Bird Cams Around the World

ABOUT THE COLUMBUS AREA

Rhodes Tower~nest building







ABOUT THE COLUMBUS FALCONS

Durand and Spark are the current falcon pair on the Columbus ledge.

- Durand 32/X. Durand – daughter of Madame X and Surge – fledged from the Sheraton Hotel nest in Hamilton, Ontario, in 2009. She arrived at the Columbus nest on July 11, 2010.

-* "Aries" (named by BCAW) was positively ID in October, 2016 by his left band, b/r 30/Z. He was originally banded as a female which could explain why he has lost his right band. He was banded in 2014 at the Wood County Courthouse in Bowling Green, Ohio. His mom, Ariel, is the daughter of our beloved Scout and Orville. Time will tell if Spark returns and/or Aries remains.

- Spark 32/B. Spark - son of Boomer and SW (and grandson of Scout and Orville in Columbus) - fledged from the Terminal Tower nest in Cleveland, Ohio, in 2011. He arrived at the Columbus nest on May 7, 2012.

How to Identify the Falcons

- When the falcons are standing, check the color of the band on the right leg: Durand's band is silver, while Spark's band is purple.

- When the falcons are in the nest box, check for the differences noted in Donna Daniels' diagram:


Courtesy of Donna Daniel

Background Information

Nest site:

- The nest box is located on a ledge on the 41st floor of the Rhodes State Office Tower in Columbus, Ohio.

Additional background:

- See the Columbus Peregrine Falcon Blog by Donna Daniel, biologist with Ohio's Division of Wildlife: http://ohioperegrinefalcons.blogspot.com/

Summary of 2017 Events

First egg laid: 3/24 (total of 4 by 4/1)
4 eggs hatched: 5/2 (2), 5/3, 5/4). No bands.

All 4 fledged successfully!

2017 was the year for change. Long time Falcon advocate and supporter, Donna Schwab, retired. Her tireless efforts to ensure the success of the Columbus Peregrine program go without question. Donna's blog updates were not only educational and informative, but her way of reaching out to the thousands of Columbus followers who relied on this communication to keep all of us "in the know"...If not losing Donna was bad enough, but Durand and Aries lost their home. Repairs to the Rhodes Tower could no longer be postponed and thus, the ledge was blocked off. The cam went dark...and we went into Columbus Cam withdrawal. New nest boxes were installed elsewhere. Let's hope our happy couple approve...and that we'll have a 2018!!! Stay tuned!!


Summary of 2016 Events

Nesting Season

First egg laid: 3/12 (total of 4 as of 3/19)

First hatch: 4/19 (total of 4 as of 4/21)

Chicks banded: None. Decision was made to not band the chicks this year.

First fledge: 5/31

- 5/31: 3 chicks fledged
- 6/1: last chick fledged

Summary of 2015 Events

Nesting Season

First egg laid: 3/19 (total of 4)

First hatch: 4/25 (total of 3 as of 4/28)

Chicks banded on 5/18: Two females and one male

- Flash (aka Curly): Female, black/red band: ID # 37/Z (USGS band is silver, chick has blue legs)
- Storm (aka Baby): Female, black/red band: ID # 46/Z (USGS band is silver, chick has yellow legs)
- Bolt (aka Fluffy): Male, black/red band: ID # N/34 (USGS band is silver, chick has yellow legs)

First fledge: 6/5

- 6/5: Bolt
- 6/7: Flash
- 6/7: Storm

Summary of 2014 Events

Nesting Season

First egg laid: 3/19 (total of 4 as of 3/26)

First hatch: 4/26 (total of 3 as of 4/29)

Chicks banded on 5/20: Two females and one male

- Blaze (female) black/red: 48/Z (USGS band is silver, chick has yellow legs)
- Hoshi (female) black/red: 31/Z (USGS band is silver, chick has blue legs)
- Dart (male) black/red: 38/D (USGS band is purple, chick has yellow legs)

First fledge: 6/2

- 6/2: Hoshi (most likely her first flight was accidental, but she was found safely ensconced on a lower ledge of the building on 6/4)
- 6/7: Dart
- 6/8: Blaze

Summary of 2013 Events

Nesting Season

First egg laid: 3/19 (total of 4)

First hatch: 4/29 (only 1 of 4 eggs hatched); chick was named "Zoom" on 5/14

Chicks banded on 5/21: one female

- Zoom (51/Z, B/R)

First fledge: 6/7 or 6/8

- On 6/7, Zoom took a short flight over to the next ledge and later appeared back on the nest box ledge.
- On 6/8, Zoom fledged from the ledge in the early morning.

