Workers in a downtown office tower are keeping a watchful eye on the building's latest tenants, a pair of peregrine falcons.
After evading wildlife officials for more than a year, Falcor and Falcar have been spotted nesting on a roof of the Chemed Center at 255 Fifth St. The rare birds are guarding a nest with three eggs. The peregrines were introduced into downtown Cincinnati seven years ago as part of a state recovery program to boost their numbers. They had nested at the Fourth and Vine Tower, but bird watchers lost track of them in 1997.
They were spotted earlier this month on a 26th-floor balcony of the Chemed building. And on Wednesday, the same day federal officials proposed that peregrines and 28 other plants and animals be removed from the federal endangered list, staff set up a video camera so lobby visitors could peek at the nest.
"There's a lot of people stopping by, just to see how they are doing," said John Heiser, who mans the lobby desk with the video monitor. The eggs are seen resting on a small gravel portion of the balcony, with the falcons taking turns watching over them.
Mr. Heiser worked at Fourth and Vine, formerly the Central Trust Tower, when the falcons nested there, and has become a sort of amateur peregrine expert. It's a coincidence that the falcons followed him to the Chemed building, he said.
The peregrine is a crow-sized bird with a wingspan of up to 44 inches. They are the fastest birds known, capable of reaching speeds of about 200 miles per hour while diving, said Rick Jasper, wildlife management assistant supervisor for the Division of Wildlife, Ohio Department of Natural Resources in Xenia.
The bird was a Midwestern victim of pollution. There were none known to be in the state about 1990. There are now 10 known nesting pairs in Ohio, Mr. