Comments on: Wilmington: Is the Fighting Over?

By: Kate St. John

Kate St. John — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 00:22:26 +0000

Today the new female at Wilmington laid her first egg! See the news on Kim Steininger’s Wilmington Falcons Blog: http://wilmfalcons.com/blog.htm

By: Kim Steininger

Kim Steininger — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 19:49:11 +0000

We now know who the mystery female is! She was banded in Harrisburg, PA in 2008!

By: Kim Steininger

Kim Steininger — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 10:42:56 +0000

You’re right Kate, we don’t know who the female is yet. The male is the same bird from previous years though.

There will be a naming contest as soon as there’s more activity in the nestbox!

By: Kate St. John

Kate St. John — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 10:22:40 +0000

The resident male is banded — I believe with black/red which is a less common color combination nowadays. Peregrine watchers in Wilmington know the resident male is still in charge of the nest because the one they see on camera has black/red bands.

I don’t know whether the male has been fully identified yet and, if so, whether he was named. As regards the new female, I bet they don’t know who she is yet.

By: Anne Curtis

Anne Curtis — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 05:26:27 +0000

Just a follow up to MJB’s post. She wrote the birds were described as “female” or “male”. Are they banded and/or identified so they can be (or could have been) traced? Anne

By: Bill Stewart

Bill Stewart — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 18:23:58 +0000

To all,

First, thanks Kate for including us on your wonderful blog, what a thrill!

I was able to watch the fight from beginning to end (very difficult to watch, I must admit) and during the struggle, it appeared to me that our male was receiving the most punishment. I might add that this was non-stop action and it felt as though it might result in the death of one falcon. Towards the latter part of the fight, our resident was able to pull off a few maneuvers, and gain control. Thankfully, after an hour +, the intruding falcon flew away, followed a few minutes later by the victor. The USFWS Biologist associated with our project, Craig Koppie, later observed our falcon return to the box and fall over in exhaustion!

Today, we have noticed the male and female displaying their bowing posture and much closer to each other than the previous observations.

Keep watching!

Bill Stewart
Wilmington Peregrine Falcon webcam Project

By: Mary Jo Berman

Mary Jo Berman — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:17:55 +0000

geez, that was brutal. many things to ponder — does survival of the fittest insures survival of the species or do these battles diminish the species.

on another note, Wilmington just refers to the birds as “our female”, “our male”, and intruder. No naming. As Traci commented it helps to stay detached and not humanize the birds.

By: Traci

Traci — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:37:36 +0000

This is what I fear will happen in regards to Tasha. Of course, it could happen at the COL as well. It could happen at anytime at either nest site. Hard to bear the thought on one level – but another it is the way of things.

Powerful image. It’s so easy to forget that the Peregrines are a fierce, fighting bird and are wild. Wild and free.

Thanks for sharing – its a reminder to stay detached and NOT to humanize the birds too much with sentiment or affection.

By: Kate St. John

Kate St. John — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:36:02 +0000

This year two males AND two females have fought for the nest.

Last year, while there were chicks in the nest, a second female showed up. The two females had been sparring for months & now the resident female is dead.

The male-against-male fight is new. I hope it’s over!

By: Kathy

Kathy — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:32:01 +0000

We know it is nature and the “order of things”, but these fights are so very difficult to endure. Especially when we become so attached to these gorgeous creatures.