Columbus Peregrines Elsewhere & Local Update

1995 saw the Rhodes Tower nest hatch and fledge an unusually high clutch of 5 young peregrines. Of that clutch, 2 of 3 males ("Roosevelt" and "Leopold") survived to establish nesting territories of their own.

In 1997 Roosevelt arrived in Ft. Wayne, IN, and remained in that territory fledging a total of 36 offspring over the years. He was last seen in April, 2011 and is presumed deceased. Roosevelt was named in honor of Teddy Roosevelt, who was considered our nation's "Conservation President." During his term in office (1901-1909) he worked to protect wildlife and public lands by creating the U.S. Forest Service and establishing Federal Bird Reservations and National Game Preserves, Forests and Parks.

Also in 1997, Leopold was reported in Monroe, MI. Over the years he fledged 33 young from that location. In June of 2010 he was found on the ground and unfortunately died soon after. Leopold was named after Aldo Leopold, author of A Sand County Almanac. Aldo Leopold was considered the father of wildlife management and was a true conservationist.

In the end, the story of these two individual peregrines reflects the mortality that all creatures face. But it doesn't have to be a sad story if we focus instead on how these two peregrines have contributed to the overall population. It is always interesting to follow the lives of these birds and see how they continue to prosper in urban habitats.

Turning our focus to the Columbus territory, both Durand and Matrix have been checking in at the nestbox fairly regularly. Here they are on the ledge on October 5th:

We are continuing to work on bringing the live streaming video back to the website. Unfortunately, the company we intended to change over to back in July is no longer interested in streaming video for us. Currently we are working on a solution and will have the service back up as soon as all details can be worked out.