Baby falcons get tags, names

By ELISE FRANCO

The 3-week-old peregrine falcons are named Madison, Frangos and Cobalt.

YOUNGSTOWN — They’re cute and fuzzy and had the ability to make a room full of adults fawn.

Three baby peregrine falcons were tagged Tuesday afternoon in the top floor of the Stambaugh Building, located next door to Buffalo Wild Wings on East Federal Street, as about a dozen people watched.

Observers helped name each of the baby falcons before releasing them back to their parents, who are Stammy, named after the Stambaugh Building, and Stellar.

The entire tagging process took just under an hour, but Cobalt, Frangos and Madison were more than ready to get back to their cozy nest.

They’re named after Lou Frangos, who co-owns the Stambaugh Building; and the Chevrolet Cobalt, which is produced in Lordstown. Madison is a name one of the onlookers liked.

Damon Greer, wildlife management assistant supervisor for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, said 3 weeks is the perfect age to band the chicks because they’re still immobile.

“In another week or two, they’ll begin to hop around on the roof,” he said. “And in six weeks, they’ll take their first flight. We want them banded before then so we can track where they go.”

Pulling the first of the furry, white creatures out of a box, Greer said falcons are a more aggressive species bird, so they can sometimes be challenging to work with.

Falcons “will dive bomb you when you go to pull the babies out,” he said. “Eagles just kind of make some noises then leave you alone.”

Greer said it depends on the individual bird as well.

“Some falcons are really aggressive, and some are much more laid back,” he said. “It all depends.”

This particular breed of falcon is found on every continent in the world except Antarctica, according to the Ohio Division of Wildlife. They’ve always been hard to find in North America, especially after the widespread use of pesticide DDT in World War II. They were placed on the federal endangered species list in 1970.

The first peregrines in Ohio were recorded in downtown Toledo in 1988. In 1992 Tom Henry began a process called “hacking” to help re-establish the peregrine population in Akron, Columbus and Cincinnati.

Hacking involves training a falcon in a semi-wild environment. The chicks are placed in a box to simulate their nest, and they’re observed, fed and taken care of until they’re old enough to be on their own.

Henry said he began this process to help replenish the peregrine population in Ohio. The tagging is another important part of the program to bring back the birds from the endangered species list.

“Tagging them helps us keep track of them,” he said. “We can see where they go and how long they live.”

Each bird was tagged with two bands. The first was a black and green band each state uses to identify the bird from a distance. The colors of this band also indicate that the bird originated in Ohio.

The second, a purple band, is from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Greer said it acts as a Social Security number because if someone finds the bird dead or injured, he or she can call and report it.

In addition to the banding, Greer and his co-worker, Geoff Westerfield, drew blood from each chick, which helps them track the genetics and origins of each bird, and cleaned “creepy crawlers” out of the wings.

“Because they eat other birds, they’ll typically have a lot of parasites on them,” Greer said, spreading out the chick’s wing. “This one is no exception.”

Chris Saladin and her husband, of Lorain, are nest monitors in the Cleveland area. She said they attend every banding they can.

“Basically what we do is watch the chicks and let [Greer] know when they’re ready to be banded,” Saladin said.

She and her husband began watching peregrines in Lakewood 10 years ago and became fascinated by them very quickly.

“We became enamored by everything about them — their flight, their feisty nature,” Saladin said.

efranco@vindy.com