Peregrine Falcon Update: 28-April-2006

Central Park South: Peregrine Falcons

Tonight was a rewarding one watching the Peregrine Falcons on the G.M. Building. Donna Browne showed up with a spotting scope. I brought along a 3" refracting telescope. We observed the Peregrines for nearly 2.5 hours. It was good to have so much activity from the Peregrines while Donna was there to observe.

Watching the ‘nest’ exchange at 7:45p was just one of many highlights.

A silver band was easly seen on the female's right leg in the scopes. The photo on the right shows the band — dimly.

Highlights:

• female perched/preening from 6:00p-7:40p on the GM.
• female flew to the fence just above the probable nest site.
• female dropped to flooring below perch at 7:44p.
• male exits from below same fence at 7:45p.
• male perches on fence below GM's roof until well after the end of Civil Twilight. This is when it becomes too dark to see any details at high power. In binoculars the image of the perched Peregrine becomes too indistinct to rely on.

Central Park's Gapstow Bridge 6:00p — 8:30p

• spotted a Peregrine on GM at 5:42p before entering park.
• took photos with falcon perched on fence below roof of GM's north face, 3 fences in from west edge.
• arrived at Gapstow Bridge by 6:00p — falcon still perched.
• at 6:52p it took a short flight to the NE corner of GM's roof where it remained until 7:02p.
• from 7:02-7:04p it took off N for a more extended flight returning to NW corner of GM's roof. It was clear this was the female in flight by its size & the molt of its primaries.
• at 7:37p female flew just E of GM then back to a fence 5 in from the W edge of the building.
• at 7:44p female flew to flooring just below fence. Within a minute the male exited from below the same fence the female was perched on. This is a probable nest exchange.
• At 7:45p male flew to a fence below GM's roof 4 in from E edge of building.
• Donna and I remained watching the male perched, facing in, until 10 minutes after Civil Twilight ended. We left the park at 8:30p feeling fairly confident it would stay the night.

Related items:
• Peregrine Falcon updates — 2006: 13-Apr, 21-Apr, 24-Apr, 26-Apr, 28-Apr, 30-Apr, 4-May, 5-May, 6-May, 7-May, 9-May, 11-May, 12-May, 13-May, 14-May, 16-May, 17-May, 18-May, 19-May, 21-May, 22-May, 23-May, 31-May
• Earliest Peregrine Falcon Nest in N.Y.C.?
• Behavior of Peregrine Falcons in the N.Y.C. Region
      by Richard A. Herbert & Kathleen Green Skelton Herbert
• Obs. of Duck Hawks Nesting on Man-made Structures
      by Horace Groskin