Adding to Bill's worries... It's very possible (maybe even likely) that these city-nesting Peregrines are picking off more nocturnal migrants (including declining wetland species and neotropical migrants) than wild-nesting Peregrines ever did. The glow of urban light pollution attracts and confuses nocturnal migrants and presumably aids Peregrines in catching them. Two pieces of the puzzle: A YouTube video of a Peregrine hunting at night under city lights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtiWWr3e8-U A blog from Oklahoma State University detailing the migrant birds that collide with a glassy building on that campus. Window kill rates at the OSU Rec Center last fall were similar. And these aren't even skyscrapers we're talking about. http://birdsmack.wordpress.com/ Dave Dave Slager Graduate Student Terrestrial Wildlife Ecology Lab School of Environment and Natural Resources The Ohio State University 210 Kottman Hall, 2021 Coffey Road Columbus, OH 43210-1085 [log in to unmask] On Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 11:55 AM, Bill Whan <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Dave & all-- > Yes, the UM data are very good. This pair has not successfully nested > (so don't have young to feed), but has been present yearly since 2006. > Cuckoos form a surprising proportion of their diet (I recall numbers of > remains in the 60s recovered in one summer). Other major menu items are > rails and woodpeckers, also weak fliers. I visited Janet Hinshaw, manager at > the UM Museum, last week, and found her reassembling wings of cuckoos from > the debris dropped by those falcons. If I recall correctly, our Akron birds > have been knocking off a surprising number of cuckoos, too. Who can blame > these birds for taking easy tasty prey? > Is having a couple of showy top-of-the-food-chain raptors of dubious > parentage worth significant impacts on populations of local birds? They > aren't killing many of the other introduced birds--pigeons and starlings--we > hoped they'd eat. What if we gave names like "Chloe" and "Charisma" to the > local cuckoos? What is the theoretical limit of the spread of this > population of falcons? Ohio has 35 nesting pairs now. What will prevent them > from occupying every church steeple and bank roof ledge in the state? To me > it seems they are joining the growing list of problematic show-birds with no > legitimate claim to Ohio citizenship, like trumpeter swans or 'giant' Canada > geese, which while they may not so often kill native birds (I've seen one of > the former trying to kill one of the latter, though), at least chase them > off traditional nesting localities. Anyone's who's been checking Pond 3 at > Killdeer in recent years will know what the swans do; interestingly, they > are not there this year, and I hope managers are to be credited. > Bill Whan > Columbus > > Dave Slager wrote: >> >> The diet of the peregrines nesting at the University of Michigan is >> well-documented. Rails and cuckoos are especially well-represented >> including a Yellow Rail. >> >> http://www.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/birds/peregrine/um-peregrines.html >> >> I have found 2 Yellow-billed Cuckoo carcasses under the Horseshoe at >> OSU, beneath a common perch for the Columbus Peregrines. >> >> Dave >> >> Dave Slager >> Graduate Student >> Terrestrial Wildlife Ecology Lab >> School of Environment and Natural Resources >> The Ohio State University >> 210 Kottman Hall, 2021 Coffey Road >> Columbus, OH 43210-1085 >> [log in to unmask] >> >> >> >> On Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 10:34 AM, William Hull <[log in to unmask]> >> wrote: >>> >>> In the Cincinnati area rarely do I hear non-birders discuss the >>> downtown Peregrine Falcons. Typically I run into people who are >>> interested in the increasing number of Bald Eagles and Wild Turkeys. >>> It could be observer bias on my part since I do not spend a lot of time >>> downtown and do spend a lot of time in areas where Bald Eagles and >>> Wild Turkeys are found. >>> >>> I have heard from people who have monitored downtown nest sites that >>> the Peregrines' prey items include American Woodcock and Yellow-billed >>> Cuckoos. An introduced raptor preying on local breeders can not be a >>> good