[mou] FW: Peregrines in Downtown (long)

[Alt, Mark]

> Still taking the bus. My favorite place to wait is still the corner of =
6th and Marquette, firstly, well, because my bus stops there, secondly, =
because it affords me a chance to observe Peregrines.  This morning  I =
witnessed my first Peregrine kill.  I watched 3 birds fly in the high =
winds from 7:05 to 7:25 AM this morning, launching sorties =
flycatcher-like and returning to the 4 swaying antennae above the brown =
building spanning Marquette between 3rd and 4th Avenues and 6th Street =
in the heart of Minneapolis, several blocks east of my vantage point.  =
The  falcons were rolling and pitching and stooping at one another.  I =
couldn't see if they were immature or adults but they flew together =
constantly as a tight group, so I presume them to be a family. These =
antennae are about 2/3 as high as the adjacent Piper-Jaffrey Hopwood =
(PJH) building, the disk-topped I.M. Pei - designed building.  The birds =
didn't climb higher than this taller building as I watched them this =
morn. Ordinarily any flight I see is at the level of the top of the City =
Center, IDS or higher. An adult coursed in from behind the PJH tower to =
hover kite-like 40 feet from the flat north face of this tower.  It held =
position for two or three seconds, then dropped in altitude abruptly by =
extending its wings upward like an osprey about to hit the water. It =
fell about 10 feet the first time and about five feet the second time it =
did it. At first I didn't know what was going on, then I glimpsed a =
small passerine bird trying to get away, striking the spandrel glass =
that  wraps this structure, then flying in an ellipse and right back =
into the glass.  The falcon dropped again a third time and grabbed the =
bird in its right talon.  The maneuver was a controlled stall, like a =
Harrier taking a mouse in a meadow, wings set in a dihedral.  It was not =
the dramatic kill I had always (and still) anticipated. A moment later  =
the bird was atop one of the 4 antennae, enjoying its petite dejeuner.  =
This event leads me to wonder and ask some questions:
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> *	Do falcons use glass buildings to gain even more strategic advantage =
over disoriented birds? The falcon appeared to be in no great hurry to =
dispatch the bird, almost appearing to wait on it to bounce off of the =
glass.. It was as if this was a routine.
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> *	Do falcons routinely hunt at lower levels in this method when =
passerine migration is at full tilt?
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> *	Has anyone ever seen falcons take prey in this manner?
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> *	Is this why warblers in seeming good health are seen hopping around =
downtown this time of year?  Safer than flying? I have seen Ovenbirds =
and Yellowthroats already in the concrete jungle this fall.
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> *	And finally, the biggest and most important question I have, stolen =
from a Youth mentorship presentation did this year with some 4th =
graders, when I showed them a Cooper's Hawk nest in a scope, a future =
birder exclaimed loudly.  "Is this cool or what?"  High fives all =
around.  Where are those fourth graders when I need them?
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> Mark Alt
> Brooklyn Center, MN
> mark.alt@bestbuy.com
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> "Birds and their songs are important to me, they add to my enjoyment =
of life"=20
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