2002 - Midwest Peregrine Falcon Restoration Project

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L/*8, fledged at One Summit Center, Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1996. One juvenile was
found dead on June 24.
90. LE-Inland Steel, East Chicago, Lake County, Indiana. John Castrale and
Todd Mintzer report nesting for a seventh year at an inaccessible site in an abandoned
building with restricted access. Incubation was seen on an I-beam on April 11, but no
birds were seen on May 17. The nesting attempt appears to have failed.
91. NB-Tower Building, South Bend, St. Joseph County, Indiana. Carole Riewe
reported that a pair of falcons had been seen downtown for about a week by April 24.
They visited a box used for releases in 1993. The female is an unbanded one-year-old;
the male is Apollo G/W, fledged at Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 2000 On May 1, a banded
immature male appeared and interacted with the pair. No nesting took place.
OHIO
92. SP-Commodore Perry Motor Inn, Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio. Dave Scott
and Bill Roshak, Ohio Division of Wildlife, report that five-year-old female *7/X and
five-year-old male Fury *G/A, both here for the fourth year, produced four eggs and
fledged two young, a male and a female, by June 15. Fury *G/A was injured beyond
repair on April 28, perhaps by another falcon. A second male was present soon after
Fury’s injury. Supplemental food was provided for about a month.
93. SP-Terminal Tower, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Dave Scott and
Tom Henry, Ohio Division of Wildlife, and Scott Wright report that ten-year-old female
Zenith 23W was killed on March 29 in a fight with female S/*W, fledged in 1999 at Gulf
Tower, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. S/*W nested last year at LTV Steel, Cleveland. She
paired at Terminal Tower this year with six-year-old male Buckeye *R/K, here for the
third year. They produced four eggs and were halfway through incubation before the
return of Zenith 23W. [In last year’s fight here, Clearpath *5/A was still laying when
Zenith 23W showed up and killed her.] Four young, three males and a female, fledged in
early June this year.
Zenith 23W left her Terminal Tower territory for each of the past nine
winters, presumably migrating south. Her vacant territory has often been occupied by a
new female, resulting in a serious battle on Zenith’s return. Four of these fights were
documented. In three, Zenith prevailed, once killing her opponent. This year, she finally
met her own death. Migratory behavior in Midwestern peregrines is under some degree
of genetic influence. The various genetic stocks used in restoration came originally from
both migratory and non-migratory wild populations. The resulting discordance in
migratory behavior, with some individuals migrating and others remaining over winter, is
the most conspicuous mal-adaptation in the new population. Clearly urban Midwestern
peregrines do not need to migrate south for the winter, as shown by the many individuals
that over-winter successfully. When one does migrate and returns to find its territory
taken over by a newcomer, the inevitable battle is often especially severe because each
individual likely views itself as the proper owner. Across the Midwest, several falcons
have been killed in these fights. Selection over the years ahead may be expected to