There is big news outside the 28th floor of the Woodmen Tower.
As of Thursday morning, the first of five Peregrine Falcon eggs had hatched and the male Falcon Zeus was tending the nest. Falcon fans keeping an eye on “Falcon Cam” ( www.woodmen.org/falcons ) caught glimpses of the chick early Thursday morning.
The female falcon, Hera, is believed to be injured and recuperating at Raptor Recovery Nebraska, Inc., following a Monday evening encounter with another falcon that was presumably killed. All is “presumed,” as the two unbanded females are virtually indistinguishable. The injured falcon was left with bruises, stitches and scuffed feet.
Woodmen Tower Manager, Tim Sautter, said that although he could not determine with 100% accuracy whether the injured bird is Hera, his feeling is that it is, and that once the injured female recovers, in about a week, she will return to the Woodmen Tower and her new brood. If she is not Hera, most likely Zeus will run her off.
Sautter and Woodmen of the World Associates are hopeful that Zeus will continue in his single-parenting responsibilities, sitting on the unhatched eggs, making brief flights for food and feeding the new chicks. Raptor Recovery Nebraska will assist Zeus in his efforts, by supplying him with quail to shorten his time away from the nest.
“When it comes to wildlife, there is always an element of drama,” says Sautter, “but we are slow to interfere with the falcons’ natural instincts to handle the situation. As long as Zeus is incubating, and then feeding the chicks when they hatch, we will leave him alone and hope for the best.”
2008 marks the 20th anniversary of the Peregrine Falcon Program at Woodmen Tower. If all five eggs hatch, it will bring the total number of chicks hatched at the Tower to more than 50.
For more information, visit www.woodmen.org/falcons.
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