OH / Cleveland - Terminal Tower - 2009-15

[Alison]

These photos show Buckeye's Mom, Aurora, with her chicks in 1996. Buckeye was one of that clutch.

Photos by Tim Daniel.

 

[Alison]

Buckeye had a great life and spread his genes, the purpose of life.  There are little Buckeye's flying around and one day, one of those falcon's may in fact come back to this nest.  One never knows, but one can hope!  

Although Buckeye raised 34 young, little is known about most of them. We know of only three at the moment: Apache, born in 2002, is at the Cleveland Metropark Zoo as an education bird. He lost a wing earlier in his life. Treasure, born in 2007, was last seen at Port Colborne earlier this year (I posted on that thread at the time).

And Buckeye and SW's son Onyx, born in 2006, is in Shaker Heights with his mate, Diana. Last year, they had two chicks, Raider and Shaker. Because the nest site was inaccessible, it was not possible to band the chicks. This year Onyx and Diana had eggs, but they did not hatch, due to the difficulty of the site.  Before we lost Buckeye, plans were already in place to install a nest tray for next year.

All photos are by Chad and Chris.

Onyx: he also inherited Buckeye's solid dark hood -- he is a very handsome tiercel.

 

This photo of Onyx in his nest territory shows two buildings way in the background. The dark building on the left is the Terminal Tower, where Onyx was raised.



Diana:

 

Buckeye's grandchildren, Shaker and Raider:

 
Raider on the left, Shaker on the right                                 Shaker flying over Raider

[Alison]

The Midwest report says her name was Maple originally and she was renamed after her hack location which was Aurora, Ontario.  My guess is..and this is just a guess ... based on where they got all their PF"s for the hack program...is that she was born in Wainwright, Alberta at the breeding centre there and is a pure Anatum peregrine falcon. 

Maybe you or TPC might know something more about her background? (Band ID: Red 4R0) 

I do have a question for you though about Bandit.  On the CPF blog I found a reference to Aurora as being Wind's mother and that her father was unbanded - but I know her father was Bandit.  Was he really not banded and the name Bandit is a pun for 'Band-It' or did they jsut record that incorrectly?

I don't know much about Aurora's background. She was born in 1991, but I don't know exactly where. She was bred by Lynn Oliphant and Paddy Thompson, who are, or were, breeders in Saskatoon. She was released in Maple, Ontario in 1992.

She first appeared in Columbus in 1993, and had an unsuccessful nest that year with Lazer (black band 04Z). They had six eggs, laid on an unsuitable ledge, and all the eggs were lost. Lazer died of tuberculosis in August of 1993. Aurora paired with Bandit in 1994, and they raised three chicks. She was with Bandit until 1998, when she died. She died at The Raptor Center of renal and respiratory failure. She had previously been treated at Ohio State for an unknown illness or toxin for several days.

And yes, Bandit was an unbanded tiercel, but he was so distinctive that he was easily identifiable. No pun in his name that I know of . .  .

[carly]

That's the only photo I've ever seen of Aurora as well Alison.  I tried to do a search on her but can only find written reports on her under the Midwest Restoration Project and a mention of her on CPF as Aurora.  The Midwest report says her name was Maple originally and she was renamed after her hack location which was Aurora, Ontario.  My guess is..and this is just a guess ... based on where they got all their PF"s for the hack program...is that she was born in Wainwright, Alberta at the breeding centre there and is a pure Anatum peregrine falcon. 

Maybe you or TPC might know something more about her background? (Band ID: Red 4R0) 

I do have a question for you though about Bandit.  On the CPF blog I found a reference to Aurora as being Wind's mother and that her father was unbanded - but I know her father was Bandit.  Was he really not banded and the name Bandit is a pun for 'Band-It' or did they jsut record that incorrectly?

[Alison]

The people who found Buckeye and tried to help him came forward and identified themselves in a post on the Cleveland forum. They are Heather Gmucs and Samantha Wandtke. They knew they had found a peregrine, but they didn't know exactly who he was at that time. They deserve a lot of credit for trying to save him.

The new nest tray has been installed, and the work on the ledge and surrounding area looks as if it has been completed. The cams have been down since October because of the construction, and they are still down.

Photo by Scott Wright.

[Alison]

Buckeye's family

 
His Dad, the famous Bandit                                               His Canadian Mom, Aurora, who was a hacked bird from Aurora, Ontario.
of the Rhodes Tower in Columbus, Ohio                               This is the only photo I have seen of her -- she was beautiful.

Bandit passed on his smooth dark hood to his descendants -- not only to his son Buckeye, but also to Roosevelt at Fort Wayne, Erie at the Cathedral of Learning in Pittsburgh, and Wind in Toronto, among others.

[allikat]

What amazing shots of Buckeye....talk about dedication.  It just goes to show you the natural instinct to protect their eggs.  In one shot, you could barely see him...laying as flat as he possibly could to keep his eggs warm and dry.  He will be missed! 

Good luck to SW this season...hope that she will be able to form a tight bond with a new mate and continue bringing new chicks into this world to help their future.

[carly]

Thank you for posting those beautiful photos of Buckeye and the news article - you can definitely see the Canadian blood in him in those snow shots, what a magnificent tiercel!!  I love his face, the author is correct about it being so expressive..truly a one of a kind guy! 

