South Bend Peregrine chicks out of the nest

[Donna]

Two peregrine falcon chicks, which hatched in mid-May in the nest on the County-City Building, are out on their own.

The two falcons, one male and one female, have not been seen in the nest since Aug. 5, said Carole Riewe, a local retired naturalist and raptor rehabilitator.

That amount of time away from the nest means the birds have left to find their own homes, she said.

The chicks' parents, Zephyr and Guinevere, have kept their home atop the downtown building year-round since arriving in South Bend in 2003.

But the pair's chicks from past years have been found in other parts of the Midwest, identified by the bands Indiana Department of Natural Resources biologists put on the birds' legs.

A female falcon hatched in 2007 has been nesting for the past two years in Racine, Wis., said Riewe. The bird laid eggs this year.

Another female falcon hatched in 2009 suffered some abrasions and minor injuries this year when she was bumped by a car in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., Riewe said. The bird was rehabilitated at a facility in Green Bay and is expected to be released in a week or so.

For those who follow the peregrine falcons via the webcam on the city's website, Riewe said the camera will be removed from the nestbox until February.

"There's not much point in leaving it exposed to the weather," she said, especially when there aren't any chicks in the nest.