"First Grade News!" & New Falcon Update

As summer winds down we're seeing more of Scout. Before she had been spending most of her time away from the nest ledge (and view of the cameras), however, in the past two weeks she has been seen more days than not. On 9/17 she was in the nestbox. It appears there is the beginnings of a new scrape in the fresh gravel. This is a factor of the amount of daylight during this fall season and not because a possible new male is in the area.

Speaking of such...there has been no sign of that second falcon that was seen last week so it is possible he was "just passing through" and has a territory of his own established somewhere else. With as many peregrines that are on the move right now for fall migration, it's possible we could be in store for a number of these teases! Regardless, the activity last week has surely renewed interest in watching! As always, we appreciate all of the extra eyes out there on the lookout for leg band information when the opportunity presents itself.
Something else I've had on my list to share: The 1st graders at Benjamin Harrison Elementary School in Marion, OH, were very busy this past spring. At the same time they were enjoying watching Scout and Orville at their nest in downtown Columbus via the Falconcam, their teacher, Mrs. Shade, told them about a nest of robins in a hanging basket at her house. The kids kept track of the progress of the robin nest via photos from their teacher. They had a fun learning experience as they compared life history facts of peregrine falcons and the American robin. They made charts of what they learned and posted them where the other students in the school could see. Thanks to Mrs. Shade and the 1st graders for recording the two events to help the entire school learn more about wildlife! Here are photos of the posters they made:

New bird sighted!!!

No kidding, the very moment I was working on a blog entry that stated no new male in town that we know of...I heard Scout vocalizing on the live streaming. I called up the window which I had minimized on my desktop and watched as Scout sat on the ledge calling. Something in her tone told me to watch, then low and behold, I saw a shadow go by! Another bird was flying by! So, I quick set up the video and saved this clip of another pass. The way she was vocalizing this was definitely interaction between a male and female. I saw the "new bird" pass by at least three times.

Sorry there isn't any audio on the video...I'll have to check my settings for next time. But, this is excellent news and we'll have to watch to see what happens next and hope he sticks around. Right after this clip, Scout flew off the ledge. Wouldn't it be great to be downtown right now with a much broader view!!!