Peregrine Chicks Banded in Boise

On a recent June morning, protective peregrine parents dived and screeched at Idaho Fish and Game biologists who banded four young peregrine falcons hatched on a building ledge in downtown Boise. Tuesday morning, June 15, all four chicks got a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service band on their right leg and each of the bands is color-coded to make identification easier. Peregrine falcons have nested in downtown Boise for the past 20 years. Most years they have successfully reared their young on the 14th floor ledge of the One Capitol Center building at the corner of 10th and Main in downtown Boise. This spring the Peregrine parents are raising four young - three males and one female. People from Boise and around the world are watching their every step. This is the second year a webcam in the nest box is streaming live video over the Internet, allowing viewers to watch in real-time as eggs are laid, young hatched and parents care and feed their young. Go to http://www.peregrinefund.org/falconcam/. The day the chicks were banded, employees from Fiberpipe, a local internet services company, installed a microphone and a second camera. The new camera was installed above the nest box to provide a secondary view of the young birds and will go live when they begin exploring the ledge outside the box. The adult female was protective of the chicks and defended aggressively throughout the process of banding the chicks and installing the new equipment. All four of the young peregrines are in great condition and have been well cared for by the parents. A variety of prey remains were collected and included pigeons, meadowlarks and mourning doves.