Last week in a note on Ohio-birds I expressed my uneasy reaction to human introductions of Peregrine Falcons into new areas. I made specific reference to n.w. Ohio, where Peregrines nesting in downtown Toledo regularly make the rounds of all the good shorebird habitat in the region. Although I didn't specifically say this, the implication was that humans had introduced Peregrines into Toledo. However, the fact is that Peregrines began nesting in Toledo on their own. Humans provided the nesting sites, in the form of tall buildings, but the falcons arrived under their own power to set up housekeeping there; they started nesting on the Commodore Perry Hotel in 1988 and have nested in downtown Toledo ever since. I received some good information from Donna Daniel, a biologist with the Ohio DNR - Division of Wildlife, who has done great work with Peregrines and a variety of other species statewide. Donna commented in part: "Peregrines as a species have adapted to nesting in urban areas on their own. With or without agency releases these birds would be increasing in numbers in our metropolitan areas simply because the habitat exists for them: tall buildings, bridges and other human made structures mimic rock cliffs." My correspondence with Donna led me to refer again to Roger Tory Peterson's classic book Birds Over America, published in 1948, which includes a whole chapter on Peregrine Falcons. Peterson wrote: "In both Europe and Asia, Peregrines nest on cathedrals, temples and old castles. It is appropriate that they still nest on the tower of Castel del Monte and other castles of Frederick II of Hohenstaufen ... It was obviously only a matter of time before Peregrines would take up residence in New World cities. In winter, pairs frequent the towers of such cities as Boston, Albany, Philadelphia, and Washington, while New York's canyons harbor a dozen or more." Peterson also reported that the species had been nesting on the Sun-Life building in downtown Montreal since 1940, and that by 1948 they were also nesting on buildings in New York, Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Baltimore, and probably Jersey City. Remember, this was more than 60 years ago, and the Peregrines were well on their way to becoming standard urban birds all over the east. What happened next was that the whole eastern population disappeared, undoubtedly as a result of the effects of DDT and other persistent pesticides, during the 1950s and 1960s. If not for that episode, it's very likely that the falcons would have started nesting in Ohio's cities on their own, decades ago, and this would be a moot discussion. As it stands, we have some urban Peregrines that introduced themselves, and some that were placed there as part of the Midwest Falcon Recovery Program. But relatively few of the latter. Captive-raised young falcons were released in only three Ohio cities, and only from 1989 (after the wild pair had established their presence in Toledo) through 1993. The Division of Wildlife continues to monitor the population closely, and there is excellent information on their website at http://ohiodnr.com/wildlife/dow/falcons/ , including a map showing all the nesting sites in the state (there were 28 territorial pairs under observation in 2009, and they fledged 63 young!). The Peregrines on the 41st floor of the Rhodes State Office Tower in Columbus represent a special case. Thanks to a nestcam and ledgecam installed by the Division of Wildlife and linked to their website, these birds are now watched by people from all over the world. I have no doubt that these falcons have captured the imagination of many urban Columbus residents who would otherwise have little interest in nature. Donna Daniel writes a regular blog about the activities of this falcon nest site, and it's well worth reading: http://ohioperegrinefalcons.blogspot.com/ Finally, some posts on the listserve have noted the Peregrines' proclivity for dining on birds like cuckoos and woodcocks, which to me seems interesting but not alarming. Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Black-billed Cuckoo, and American Woodcock may be hard to see but they are certainly not rare birds, and there are undoubtedly more killed every year by cars or window collisions than by our handful of urban Peregrine Falcons. Kenn Kaufman Oak Harbor, Ohio ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]