright
Ohio Division Of Wildlife Peregrine
Nest Monitor (Volunteer)
North Olmsted, OH
To read what happened earlier in
the 2001 nesting story, go to
www.raptorsinthecity.com
for all the "Falcon Flash" news
bulletins and more
about falcons.
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