Columbus Falcons

[Donna]

Zoom gets banded this morning 10am, live feed from nest cam.

[Donna]

Pretty soon, bling Zoom!!

[carly]

Banding in progress, she's a girl!! 

[Donna]

She's safely back

[nycbird]

They did not take the unhatched eggs.  I thought they always wanted to study why they did not hatch....

[Annette]

They did not take the unhatched eggs.  I thought they always wanted to study why they did not hatch....

Perhaps after fledge?

[Donna]

Zoom's out and about, getting fed on the ledge! 

Wow, she almost got blown off! Not watching this one! So windy up there! 

[Donna]

Zoom zoomed off the ledge! 


Zoom the Columbus, OH falcon yesterday morning accidently while flapping and hopping was gone from the nest box. It was very foggy. We have found out later that she landed on another ledge nearby. She returned to the box last evening. She took off again this morning.

http://youtu.be/zC2vYKFKC-Q

[Kris G.]

Zoom's doing well-so far! 

[Donna]

Zoom Update
THANK YOU to the dozens and dozens of notes sent in about Zoom's fledge last Friday.  I regret because of the volume I won't be able to respond to each one individually, but I will take this opportunity to express my appreciation for every one's enthusiasm and assistance!  We truly support your interest and support in the Division of Wildlife's peregrine falcon project, specifically in watching the Columbus nest!!! 

Here's a recap of fledging events:
Friday, 6/7 about 6:25 a.m. Zoom fledged. 
Friday, 6/7 mid-afternoon she was spied sitting on the Rhodes Tower on the ledge directly to the east of the nest ledge.
Friday, 6/7 by 4:30 Zoom flew back to the nest ledge and remained there the rest of the evening (Note:  I did receive several reports of her being in the nestbox mid afternoon however, that was actually Durand in the nestbox, not Zoom.)
Saturday, 6/8 about 6:25 a.m. Zoom took flight again
Sunday, 6/9 about 3 p.m. Zoom was spotted on the roof of the Rhodes Tower:

As of this morning, Zoom's whereabouts are unknown.  I'm surprised that she has shown herself as much as she has.  Usually when the young fledge, finding them downtown is like looking for a needle in a haystack.  Zoom has shown tremendous flight ability already so I won't be surprised if we see her again.  In the coming days she will be honing her flight skills and learning to hunt for herself.  Durand and Spark will still provide her food to a point but I have a feeling she will be totally independent of them sooner than later.  She will likely remain in the downtown area for several weeks but by later in the summer, will migrate out of the area to hopefully survive and establish a nesting territory of her own.

Meanwhile, Durand and Spark will likely stay in the downtown area all year.  We can expect to see them checking in at the nestbox and even scraping in the gravel.  This behavior is normal and is part of the way they continue their bond with each other and with the nesting site.  The nestbox will be cleaned out in the off season.

Zoom seems to be doing great and we hope this trend continues.  Further updates as information becomes available.  And if we get no further information, remember that no news is good news!!!
POSTED BY DONNA DANIEL AT 6/10/2013 11:25:00 AM


Zoom

[Donna]

Zoom came back for breakfast. She's doing well! 

[Kris G.]

Zoom came back for breakfast. She's doing well! 

Great news!

[Donna]

Mid-Summer News
This past week we have received reports on the whereabouts of 2 falcons from previous Columbus nesting seasons.
Zeus (b/g B/03; 2006 nesting season) has been spotted in Lorain, Ohio. It's reported that he has been making frequent visits on the coastguard tower.
On a sad note, we have received a report from Sandusky, Ohio that Jet (b/r H66), a falcon from the 2009 nesting season was taken to a rehab facility this week. Unfortunately the bird's injuries were too extensive and it had to be euthanized.
One of purposes of bird banding is to track migrations. The two observations above are classic examples of how bird banding provides critical information on the movements of peregrines. Even in the unfortunate case of Jet, we also know--with the help of the leg bands--how old she lived to be.

Back in Columbus, activity at the nest ledge has been very infrequent. There have been few sightings of the adults and none of Zoom. We assume her to be doing well and it is possible that she may have even migrated out of the area.

On a different note, all 3 of the unhatched eggs have now cracked open.  As the summer has progressed, the contents have been decomposing which causes gas pressure to build up inside of the eggs.  At the same, the shells have been degrading.  The result is an egg will pop open when conditions are just right.  The instant the first egg exploded (July 10th) was actually captured on video by a faithful falcon cam viewer.   A rain drop during a heavy thunderstorm must of hit the egg just right causing it to POP!