Summary of 2012 Events

Like last year, this year began with a new unbanded male keeping Durand company on the Columbus ledge.

Nesting Season - Part 1

Prospective Parents:


- Durand, the resident female.

- Unbanded male, known to us as "Chance." (Many of the Columbus cam watchers believed that "Chance" was actually "Flyboy" from last year.)

First egg laid: 3/26 (total of 3)

Chance disappears: End of April

Eggs abandoned: Early May

Nesting Season - Part 2

- In early May, a new banded male - Spark - appeared on the ledge. Since then, Durand and Spark have been together. Our hope is that Durand and Spark will remain together and become parents next year.

- In late June after the nest box was cleaned, Donna Daniel reported that the abandoned eggs had been tested and found to be infertile.

Summary of 2011 Events

The year began with a new unbanded male keeping Durand company on the Columbus ledge.

Nesting Season

The 2011 nesting season was very disappointing, to say the least. Most likely it was due to the youth and inexperience of the prospective parents.

Prospective Parents:


- Durand, the resident female.

- Unbanded male, known to us as "Flyboy."

First egg laid: 4/3 (total of 5)

Eggs abandoned: Early May

Flyboy disappears: Early May

Post-nesting Season

In early June, a new banded male was spotted on the Columbus ledge:

- Matrix 19/B. Matrix - son of Mystic and Maverick - fledged from Bank One (now Chase Bank) nest in Canton, Ohio, in 2010.

Matrix remained with Durand on the ledge from then on, although it was difficult to know the status of this pair due to the problems with the cams. Durand was spotted in the nest box on December 31, but Matrix was not seen again.


Summary of 2010 Events

Parents:

- Scout P/72. Scout - daughter of Maumee and Alfa - fledged from Detroit, Michigan, in 2006. She arrived at the Columbus nest in 2007.

- Trooper (no bands). Trooper arrived at the Colombus nest in March 2010.

Nesting Season

First egg laid: 4/7 (total of 4)

First hatch: 5/19 (total of 2)

Chicks banded on 6/8: Two females


- Swoop (08/Y)
- Spirit (09/Y)

First fledge: Both Spirit and Swoop fledged on 6/28.


-Spirit fledged in the morning, but had to be rescued and returned to the ledge.
-Swoop fledged later in the day, but it was an accidental fledge that ended in Swoop’s untimely death.

Post-nesting Season

July 1, 2010

This day started out with joy when we learned that Spirit had finally fledged successfully, but it ended in sorrow when we learned that Scout had died while protecting Spirit on the LeVeque Tower. (A formal investigation into Scout’s death, apparently caused by a worker striking her with a broom on top of the LeVeque Tower, was made but no charges were filed.)


July 2-6, 2010

After Scout’s death, a local female – beautiful Clementine - appeared briefly on the Columbus ledge. Sadly, Clementine was found dead on July 6.


July 11, 2010

Another new female appeared on the Columbus ledge. She was finally identified from her bands as Durand (black band on left leg with code 32/X), a year-old falcon from the 2009 Sheraton Hotel nest in Hamilton, Ontario. Durand has been the new resident female since her arrival on the ledge.

November, 2010

Trooper disappeared after a fight on the ledge with another falcon, and a new male visitor As 2010 drew to a close, Durand had been enjoying the company of regular male visitor on the ledge.


Remembering Scout and Orville


Photo montage of favorite pair Scout and Orville courtesy of skygirlblue.


Summary of 2009 Events

In 2009, Scout and Orville - the resident pair since 2007 - raised four healthy chicks. (In 2008, they also raised four healthy chicks, but in 2007 - their first nesting attempt - they were unsuccessful.)

Parents:

- Scout P/72. Scout - daughter of Maumee and Alfa - fledged from Detroit, Michigan, in 2006. She arrived at the Columbus nest in 2007.

- Orville 12/P. Orville - son of Snowball and Mercury - fledged from Dayton, Ohio, in 2003. He arrived at the Columbus nest in 2005.

First egg laid: 3/20 (total of 4)

First hatch: 4/28

Chicks banded on 5/21: Three females and one male

- Apollo (Male) 50/A
- Aeriel (Female) 65/H
- Jet (Female) 66/H
- Eclipse (Female) 67/H

First fledge: 6/7 (Apollo)

Postscript:

-Sadly, Apollo and Orville are no longer with us: Apollo died on 6/9/09, followed by Orville on 7/4/09.

Remembering Orville (2003-2009)

Photo of Orville on March 5, 2007, by Donna Daniel.

Orville was a handsome tiercel beloved by many of us here...he was a devoted mate to Scout and a devoted father to all his chicks. To read our forum members' fond memories of Orville, go to: