1990 - Midwest Peregrine Falcon Restoration Project

NATURAL BREEDINGSumming up the natural breeding in 1990, 15 pairs nested, 12 (80%) ofwhich were successful. Thirty-two young were fledged (counting five young addedto three nests in the Twin Cities), 2.7 young fledged per successful pair, 2.1per nesting pair.Of the 15 nesting pairs, eight were on buildings, five on cliffs, one on asmokestack, and one under a highway overpass. Seven of the eight building pairssucceeded, as did three of the five cliff pairs, the smokestack pair, and thehighway pair. Of the 32 young fledged in the wild, all except the threeyoung at Homer Lake were banded.PEREGRINE RELEASES IN 1990Minnesota. Five young from Bob Anderson were added to wild broods: two atControl Data, one at Montgomery Ward, and two at the NSP plant in Bayport. Allfledged successfully, but one was later lost at Control Data and one atMontgomery Ward, both in building collisions. Young added to wild broods arecounted in our totals as "wild-produced" rather than hacked to emphasize theirrearing by wild falcons rather than their captive origin.Wisconsin, Madison. Nineteen falcons were released in batches of seven,six, and six. All fledged successfully, although one, 68T, was later killedwhen hit by a vehicle near Madison and another, 70V, was found dead at WinthropHarbor, Illinois, on August 31. A female, 94P, released at Madison in July 1989was trapped and released by Ken Holkestad at Moose Mountain, north of Duluth,Minnesota, on September 30, 1990.Michigan, Isle Royale National Park. Eighteen falcons were released and16 reached independence successfully. At Blake Point, six were hacked. AtFeldtmann Ridge, two batches of six were released; one youngster died shortlyafter release from unknown cause and another was killed after fledging by anavian predator, perhaps a goshawk.Ohio. Columbus. Eight falcons were released and four reachedindependence. One was lost in a building collision, two starved through failureto get back to the hack box, and one died of disease.Ohio. Cincinnati. Six falcons were released with five successfullyreaching independence. One bird failed to develop properly and is in captivity,perhaps to be released in 1991.Illinois. Glen Ellyn. Ten falcons were released at the College of DuPagein groups of six and four. All fledged successfully, but by the end of theseason four were lost, one to a predator, one to disease, and two to unknowncauses. One other falcon suffered a broken wing and is undergoingrehabilitation.Iowa. Cedar Rapids. Thirteen falcons were released from the Telecom*USAbuilding, in groups of seven, three, and three. A one-year-old male with ablack band on the left leg, silver on right, arrived with the first group,harassed the youngsters as they learned to fly, but did no damage. Two of theyoung were killed in building collisions, eleven reached independence.Nebraska. Omaha. Four peregrines were hacked from the Mutual of Omahabuilding; all dispersed normally. An adult male peregrine arrived at the hack