Chicago Peregrine Falcon Blog

Wow, no chicks yet AGAIN today. What a waiting game! Today, I decided to watch from the ‘el platform. I arrived very early, during rush hour, and managed to blend in with the commuters for at least two hours. This allowed me to snap pictures at whim and watch the nest activity with binocs, but sadly, I think even during rush hour, I would have attracted a lot of attention if I’d set my scope up, so I did not.

Very early in my monitoring session, I saw a very large puff of feathers come up from inside the nest accompanied by lots and lots of chattering noise. Hercules sat on the corner of the LaSalle Atrium building and Max snoozed on one of the lighting fixtures on the Board of Trade Annex. So, unless their nest is haunted, there are chicks in there.

Continue reading ‘STILL nothing’

Posted in Chicago MCC

Today, my husband turns 37 and he’s as wonderful and handsome as ever. So, here’s to a great 37th year for Sean!

I spent the morning on the garage top, trying to get a picture of Max’s leg bands and watching for any signs of chicks. Hercules came in with a huge pigeon in talon shortly after I arrived and settled across the way on the Board of Trade Annex. The good old girl gave me a nice, long, clear look at her leg bands, which I’ve now read 67,000 times – but it’s always good to have something to record for the day, so thanks Herc.

Max came in just after Herc finished plucking most of the pigeon. He landed on a lighting fixture about three to the north of her and settled down to watch her eat. I swung my scope over to see what I could see, but unfortunately, he was sitting in fairly deep shadow over there and I couldn’t get any fine focus.

Continue reading ‘Happy 37th Birthday, Sean!’

Posted in Chicago MCC

I spent about 5 hours all-tolled watching the MCC today. Pretty much more of the same. I know there are chicks up there. I can hear them clearly and Max and Hercules are guarding that side very well.

I found out that at least one, if not both, Pilsen chicks fledged today. I mentioned my concern about the lack of any visible MCC chicks to Mary and she reminded me of some things.

Even though Max and Hercules seemed to be on a schedule similar to the other area nests and, further, similar to last year, because we can’t see inside the MCC nest, we just don’t know the actual situation.

It could be that the chicks are popping out, but I’m just not catching them at the right time. It could be that the chicks are all females and thus, a little slower to develop since they are so much bigger. It could be that Max and Herc’s first nesting attempt failed and this is the second nesting attempt, so the chicks are markedly younger.

Because the nest faces to the west, it sits in hot sun for much of the day. The chicks would not be as likely to come up on the ledge only to swelter in the glare. Like most of us, they’d stay down in the shade of the nest where it is more comfortable.

Still, I do have to say, I’m going to feel much better when I see the chicks.

Posted in Chicago MCC

The calendar rolls around to another Printers Row Book Fair weekend. Always something to look forward to! This year seemed bigger than ever and Sean and I found a few things to add to our collection. Arcadia Publishing came out with another Chicago book, this one about the history of the ‘el. Sean and I got to meet the author and have him sign our copy. We also met Bill Geist and had him sign our copy of Way Off the Road: Discovering the Peculiar Charms of Small Town America.

I checked in on the MCC falcons throughout the day on Saturday. Everything was still the same – lots of adult activity, lots of noise from the nest, no visible chicks. On Sunday, our neighbors hosted a barbecue for the building residents out on the back deck. Sean and I went down at about noon. After a bit, I needed to go check the nest, so I grabbed my things.

Continue reading ‘Book Fair Weekend’

Posted in Chicago MCC

This from Dan Cozza: “Hope you are keeping busy. I feel left out of this season as I can not keep tabs on the prison birds. I do look at the west side every time I am outside, and I see nothing, no activity at all. Not even increase whitewash on the side or sidewalk. Did they take this year off, or are you sure there are young this year?”

Man, I’m with you, Dan. It’s been hard to watch these guys this year and I am really missing the perfect look at the nest I had last year. If they nest in the north niche again next year (here’s really hoping), I promise to never bitch about the lighting over there again.

And I can guarantee that both adults are in the area and actively going in and out of the northernmost west-facing niche with food a lot, even if I can’t guarantee 100% that there are chicks up there. I’ve got to go with Mary on this one, though. The adults are consistently displaying all the behavior that signals chicks in the nest. So, I just have to believe they’ve got some young up there.

Ok, so on with the show.

Continue reading ‘Wing Beats?’

Posted in Chicago MCC

Sean had a novel idea sometime back in January. He decided he wanted to walk the entire length of Clark Street, a mostly north/south street that cuts right through Chicago, starting at its northern border at Howard (7400 North) and ending at Cermak (2600 South) in Chinatown. He posited that May would be the ideal time, since the weather would be nice, but probably not so hot as to make the walk miserable. I signed on immediately and over the next few months, our friends John, Sabrina and Liz signed on as well.

Yesterday, we finally accomplished Sean’s walk. Sabrina, Sean and I met at the red line’s Howard stop at 8am and started our journey 15 minutes later. About a mile in, John joined us. Liz joined us at Addison. The five of us walked the bulk of the journey together, and I would say in high spirits, even though the afternoon turned out to be pretty warm and humid. Near the end, Liz and John peeled off, as they both had to take public transportation clear back up north. Sabrina, Sean and I walked the last mile to Cermak, crossing the finish line at exactly 1:57pm.

Continue reading ‘The Long Walk and MCC Update’

Posted in Chicago MCC