A New Female Falcon in Town
The Baltimore juvenile female as spotted from the window of a DCR office in downtown Richmond. Courtesy photo.
Two peregrine falcons were spotted in downtown Richmond on August 1st, including a new banded juvenile female from Baltimore, Maryland. The new female falcon perched by the windows of the Department of Conservation & Recreation’s (DCR) office where a few observers were able to capture photos of the bird and get a read on her bands, helping DWR to track down her identity. She hatched this year and was banded by a raptor biologist with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on May 25. She fledged from the 33rd floor of a high-rise building in downtown Baltimore. Her black and green bands are numbered 93 and AK, respectively. Her silver USGS band number is 1907-03424.
It’s unknown whether her arrival in Richmond may be temporary or longer term. It’s normal for juvenile peregrine falcons to be dispersing at this time of year, so it’s very possible that she may just be passing through as part of that process. Although, since she was also spotted with another peregrine falcon, it’s also possible that that second bird may have been the Richmond male, which could potentially indicate the start of a new pairing, but this possibility is really just speculation since we don’t have confirmation on that second bird’s identification. We thank DCR staff for sharing their observation with DWR, as the sighting of this new female is an interesting observation that peaks our interest going forward into next year’s falcon cam season.
The Baltimore juvenile female as spotted from the window of a DCR office in downtown Richmond. Courtesy photo.