The Grandkids By Kate St. John
I’m counting the grandkids before they’ve hatched but here are three of Dorothy and E2′s grandchildren from Shaker Heights, Ohio. They’ve been laid in a bowl of moss beneath two floodlights.
These eggs are especially sweet to me because I watched their father closely when he was young.
Perhaps you remember Henry, too, born at the Cathedral of Learning in 2011. Shortly after his sister Yellow died when she flew into a window, Henry hit the same building. Stunned and wobbly he flew home to recuperate.
Though he was old enough to start hunting on his own, he must have looked ill. Dorothy and E2 brought him food and continued feeding him for weeks afterward. He begged loudly when they “weaned” him later.
That fall Henry left town and was not heard of until April 29, 2012 when he appeared in Shaker Heights at a site abandoned by the previous peregrines because of human disturbance. Henry was still a juvenile but he claimed Tower East as his own.
This spring Henry attracted an unbanded female and courtship ensued. Pretty soon it looked like Dot and Henry were nesting, but where?
With help from building maintenance, Chis Saladin explored Tower East a week ago and found the nest with two very protective parents. Here’s Dot in the foreground with Henry flying behind, shouting and swooping.
Photo courtesy C & C
By now there may be more eggs and, if this improvised site works, baby peregrines next month.
Congratulations, Henry and Dot. And congratulations to grandparents Dorothy and E2 who are expecting their own eggs to hatch any day now.
A big thank you goes to “Bobbytimewarp” and Chad+Chris Saladin for keeping an eye on Henry, Dot and their nest.
For more news of Henry and Dot see the Ohio Falcon Forum for Tower East.
Henry and Dot's nest by C & C
great news!
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