COLUMBUS, OH -- The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife is monitoring peregrine falcon chicks across Ohio as they take their first flights. Twelve pairs of peregrines produced eggs this year and eight of those pairs hatched a combined total of 27 chicks.

"Those who live and work around peregrine nest sites are especially helpful at this time of year," says project coordinator Dave Scott. "They help us track down chicks that get into trouble before they master flight and landing skills."

Adult peregrines are especially protective while their chicks are learning to fly. In Cleveland, Zenith and Buckeye harassed a juvenile bald eagle passing through the area, forcing it down on a nearby roof. Wildlife Officer Scott Denamen was called to rescue the eagle. "I wasn’t sure what I’d find when I got the call," recalled Denamen. "You just don’t expect to find an eagle in downtown Cleveland."

There was an unexpected failure at the Dayton site, where four chicks disappeared shortly after a rainstorm.

Site manager Steve Wilcox got a good look at the underside of Cleveland’s I-90 bridge as he and Dave Scott, with assistance from the Ohio Department of Transportation’s bridge inspection truck, installed a nest tray for the city’s sixth pair. The banded female occupying this site has been identified as "Cascade," hatched in 1998 in a cliff nest on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. The gravel-filled tray was placed where she laid eggs earlier this year. "This pair continues to court and forge their pair bond," observed Wilcox. "The tray will provide a stable base on which they can incubate eggs next spring."

Updated information on all of Ohio’s known peregrine sites and links to those with camera monitors are available on line at www.dnr.state.oh.us

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For Further Information Contact:
Dave Scott, Project Coordinator
(740) 747-2525