Fowl event riles falcons, chicks
Banding day for Indy's falcons
By Amy Bartner
amy.bartner@indystar.comAlexa, Tetsuko and Morley met their public Friday, and let's just say they were less than enthusiastic about the whole affair.
Registration: DNR research assistant Aaron Holbrook (left) and DNR avian biologist John Castrale banded and catalogued three baby peregrine falcons, including Tetsuko, on Friday in Market Tower in Downtown Indianapolis. - Matt Detrich / The Star
The three peregrine falcon chicks received their identification bands in front of nearly 50 people -- most armed with cameras and plenty of coos -- in a conference room in Downtown Indianapolis' Market Tower.
The falcons' parents, Kinney and Kathy Q, squawked loudly as Department of Natural Resources biologist John Castrale went out on the ledge on the 31st floor to retrieve the 3-week-old chicks for their banding.
"They're screaming," he said. "They know we're coming."
Minutes later, he and his crew returned with a white paint bucket holding the three shrieking chicks. One by one, Castrale fastened two bands to each of the birds' talons: one with a unique identification number, and another recognizable from afar. Castrale then took a little blood for DNA research and dusted the birds for mites.
"We're taking a little blood test here so if he ever goes on 'The Maury Povich Show,' we can test paternity," Castrale said, laughing.
Finally, just before noon, he returned the birds to their nest as the angry parents circled the building.
Kinney, who just turned 13, has produced 42 falcon chicks in his life.
"That's top five in all the Midwestern birds," Castrale said. "He's a stud."
This is the 12th year the DNR has monitored falcons Downtown in an effort to boost the population in Indiana. There are 13 pairs of peregrine falcons in Indiana, which is significant considering they were almost wiped out by pesticides. The falcons are no longer on the endangered species list.
Katherine Shelby, who works on the 25th floor of Market Tower, watches Kinney and Kathy Q flying several times a week.
"It's fabulous that we've protected this species," she said. "It's also amazing that they've adapted to our environment with the tall buildings."