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  • Three peregrine falcon chicks are removed from their nest on the top of the Scott College of Business. The chicks were tagged and put back into the nest box

    05_31_12_peregrine_falcon_banding-9327.jpg

  • Three peregrine falcon chicks are removed from their nest on the top of the Scott College of Business. The chicks were tagged and put back into the nest box

    05_31_12_peregrine_falcon_banding-9300.jpg

  • Three peregrine falcon chicks are removed from their nest on the top of the Scott College of Business. The chicks were tagged and put back into the nest box

    05_31_12_peregrine_falcon_banding-9223.jpg

  • Three peregrine falcon chicks are removed from their nest on the top of the Scott College of Business. The chicks were tagged and put back into the nest box

    05_31_12_peregrine_falcon_banding-9274.jpg

  • banding table

    bandingtable.jpg

  • Three peregrine falcon chicks are removed from their nest on the top of the Scott College of Business. The chicks were tagged and put back into the nest box

    05_31_12_peregrine_falcon_banding-9256.jpg

  • Three peregrine falcon chicks are removed from their nest on the top of the Scott College of Business. The chicks were tagged and put back into the nest box

    05_31_12_peregrine_falcon_banding-9292.jpg

  • 053112peregrinefalconbanding-L.jpg

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June 1, 2012

Three peregrine chicks hatch on ISU highrise

Howard Greninger The Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE — Three peregrine falcon chicks were successfully banded Thursday atop a 15-story building that is part of Indiana State University’s Statesman Towers complex.

The bands have large numbers, that can be read from a distance with binoculars, and recorded to show where the birds originated and who their parents are, said ISU biology Professor Steven Lima.

Personnel from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources put the bands on a leg of each of the young birds. The DNR biologists wore hard hats, protective eye wear and thick coats, Lima said, as two parent falcons circled over them at the Scott College of Business Building.

In addition, blood was taken from the chicks for DNA samples.

“It will verify their sex, and [the information] is put into a general database for genetics,” Lima said. “It will help tell us about the genetic diversity of the Midwestern birds. It is a measure of the health of the population. A more genetically diverse population is a healthier one.”

The three falcon chicks include one female and two males. The female is the oldest, largest and first hatched. “The eggs hatch about two to three days apart,” Lima said.

Lima said he is looking to put up a few more nest boxes on campus, as the towers are slated to be torn down under the university’s long-term plan. Sites include a residence hall on the southwest corner of campus or, possibly, the Sycamore Building, just off campus on Sixth Street in downtown Terre Haute.

 “I expect all of the chicks will be out of the nest in a couple of weeks. They should all be flying in two and a half to three weeks. They grow very fast,” Lima said. “They can live 10 to 15 years once they get to adult; getting to adulthood is the hard part.”

 Some birds have died early by falling off of tall buildings that the birds prefer as adults. Others can be killed at night by large owls, Lima said.

 “These were once on the endangered species list, but they have been doing so well across the country that they are off the endangered species list,” Lima said. However, the birds remain on a threatened list and remain protected under federal and state laws.

 Less than 50 years ago, no nests were known to exist east of the Mississippi River and the population of the bird in the western U.S. had declined by 90 percent from its perceived peak, likely because of  widespread use of the pesticide DDT, biologists say.

 “This is probably the first successful nest in this part of Indiana and Illinois in the last 50 years,” Lima said. “This is the third nesting attempt of this pair [of peregrine falcons]. The others were not successful, as they [nested] on window ledges, which just didn’t work. The eggs rolled off.”

 A nesting box, like a small shelter, has been atop the ISU building for 12 years, first put up for another female peregrine falcon, which had called the campus home but is no longer seen.

  The peregrine falcon was re-introduced in Indiana about 20 years ago first in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, South Bend and Evansville. The nest on the ISU campus is among 16 known to exist round the state this spring, according to the DNR.

Reporter Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com.

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