AS THE FALCON NEST TURNS . . .
by Mary Koher
On May 20, Indiana Audubon retrieved and banded Fort Wayne's peregrine chicks. We have 2 females this year: Nova (black over blue K67) and Kiri (black over blue K68). This makes Moxie and Jamie's 29th and 30th chicks to be banded since their arrival in 2013. A total of 66 banded chicks have come from this nest box since its inception in 1996!
Many thanks to Indiana Audubon, in partnership with the INDNR, for their efforts in banding the chicks; the Boys and Girls Club of Fort Wayne for coming up with potential names; and the public for casting more than 1500 votes that decided on the names Kiri and Nova.
As if being banded wasn't enough excitement, on May 22, Nova lost her footing and took a tumble out of the nest box. (Watch video here.) Many thanks go out to John Winebrenner and Bob Walton for getting Nova back in her nest and to Mike and Courtney Hause for assisting us in getting into the building. Nova couldn't have been in a more precarious spot: right on the edge! It takes a village, and we are grateful!
Both Nova and Kiri are spending the majority of their time outside the nest box now (called "branching"), flapping and stretching their wings in preparation for their first flight. Right now, they're still being fed by Jamie and Moxie. Soon, they'll join Moxie and Jamie, soaring in the skies over Fort Wayne, learning the skills they'll need to survive in the wild.
I have watched numerous feeding sessions over the years and Nova is by far the most aggressive feeder that I have seen in some time. Poor Kiri gets maybe 1 to Nova's 10 bites and Moxie can't get it off the bone quick enough!
As an adult, Nova will be a force to be reckoned with, and she will make a fantastic mom someday. Not that Kiri won't also, but Nova is a handful even for Moxie, as they were fighting over a piece of food and Moxie was literally pulling Nova along the edge until Nova finally released. Many thanks to our partner, I & M, for moving the camera around quite a bit so that you could enjoy the goings-on!
Have you ever wondered what the area around the nest box looks like?
