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DNR Banding Des Moines Peregrine Falcons 11 a.m. June 3
Posted: June 2, 2009

DES MOINES - The Iowa Department of Natural Resources will be banding peregrine falcons at the American Republic Insurance building at 11 a.m., on June 3. The banding will take place in the courtyard area. American Republic Insurance building is located at 601 6th Ave., in downtown Des Moines.

The young peregrines have matured to their third week and weigh between 500 and 750 grams. With birds of prey, males are one-third smaller than females, thus male falcons are called tiercels.

The Downtown Des Moines School has adopted the peregrine falcon as its mascot and students are anxious to attend the banding of these top-of-the-food-chain birds.

The young falcons can be viewed walking along the building's ledge as their feathers grow on the DNR's falcon cam at www.iowadnr.gov. They may not be in camera view at all times in the future. Their wing exercises will progress until their first flight attempts at about 40 days of age.

The adult falcons originated at Omaha in 2004 and from NSP Riverside power plant near Minneapolis in 2003.

Around the state two falcons have been banded in Cedar Rapids and two in the Quad Cities. The status of falcons at Alliant Energy Plant near Chillicothe will be determined on June 4.

On June 5 at 8:30 a.m., falcon young will banded at two natural or historic falcon cliffs in northeast Iowa. Bob Anderson and Dave Kester with Raptor Resource Project will join falcon enthusiasts at Leo's Bluff just upstream from Waukon Junction on Hwy. 76, in Allamakee County. The banding crew plans to then go across the Mississippi River to band falcons at cliffs near Lynxville, Wis. Then the party plans to return to a cliff just south of Lansing, Iowa to band young at that historic cliff about 1 p.m.

Nest week the DNR will schedule a time and date to band young at Iowa's newest site in McGregor. And on June 24, a public event will be hosted at the Iowa State Capitol to view young fledglings at that site. It will be on the east side of the Capitol at 11 a.m. There will not be any banding of young falcons at the Capitol due to liability concerns. Watch for more falcon updates in the coming days as this dynamic raptor resource flies across our landscape.