It's been wonderful to read all the tributes and see all the photos and hear people's memories of him.  That new guy has some mighty big 'talons' to fill, let's hope he's up for it for SW's sake. 

[Alison]

Buckeye was also renowned for his dedication to incubating his eggs, even in the worst conditions.

2002: Buckeye did not move from the nest for two days.
 

2004:
 

2007:
 

In each case, he protected his eggs successfully.

[Alison]

There is indeed a new male, and Chad and Chris photographed him approaching SW, who was eating. She initially mantled her food, but later allowed him to come and share some of the food. He is not yet identified, but I'm sure it won't be long.

A few photos of Buckeye by Chad and Chris:

Feeding his daughter, Strike, earlier this year:

 

Going into a free fall from the ledge, and into a partial stoop:

 

[Alison]

An article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer about Buckeye:

Cleveland's peregrine falcon perishes after 12 years nesting on the Terminal Tower

By James F. McCarty,The Plain Dealer
November 23, 2009, 7:00PM

Buckeye, believed to be one of the country's oldest and most prolific peregrine falcons, died last week after apparently striking a building near its urban nest on the Terminal Tower.

A woman walking at the intersection of West Third Street and Huron Avenue discovered the injured male on the sidewalk and called Harvey Webster, director of wildlife resources at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.  Webster said the unidentified woman managed to scoop up the bird and rush it to the museum. But Buckeye was dead by the time she arrived, said Webster, the overseer of the falcons' nesting box 12 floors above Public Square.

"He had a heck of a life and an incredible run during his 12 years on the Terminal Tower," Webster said.

Buckeye was 14 years old, having hatched in 1996 atop the Rhodes Office Tower in downtown Columbus. Officers with Ohio's Division of Natural Resources attached an identifying leg band on the chick before he left the nest.  As an adult, he flew north and spent two years on the Case Western Reserve University campus before pairing up with a female, Zenith, on the downtown Cleveland skyscraper.  In 2001, a second female, hatched in Pittsburgh and identified only as S/W, arrived in Cleveland and killed Zenith. She then joined Buckeye at the nest.

Between the two females, Buckeye sired 34 peregrine chicks, an amazing accomplishment for a species that was endangered for decades, Webster said.  Buckeye was getting old, but he hadn't missed a beat incubating the eggs or providing food for his chicks, Webster said.   Webster speculated that Buckeye's fatal collision might have come during an aerial battle with another male. The falcons can dive at up to 200 mph.

The males may have been battling for S/W's affections. The past weekend, downtown falcon watchers had observed S/W in the company of a new male. He has a leg band, but no one has been able to read its identification numbers yet.  Webster said Cleveland's falcon enthusiasts aren't as willing as S/W to adopt the interloper. They had become attached to Buckeye over the years, and have been mourning, he said. Many Buckeye fans have been posting tributes on-line, and Scott Wright -- who dubbed him "Mr. B" -- downloaded dozens of photographs that he shot of the bird from close range.

To read the tributes and see the photos, visit the museum's falcon Web site at www.falconcam-cmnh.org.

Buckeye was actually born in 1996, so he was 13 years old.  He was an extremely handsome tiercel, with a very expressive face.

A few photos of "Mr. B" by Scott Wright:

 

 

 

 

 

Scott has posted many, many beautiful photos on this thread:  http://www.falconcam-cmnh.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?48017.40

[Alison]

This is absolutely devastating news. I cannot believe that Buckeye, one of the most beloved of all peregrines, is gone. He will be remembered as one of the truly great tiercels: a wonderful father, an exceptional mate for SW, so protective of his family.

It would seem that there must have been a territorial battle - Buckeye was far too intelligent, and far too familiar with his surroundings, to collide with a building otherwise.

I am grateful to the woman who tried to save Buckeye. It was a kind thing for her to do.

This whole situation is just heartbreaking. I never had the privilege of seeing Buckeye in person, but I will never forget him.   

I will post some photos of Buckeye. I'm not at home right now to access my archives.

[The Peregrine Chick]

Either could certainly be the case Carly.  Even during a half-hearted dog-fight* accidents can happen in a highly urbanized environment.  We have found that the winds are very fluky (changeable, gusty, etc) in and around our tall buildings downtown and it would be the same where Buckeye lived I'm sure.  A moment's inattention while keeping an eye on a potential rival could have been all it took.  Or some male bluster while fancy-flying with a windshift could have thrown him against a building. 

Perhaps after the necropsy, there will be some more information - the primary location of the injury might suggest a cause.


* I say half-hearted because I'm not sure how intense non-breeding season territorial battles are - I suspect that some are much more territorial than others depending on the individual birds involved.  I have noticed that outside the breeding season here, our birds (who are distinctly territorial) are much more laid-back, vigilant, but not so quick to respond with deadly intent

[carly]

There are reports of a new adult male in the area, he was seen with SW yesterday afternoon and some photos are now up on CMNH board of him from a distance with SW, he was displaying some fancy flying and SW bowing to him as he approached.  Only speculation as no one saw what happened that has yet come forward but him losing his territory makes more sense to me - although it still sucks - than a falcon with his experience just accidently hitting the building.

[birdcamfan]

Oh poop! There has been so many of these sad reports this year. Poor guy, probably didn't know what hit him.