Latest batch of falcon chicks banded in downtown Canton

Four peregrine falcon chicks were the star attraction Wednesday afternoon at Chase Tower.

State officials banded each raptor — three females and one male — in front of an audience of about 100 people. Many of those in attendance were students from St. Peter’s School and the Arts Academy at Summit.

Others were local bird watchers and those interested in the unique opportunity to see young falcons up close.

Among those mesmerized by the birds was Dylan Varner, 11.

While employees of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources carefully handled the falcons, Varner stood near the back of the elegant and ornate ball room of The Canton Club Event Center at Chase Tower. Angling for a good view, he frequently snapped photographs of the peregrines.

“My mom, she likes wild animals like penguins and polar bears,” Varner said, explaining his reason for taking photographs. “And plus, we’re doing this project in school for Spanish market day (and he plans to sell the images for a penny apiece to learn about the barter system).”

FALCON PROGRAM

Around May 1, the four chicks hatched in a nest on a ledge on the 14th floor of Chase Tower at the Canton Club at Market Avenue and Tuscarawas Street in downtown Canton.

On Wednesday, Geoff Westerfield, of the Division of Wildlife, donned a helmet, with protective visor, and gloves to temporarily remove the falcon chicks from the nest — a wooden box with gravel on the bottom.

Peregrine falcons first showed up in downtown Canton in the late 1990s, according to the ODNR.

Since 2003, falcon chicks have been hatching in downtown Canton each spring. Nearly 40 falcon nesting sites are scattered throughout the state.

The falcons are banded so they can be identified and tracked as part of the Peregrine Falcon Management Program through the Ohio Division of Wildlife, part of the ODNR.

A blood sample is drawn for genetic analysis and to track possible chemical contaminants.

Peregrine falcons, which were placed on the federal endangered species list in 1970, were released in large Ohio cities between 1989 and the early ’90s. Similar protection and recovery efforts were made throughout the Midwest and eastern U.S.

In 2008, peregrine falcons were downgraded in Ohio from endangered to threatened, said Damon Greer, assistant wildlife management supervisor with the Division of Wildlife’s District Three, based in Akron.

Falcons are “cliff nesters,” Greer said. Downtown buildings serve as nesting spots, as do bridges.

‘ONCE IN A LIFETIME’

Chuck Schuster, general manager of the Canton Club Event Center, invited the school students as an educational opportunity.

Students responded with enthusiasm, finding the young falcons, each covered with fuzzy white down, to be adorable. After the first chick was displayed, children let out a collective, “Ahhh.”

Page 2 of 2 - The mood was fun and festive. Children huddled near the banding area to take photographs and get a closer look.

Jennifer Albrecht, a teacher at the Arts Academy at Summit, said the educational experience was “one of those once in a lifetime opportunities.

“How often do you see the wildlife (officials) actually do the banding and see it up close?” she said.

During the bandings, Rachael Adams, 12, a student at St. Peter, took notes of what she observed for a science class assignment. “You don’t see real animals in the classroom,” she said.