[Draco]

Introducing Stelco and Alimak:

Hi fellow Raptor lovers! I just stumbled on this site yesterday looking for a bird ID. It’s nice to see a forum devoted to Raptors.

I’m in mid-Michigan, Lansing, the State Capitol. Back in 1998 I was working with one of my coworkers here, on the 12th floor of our building. He looked out the window where we are used to seeing Pigeons and asked me what kind of bird was on the building next to ours. It was the first time that I had seen a Peregrine, other than in photos. We soon found out that there was a pair in town. The female was banded, but the male was not. I managed to get my hands on a spotting scope and managed to get both the Canadian and American band numbers by mid-summer. A little work on the Internet got the word out to the right people and I got a phone call that August. A wildlife biologist from Canada called to tell me that the bird in question was Stelco, a female born in Hamilton, Ontario in 1997. She didn’t nest her first year and is migratory. When she returned in 1999 she chose a poor nest location on a pile of Pigeon dung on our Capitol building. The nest failed in a spring storm. 2000 was a repeat of nesting in 1999. I managed to get approval to put a nesting platform up in the location where she nested, but the folks in charge didn’t listen to me and put the platform up after she migrated. When she returned in 2001 the platform spooked her and she chose another poor location – a storm drain on the 12th story of our tallest building. A spring storm did that nest in. 2001 also brought a change. I don’t know if the unbanded male was killed, chased off, or what, but a banded male moved in. I have the USGS banding office certificate for identifying Alimak, born in 2000 in Alma, Wisconsin. We don’t know where Stelco nested last year. We didn’t see any young Falcons last year and I can’t find the nest location this year, if there still is one. Since we are not seeing much of either bird I assume that she is nesting. If she does not have young this year I have arranged to put up a proper nest box in a GREAT location as soon as I know she still needs a good place to nest.

I thought that I should give everyone the history before I post some photos for you all. It isn’t a great history for our lady, not having had a successful nest yet, but she is a special bird to me and I keep hoping that some day she will help in the restoration of this great species.

These photos are from the several years that we have been watching our Peregrines. I have been lucky enough to have been so close to Stelco that I could have touched her if a pane of glass was not between us. I have been within six feet of Alimak. Here are some of our photos. The first is Stelco with the end of lunch.

[Draco]

He is much smaller and not nearly as mean looking.

[Draco]

He didn't mind company joing him for lunch.

[Screech]

I saw a pair here in New Jersey flying high above the Delaware River at "Watergap", a break in the mountain where the Delaware flows through. It appears there might be a natural nest site in a wild beautiful area. Will await further developements and let you know how things progress. Its a promising site with wide expanse of cliffs.

[pauco]

great photos and interesting history draco.
we were lucky here in lancashire last year, a pair nested on an
old gas tower, and were lucky enough to raise 3 young.
hope yours has some luck bert.