Victoria and Valiant are the two newest additions to Ann Arbor’s peregrine falcon family.
In late May, shortly after the two chicks — one female, one male — hatched in a nesting box on top of North Quad, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources enlisted The University Record and the U-M community to help name the babies.
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More than 1,400 names were submitted online. In addition to the names Victor and Victoria, which were submitted by multiple community members, clever contenders included Feather Locklear, Stephen Squawking, Zinger Man, Miss Kim, and several characters from “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.”
Asking the public to help name new peregrine chicks has been a recent tradition in Ann Arbor. Past chosen monikers have paid tribute to U-M and the Ann Arbor community, including Ann (Arbor), Jim (Harbaugh) and Lloyd (Carr). Three chicks born in 2014 were named Mary, Sue and Coleman in honor of former U-M president Mary Sue Coleman.
Peregrines in Ann Arbor
Local interest in peregrine falcons — and their chicks — began in Ann Arbor in the early 2000s, when a pair of peregrine falcons began perching on the Bell Tower.
At the time, peregrine pairs began showing up in parts of southeast Michigan, sometimes nesting in tall buildings because the falcons couldn’t find cliffs or mountains, their natural nesting sites. Conservationists supported these urban nests because peregrine falcons were on the state’s endangered species list, after being nearly wiped out by DDT pesticide exposure in the mid-century.
Burton Tower, however, proved an unsafe nesting spot because the falcons laid their eggs too close to a gutter, and that didn’t end well for any eggs that rolled. Eventually, the DNR set up a nesting box on top of U-M’s hospital in 2011 and, in 2015 added another on top of North Quad. Today, just the nesting box on North Quad remains.
The first successful hatching occurred in Ann Arbor in 2011 on top of the hospital. From 2011-17, the female in Ann Arbor’s peregrine pair was called Thunderbolt. The male was not identified. Since 2011, new chicks have been born with regularity, with most getting banded by the DNR shortly after hatching.
The banding process — in which a colored and coded band is secured around a chick’s leg — has helped monitor the survival, migration patterns and population growth of peregrines in Michigan. The banding in Michigan began in the 1980s, when peregrine falcons were reintroduced in the state, following the DDT-induced near extinction.
A successful revival
As of last summer, approximately 30 peregrine falcon nests existed statewide, a number that has held steady, said Danielle Durham, the former DNR Southeast Michigan Peregrine Falcon Nest Coordinator who now serves as volunteer nesting coordinator of the state’s southeast region. The number of peregrine falcons in the state of Michigan has also continued to steadily increase over the past 20 years, leading to the species being recategorized as threatened rather than endangered.
Because of this positive trend, the DNR has suspended the official peregrine chick banding program and reallocated resources to other conservation causes. With some support from the Michigan Hawking Club, Durham and other volunteers are continuing to support the nesting and banding of Ann Arbor peregrines.
After Victoria and Valiant learn to fly this summer, Durham said it’s hard to predict where they will go next.
“The word ‘peregrine’ means to wander, and they could end up down south, out west, or they may stay local and attempt to secure a nest site,” she said.
Among Ann Arbor’s recent success stories is Brookie Cookie, a chick born in Ann Arbor several years ago, who is now successfully nesting and reproducing in Mount Clemens.
How to help support local peregrine falcons
Because the DNR is no longer funding the nesting and banding projects, Durham said she does welcome help from the community in monitoring the local peregrine falcons.
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“I appreciate citizen scientists who watch for the falcons and report recent sightings on the eBird digital platform,” she said, adding that including information like the color of the band on the falcon’s leg helps her keep track of locally hatched birds.
Durham also said having a camera on the nesting box on North Quad would make monitoring the falcons easier. She pointed to other cameras across the state, including one on top of Spartan Stadium at Michigan State University, that livestream during nesting season, March through September.
Finally, Durham said the DNR advises that, if you come across a chick on the ground, which can happen as the babies are learning to fly, to contact the DNR Southeast Michigan at 989-313-0283.
