MN / Great Spirit Bluff - 2024 / Newman & ?

[The Peregrine Chick]

Not Julie or Lisa but a new female with Newman.  Very young and her leg band is upside down.  Nice looking bird.

[The Peregrine Chick]

22 Feb 2024
from a ND contact

Unfortunately, earlier today another female named Lisa was at the Great Spirit Bluff nest site. Lisa was banded in Kenosha, WI, in 2018. Julie showed up later in the day. Apparently, both Julie and Lisa were at the nest site in fall 2023.  We will have to see what happens. I am pulling for Julie.

[The Peregrine Chick]

19 Feb 2024
from a ND contact

A female named Julie, is on territory at the Great Spirit Bluff nest near La Crescent, MN. Julie is the daughter of Eve and an unbanded male, and the granddaughter of Terminator and Roosevelt. Eve was banded in Grand Forks in 2011. Julie was hatched at the Ford Parkway Bridge nest in Minneapolis in 2019. I know it’s early, but I am rooting for Julie to hold the territory at the Great Spirit Bluff nest site. An unbanded male named Newman is also on territory at the nest site.

[The Peregrine Chick]

Great Spirit Bluff
La Crescent, Minnesota

webcam link: https://explore.org/livecams/falcons/falcon-nest-cam  (updated)

Raptor Resource Project Great Spirit Bluff Peregrines - https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/gsb-falcons/

The Great Spirit Bluff peregrine falcons are nesting on a bluff located near La Crescent, MN, overlooking Lock and Dam #7 on the Mississippi River (MAP).  We call the unbanded male Newman and the unbanded female Nova. To learn more about the falcons here through the years, scroll down to the ‘nest records’ section.  The peregrines are not present year-round. In general, they return in late February to early March, begin courtship between early and Mid-March, and lay eggs between late March and mid-April. Hatch should begin in early to mid-May, fledge generally occurs 38-40 days after that, and young disperse in late August or mid-September. The adults stay on territory until late fall. While the male and female leave at roughly the same time, they are not believed to migrate together. This nest box is filled with pea gravel to provide a substrate that cushions and drains the eggs. We installed it in 2003 at the request of Tom Howe. It became active in 2005 and has been productive ever since.

NOTE:  This nestsite is plague by blackflies during the nesting season and more than a few chicks have been killed by Great Horned Owls

Resident Pairs & Offspring:

• 2023 - Newman + Savanna --> (checking)
• 2022 - Newman + Zooey --> (checking)
• 2021 - Newman + Zooey --> 3 chicks hatched, first 2 died due to Zooey's inexperience
• 2020 - Newman + Nova --> 3 chicks hatched, 1 died shortly after hatch, Floyd (m) & Elise (f) killed by Great Horned Owl
• 2019 - Newman + Michelle --> 2 chicks hatched, 1 killed by Great Horned Owl, Carson (m) driven from box by blackflies but fledged successfully
• 2018 - Newman + Michelle --> 2 chicks hatched & fledged without incident (no blackfly problem)
• 2017 - Newman + Michelle --> 4 chicks hatched, 2 killed by blackflies, Hamilton (m) and Burr-D (unk) driven from box by blackflies a month later but fledged successfully 
• 2016 - Newman + Michelle --> 4 chicks hatched
• 2015 - Travis + Michelle --> 4 chicks hatched
• 2014 - Travis + Michelle --> 1 chick hatched, Mac (m) driven from box by blackflies, survived until he fledged from the ground
• 2013 - Travis + Michelle --> 4 chicks hatched, all were driven from the box by blackflies, 1 found & fostered elsewhere, 2 fledged successfully from the ground & 1 disappeared
• 2012 - Travis + Michelle --> at least 2 chicks hatched, Cassie (f) disappeared from the nestbox, Christine (f) found dead at the LaCrosse airport.
• 2011 - Travis + Michelle --> 4 chicks hatched
• 2010 - parents' identities not known --> 4 chicks hatched
• 2009 - parents' identities not known --> 4 chicks hatched, Laura (f) resident female in Red Wing, Minnesota
• 2008 - parents' identities not known --> at least 1 chick hatched & fledged
• 2007 - parents' identities not known --> at least 3 chicks hatched & fledged
• 2006 - male not identified + Katrinka --> at least 3 chicks hatched & fledged
• 2005 - male not identified + Katrinka --> 4 chicks hatched & fledged