Mayo Clinic welcomes the all-female peregrine falcon class of 2024
May 20—ROCHESTER — On an adventure down from the nesting box on the Mayo Building, the season's peregrine falcon chicks squawked through their "Lion King" moments.
With a health check, bands on their feet and a name, each chick was held above a table and shown off to the audience in the David Geffen Auditorium on Monday. The three chicks, or the class of 2024, were named through community submissions as Onyx, Adira and Heritage. The name Heritage honors the 25th anniversary of Mayo Clinic's Heritage Days organized by Jeanne and Bill Klein.
In partnership with the Midwest Peregrine Society, the Mayo Clinic Peregrine Falcon program started in 1987. Hattie and Orton, the chick's parents, have lived atop the Mayo Building since 2016. Naturalist Jackie Fallon and Katie Burns, with the Midwest Peregrine Society, said the Mayo Clinic program is a story of conservation and a "long-time partner in its recovery success."
The banding allows biologists to identify the birds as well as information on where they travel, their lifespan, their mate and how many chicks they have. The bands will stay on the falcons' feet for the rest of their lives. With about 70 peregrine falcons banded at Mayo, the falcons have nested in places such as Minneapolis and St. Louis, Missouri. Hattie and Orton enjoy scoping out the city from atop the Mayo, Siebens, Plummer and Gonda buildings.
"I banded Hattie and Orton, I've banded every one of their young, I've banded some of their young's young. ... To see that progression and to see all that information come out of one day here in Rochester, Minnesota," Fallon said about the banding data available through the program.
After the four chicks were laid in late March, the youngest and smallest chick died on May 8.
"There are life and death struggles that occur in the natural world, and the camera feed gives us a unique view into this aspect of nature," Fallon shared in a Facebook post. "We hope our viewers can appreciate this chick's life, but move forward and celebrate the remaining three nestlings that are robust, alert, and active in the days and weeks to come."
As an all-female batch, Fallon said the female falcons are larger than males and protect the territory. Female chicks also mature slower than males with their feathers taking longer to come in. The males fly faster and go hunting.
The chicks will grow to adult size over the next three weeks. Their feedings, like the two pigeons and a blackbird they had for breakfast, will continue as the fledglings learn to hunt. Fallon said they will remain in the Rochester area for four to eight weeks.