thing. It could be that the location of the Cincinnati birds >>> near the Ohio River and the floodplain parks of the Little Miami River >>> gives them easy access to these birds. I wonder what the Columbus >>> birds prey upon? >>> Cheers, >>> Bill Hull >>> Cincinnati, OH >>> >>> >>> On Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 4:41 AM, Margaret Bowman <[log in to unmask]> >>> wrote: >>>> >>>> I suppose one of the better results of the peregrine program is the >>>> interest >>>> it generates in non-birders. With things the way they are right now, >>>> anything that excites the interest of "laymen" can't be all bad, and the >>>> Columbus peregrines have really caught the attention of folks who know >>>> that >>>> I'm a birder. Every time a conversation comes up, the peregrines come >>>> into >>>> it before it's over. Even people who don't know a robin from a cardinal >>>> have caught on to the drama of the Columbus falcons. What's wrong with >>>> that? >>>> >>>> Margaret Bowman >>>> Licking Co., OH >>>> ----- Original Message ----- >>>> From: "Tom Bain" <[log in to unmask]> >>>> To: <[log in to unmask]> >>>> Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2010 11:17 PM >>>> Subject: Re: [Ohio-birds] Raptor nest sites? >>>> >>>> >>>>> Peregrine fans, >>>>> >>>>> Here's an intriguing statement from an observant Moravian missionary, >>>>> David >>>>> Zeisberger, speaking of the Muskingum River valley, in his "History of >>>>> North >>>>> American Indians" describing eastern Ohio during the American >>>>> Revolution >>>>> and >>>>> after, page 67: >>>>> >>>>> "Of other birds of prey, there are to be found here the hawk, the >>>>> stone-falcon, that remains near the rocks, the pigeon-hawk, that >>>>> pursues >>>>> not >>>>> only the pigeon, but all other birds it can conquer, though it is a >>>>> small >>>>> bird and not as large as the pigeon." >>>>> >>>>> Tom Bain >>>>> The Clayey Till Plains >>>>> Delaware, Ohio >>>>> >>>>> -----Original Message----- >>>>> From: Ohio birds [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of >>>>> Bill >>>>> Whan >>>>> Sent: Sunday, July 04, 2010 12:51 PM >>>>> To: [log in to unmask] >>>>> Subject: [Ohio-birds] Raptor nest sites? >>>>> >>>>> It seems like a good time of year to discuss nesting. I have >>>>> questions >>>>> about the nest sites chosen by raptors our wildlife agencies have >>>>> introduced/re-introduced to Ohio, and would be very grateful for >>>>> first-hand reports of nests in truly wild situations. >>>>> First, peregrine falcons. As many bird students know, prior to the >>>>> introductions there was no evidence this species had ever nested in >>>>> Ohio. Nevertheless, wildlife managers decided to join a >>>>> hastily-conceived stampede to introduce hacked birds to many locations >>>>> in Ohio and other states, in an effort to support a recovery of the >>>>> regional subspecies (even though they mostly introduced other >>>>> subspecies), to provide educational opportunities, and also, I suppose, >>>>> to promote their stewardship of non-game species. I don't want to argue >>>>> any more about that, but is anyone aware of a truly wild nesting site >>>>> for a peregrine falcon in the state? Not a building or a bridge, but a >>>>> real cliff or tree, etc.?? >>>>> I have the same question about ospreys. While I regard the osprey >>>>> project undertaken by wildlife managers to be a far more justifiable >>>>> operation--ospreys have a solid record as Ohio nesters in the past, >>>>> making the project a legitimate re-introduction effort--I have a >>>>> similar >>>>> question. Is anyone aware of a successful osprey nest in Ohio that is >>>>> placed in a wild nesting site---not a platform, a utility tower, etc., >>>>> but a real tree, etc.?? >>>>> I would be glad to hear that falcons and ospreys have returned to >>>>> natural nest sites, but then I would not be terribly surprised to hear >>>>> they have not. If the latter is the case, is there anyone else out >>>>> there >>>>> who feels uncomfortable about such a situation? Are we approaching a >>>>> time when kestrels all nest in kestrel boxes, and barn owls in barns?? >>>>> Bill Whan >>>>> Columbus > > ______________________________________________________________________ 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]