Now you can go to www.falconcam.apk.net and watch the falcons live!
Scott Wright is a volunteer peregrine nest monitor in Cleveland, Ohio for the Ohio Division of Wildlife. Peregrine falcons have taken up residence in Cleveland skyscrapers becoming the Raptors in the City. Scott has been observing the trials and tribulations of our peregrine pals and sends us the dramatic updates. We've been tracking the peregrine pairs through our correspondence with Scott and Debbie Mathies of Mindfull Publishing. Follow the Falcon Flashes to learn the latest.
FALCON FLASH......
dateline: Cleveland, Ohio
January 2001
BUCKEYE
The new mysterious falcon lady who has become friends with Buckeye, the male falcon that nests at the Terminal Tower, is named "Clearpath". I could see her band numbers *5/A. Last year, Clearpath nested with "Wizard" not far away in downtown Cleveland. Usually, peregrines stay with the same mate until "death do them part". So......the big question is...... where is Wizard and where is Buckeye's mate of last year, Zenith?
Buckeye and Clearpath appear to
be getting alongvery well now. I watched
them for about 20 minutes yesterday
flying slow lazycircles in front of the building. They would dive
at each other and then start flying in circles
again. A few times they were flying
side-by-side. I was hoping to see that
elusive pigeon or gull kill, but
there were none in sight, and the falcons
looked like they were having too
much fun to even notice.
Buckeye often makes a scrape in
the nestbox, all the time calling out to
his new nest mate (he hopes)
The attached photo shows just how determined
Buckeye is to win over Clearpath,
but he has a way yet to go. He must wait
out a Cleveland winter and wait
for spring to thaw the heart of Clearpath.
The real fireworks will be in the
spring, if and when Zenith returns to
reclaim her nest and philandering
mate.
Scott Wright
Ohio Division-Of-Wildlife
Peregrine Nest monitor (Volunteer)
N. Olmsted Ohio
Do you see what Buckeye has in his beak?
A sky battle between two falcons has been reported next to Cleveland's Terminal Tower, and Buckeye has not been seen lately. A new male has claimed the 12th floor nesting ledge at the Terminal Tower. All signs point to the male who nested at a nearby steel mill (LTV) last year and who lost his mate (possibly in a fight between two females - she was found dead near another female's nest, not far from the nest that the new Terminal Tower male once used.)
The new male was not used to me watching him at the window, and it took just over 6 hours for him to not instantly fly off when he saw me. He would not tolerate me making sudden movements but did accept me at the window eventually.
When I arrived at the nest site I watched from the street first. A few moments after I arrived, a male made three steep dives directly at the nest box pulling out of his dive moments before he would have collided with the Terminal Tower. On this fourth dive at the box he pulled up and landed, and a second or two later a female joined him on the ledge.
By the time I arrived on the 12th floor, only the male remained, and we began our 6 hour test of wills: he barely tolerating my presence and I determined to read his bands.
I stayed VERY STILL and held my binoculars at the ready to read his bands. At first I was too close to the window and he flew off repeatedly, so I backed away many feet from the window. Very slowly I moved forward and read his bands: Black/Red (Left) A/2. His bands show heavy wear (as if to say he has scraped his share of scrapes in a few nest boxes). They tell us he was hatched in Pittsburgh in 1992.
Where is Buckeye?
Will Zenith return in the spring and fight off her rivals as she has done triumphantly several times before????
Stay tuned for future updates......
Scott Wright
Ohio Division Of Wildlife Peregrine
Nest Monitor (Volunteer)
North Olmsted, OH
**************************************************
FALCON FLASH
Dateline: Cleveland, Ohio 
March 13, 2001
Clearpath at the Terminal Tower,
Cleveland, Ohio
He arrived at the nest (I had turned
out the lights in the hallway and was
sitting in a chair in the shadow)
with bloodied talons and beak. He called
out to the female who was eating
nearby. When she showed up a fewminutes later, her crop was stuffed full.
She is Clearpath, the new female at the Terminal Tower nestsite.
She used to live with her mate, Wizard, at a nearby building in the city.
But recently, Wizard was found dead. The new male at the Terminal
Tower, the "Pittsburgh Kid", also lost his mate last year.
The "Kid" went into the nestbox
and started to scrape a shallow depression into the gravel in the nestbox.
Clearpath joined him in the box, the male flew off, but Clearpath continued
to scrape away.
Are the "Kid" and Clearpath the
new residents of the Terminal Tower nestsite?
Where are Buckeye and Zenith, last year's Terminal Tower couple? What's all this scraping about??
Stay tuned for future updates......
Scott Wright
Ohio Division Of Wildlife Peregrine
Nest Monitor (Volunteer)
North Olmsted, OH
***************************************
FALCON FLASH......
Dateline: Cleveland, Ohio 
March 2001 Bulletin
File photo taken by Scott Wright
Ohio Division of Wildlife
I have seen Clearpath and the "Pittsburgh Kid" on several occasions. Clearpath does not look as if she is packing any eggs at this time (in past years the female can and has shown signs that the eggs were on their way with a swollen tail area).
The male is being a wonderful provider and leaving offerings of food along the ledge of the nest site for his new mate. On a few places he has left beheaded prey. He is keeping her VERY VERY well fed. Each time I have been at the site the female has a very large and extended crop.
Mating has been reported. Stay tuned for future updates......
Scott Wright
Ohio Division Of Wildlife Peregrine
Nest Monitor (Volunteer)
North Olmsted, OH
Can you tell which bird is the male
and which is the female? (Hint: It has to do with their
size.)
*************************************************
March, 2001
FALCON FLASH......
Dateline: Cleveland, Ohio
Photo
of Clearpath taken by Scott Wright
Ohio Division of Wildlife
The camera is back up on the Terminal Tower and this photo captured by the web cam shows Clearpath, the female, at the nest. Notice her very full crop. When will the eggs be laid? Soon, I hope, but only time will tell.
Stay tuned for future updates......
Scott Wright
Ohio Division Of Wildlife Peregrine
Nest monitor
P.S. Now you can go towww.falconcam.apk.net
and
watch the falcons live!
It's a good idea to start a falcon
journal and record what happens every day. You'll be surprised at
how much happens and how many changes there are at the nest.
To read what happened earlier in
the 2001 nesting story, go to www.raptorsinthecity.com
for all the "Falcon Flash" news bulletins and more about falcons.