Falcons lose Freedom but keep roost in city downtown

[Donna]

YOUNGSTOWN — Two peregrine falcons that hatched in late June on a Mahoning County Courthouse window ledge are alive and well in the city’s downtown, but the third was killed by a motor vehicle last week on the Market Street Bridge.

The survivors, a female named Tort and a male named Justice, can be found perched on tall downtown buildings, such as the Chase Bank, Metropolitan Tower and Stambaugh buildings, said Kathy Zook of Mecca, a bird watcher who has been observing the birds frequently this summer.

Tort took her first flight from the fourth floor ledge outside the courthouse law library on July 30 and Justice did the same on Aug. 1, Zook said.

“They like the high buildings,� she said of the threatened species. “They’re exercising their wings and practicing their takeoffs and landings,� under the watchful eyes of their parents, Stammy and Stellar.

Stammy is named for the Stambaugh Building where he and Stellar previously made a rooftop nest.

Freedom, the third falcon that hatched at the courthouse, made his first flight on Aug. 1, but was killed sometime on the evening of Aug. 2 or early morning of Aug. 3, said Zook, who said she found him dead at 7 a.m. Aug. 3 on the bridge.

“The only thing that was identifiable were his bands,� said Zook, who reported the identification numbers on the bands to state wildlife officials.

Damon M. Greer, assistant wildlife management supervisor for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, who has been monitoring the falcons here, confirmed Zook’s observations.

Greer said motor vehicles can be hazardous to falcons as they learn to fly. “They get down at road level and can’t navigate with the speed of the vehicle,� Greer noted.

In keeping with the courthouse theme, Zook said she came up with the names Freedom and Justice for the males, and someone else suggested Tort as the name for the female, with ODNR selecting those names from a list of potential names.

Tort is a legal term for a wrongful act, injury or damages for which a civil lawsuit can be filed.

Stammy and Stellar are usually near Justice and Tort “because they’re teaching their young right now,� Zook said.

Greer said peregrine parents continue to feed and train their young to hunt for three to four weeks after their first flight, but, by the end of this month, Justice and Tort will be largely self-sufficient. Peregrines catch ducks, pheasants, pigeons and small birds in flight.

Because downtown Youngstown is Stammy and Stellar’s territory, Justice and Tort will leave at the end of this summer to establish territories elsewhere, Zook said.

“I’m just glad that downtown Youngstown has the falcons prospering and doing well,� Zook said. “They’re helping to control that pigeon population,� she said, referring to the overpopulation of pigeons that had previously plagued the county courthouse.