falconspace

UPDATE 27 May 2005:

Falcon's injury from sky duel
Wound from red-tailed hawk grounds Bandit for week or two
by Bob Downing, Beacon Journal staff writer

It was the Falcon, small and speedy, vs. the Hawk, bigger and slower.

And in the aerial combat over downtown Akron, Bandit came down the loser.

Tom Henry, a wildlife biologist with the Ohio Division of Wildlife, said a window washer witnessed -- and people on Cascade Plaza heard -- the fight between Bandit, Akron's male peregrine falcon, and a red-tailed hawk about 4 p.m. Wednesday.

"He's too old for that," Henry said of Bandit's defense of his territory and nesting box with four chicks. "... and he came out worse for the wear."

The bloodied falcon was found on the ground near Bowery and South Main streets.

He is being treated by Dr. Gary Riggs, a Norton veterinarian, for a gash on the webbing of the left wing, a scraped leg and a loss of blood. But Bandit had no broken bones -- just soft-tissue damage to the muscles and tendons of the wing.

The falcon will be treated with antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs, Riggs said, and will be laid up for a minimum of a week or two to recuperate and regain his strength.

If there had been broken bones, Henry said, Bandit might have been shipped to the University of Minnesota Raptor Center for surgery.

Chesapeake, Bandit's mate, continues to care for the four chicks in the nesting box on the 11th floor of the U.S. Bank/Landmark Building. "She's trying," Henry said of Chesapeake's lone parenting.

But to help her out, the Division of Wildlife today probably will move one or two of the smaller chicks, which are not yet able to fly, into a Cleveland falcon nest. Henry said the nest at the International Steel Group complex (the former LTV Steel) in the Flats area has two adults and one chick.

The smaller Akron chicks were born within three days of the Cleveland chick, and that will make such an adoption more likely to work, he said.

The Cleveland falcons had five eggs, but only one hatched.

Moving chicks to other nests isn't uncommon.

In 2000, Bandit and Chesapeake adopted and reared four chicks from Cleveland.

And in 2001, three chicks from Akron were moved to other nests after a new male falcon, Flash, came to Akron, injured Bandit and killed one of the young birds.

Henry said moving chicks is a better option than providing food in the nesting box to supplement what Chesapeake would bring back for the four chicks. That could result in the young birds developing too quickly and in problems when they start to fly.

Fights between falcons and red-tailed hawks are not that unusual, Henry said. Recently, two falcons at the Cleveland Clinic -- Flash and Liberty -- battled and killed a red-tailed hawk, the largest and most common hawk in Ohio, he said.

Falcons are ``very aggressive toward other raptors... especially when they are defending their nests,'' said Dave Scott of the Ohio Division of Wildlife.

Bandit came to Akron in 1998 from Detroit. His first mate was J.P., also from Detroit. She was replaced by Chesapeake in 2001.

Bandit and his two mates produced 31 eggs from 1998 through 2005. Of that total, 23 hatched. Eight chicks died.

Falcons were formerly a federally endangered species and remain an endangered species in Ohio. There are perhaps 2,000 pairs in the United States.

Ohio has 22 pairs of falcons, of which 19 nested this year. Both totals are records. Ohio is expected to produce a record number of chicks, perhaps more than 70, when counts are finalized, Scott said. The record is 54 chicks from a record 15 nests in 2004.

....PREVIOUSLY:

Injury to downtown Akron falcon could be fatal
Akron Beacon Journal, 26 May 2005

Bandit, Akron's downtown peregrine falcon, was found bloodied and injured Wednesday afternoon with injuries that could prove fatal.

The falcon, approaching his 10th birthday, is being treated at the Metropolitan Veterinarian Hospital in Copley Township for unknown injuries.

Earlier this month, Bandit and his mate, Chesapeake, became parents to four chicks.

Bandit was found lying at South Main and Bowery streets, just below his family's nesting box on the 11th floor of the U.S. Bank/Landmark building. Downtown has been home to Bandit since 1996.

Tom Henry, wildlife biologist for the Ohio Division of Wildlife, said the fallen bird appears to have suffered leg and other injuries. Akron Zoo veterinarian Dr. Gary Riggs is treating the falcon and trying to determine the source of the bleeding.

Henry said he was unsure how Bandit was hurt. He said the injuries could have come from a battle with another bird or from running into a building. Bandit's injuries could be fatal unless the source of the bleeding is determined and treated, Henry said.

Five years ago, Bandit was found inside Canal Park suffering from a fractured wing after a battle with a foe.