Peregrine Falcons: Taunton Green

March 11, 2018 in Peregrine Falcons Eastern Massachusetts, Peregrine Falcons Massachusetts

_W7I1441-001Made a short visit to downtown Taunton to look for the local pair of Peregrine Falcons.  They popped up right away in flight mode over Taunton Green, and then on one of nearby buildings.  After watching a bit, the the female landed on a roof level, rounded granite post and called out to the nearby male.  A few moments later, he swooped in, and started copulation sequence.

In this instance, the male falcon mounted from flight onto female. Typically, as the male prepares to mount, the female sleeks feathers, crouches, and leans forward, and may move her tail up and to side. During copulation, the female is normally at an angle of about 45° with wings slightly lifted and extended (from elbow), sometimes tail partly spread. The male makes every effort to maintain an upright position throughout copulation by flapping wings high above body and balancing on his tarsi with closed toes and feet turned inward. During copulation, the male’s neck is extended and curved; he chitters while she gives copulatory wail.

_W7I2039-001After about ten seconds, the male departed and landed at a nearby perch, while the female remained atop the granite post, then departed and perched atop proximate rooftop

Known breeding pair in downtown Taunton; banded female and unbanded male;                                                                                                                                                    Band numbers: 1687-01294, and 64/V black over green                                                                                                                                                                                                    Banding date and location: May 20, 2008, NY, Long Island, Nassau Co.                                                                                                                                                                      Sex: Female

Reference cited:

White, Clayton M., Nancy J. Clum, Tom J. Cade and W. Grainger Hunt. 2002. Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus), version 2.0. In The Birds of North America (P. G. Rodewald, editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bna.660

Peregrine Falcons: Taunton Green

October 15, 2017 in Peregrine Falcons Eastern Massachusetts

_W7I0376-001The pair of Peregrine Falcons in downtown Taunton remain close to each other in the off season.  On most visits, it is easy to locate and observe both adults from Taunton Green and other nearby vantage points.  They remain active and engage in territorial defense of their home territory.  After arrival, the male was found perched atop one of the granite turrets on the Courthouse and launched into flight mode.  Soon after, the female landed on an upper granite ledge and extended her left leg just enough to allow positive ID of her left leg color-coded band.

Here is male launching into flight mode!

_W7I0584-001The black/green left leg band revealed the alphanumeric code: 64/V; Banding date and location: May 20, 2008, NY, Long Island, Nassau Co., East Meadow, Nassau University Medical Center.