2014 NESTING SEASON
Second of South Bend's original peregrines dies
Erin Blasko / South Bend Tribune 23 Jan 2014
SOUTH BEND -- Guinevere, the city's resident female peregrine falcon and a familiar site downtown for more than a decade, has died, local raptor rehabilitator Carol Riewe reported Thursday.
"I got a phone call (Wednesday) from a gentleman here in town who had picked her body up on Monday," Riewe, one of a group of dedicated peregrine falcon watchers in the area, told The Tribune. Riewe said it appeared the bird struck a sign somewhere along Prairie Avenue south of Sample Street. Her body was found lying in a snow bank along the side of the road, near the OmniSource recycling center. She said the weather, in particular the snow and wind, may have played a factor.
"I think she got bumped when she was down," Riewe said. "She's got a couple of wounds on her back. I don't know, but it makes me wonder if a plow hit her when she was down and flung her up on the snow bank." Guinevere, who may have been as old as 14, was last seen downtown Friday, Riewe said, meaning she likely died sometime over the weekend. She said the bird will be cremated, as her body is not in good enough condition to be preserved.
"I guess the only good thing about this is we know what happened to her," Riewe said. "The only thing that would have been worse is to have her not show up for days and weeks and not know what happened to her." Peregrine falcons live an average of 6 to 8 years, according to the state Department of Natural Resources, though some may live as long as 20 years.
Guinevere arrived in South Bend in 2003. She produced 11 broods over the years, first with Zephyr, a banded male falcon born in captivity but released in Iowa in 1999, and then with Zeus, an unbanded male of unknown origin. Zephyr died in June 2012 at age 13. Though no one can be sure, it is believed he struck a pole while hunting downtown. His body will be taxidermied for future display at Rum Village Nature Center. Zeus arrived the following spring. He and Guinevere mated, producing one female chick, Zoey. The chick was banded in June of last year and later fled the nest. Her current whereabouts are not known.
Riewe described Guinevere as a devoted mother who evolved as a parent over the years, learning from trial and error how best to raise her chicks. "Just from watching her, she was a very, very nurturing mother, very, very careful, very, very protective of her chicks," Riewe said. She also was a good teacher, she said, recalling one lesson in particular. "She had a starling in her feet, alive and squawking and carrying on, and behind her was one of her chicks. And then at the last minute she drops the starling, the deal being the kid has to come in and nab this bird. She's actually teaching this kid how to hunt."
Describing the loss, Riewe compared it to that of a family member. "We are going to miss her," she said. "She and Zephyr were our pioneer pair, they were the first birds to take our nesting box as their home, and I think they kind of worked their way into our hearts." Riewe said it is too soon to know whether Zeus, who is believed to be much younger than Guinevere was, will hang around, but she's hopeful he will. Courting season begins next month. "He's only been her a year, but still, he courted (Guinevere) and helped to raise one chick here, so he may have enough of a sense of belonging to stay here. He has a territory," she said. "He just has to attract someone into this territory."
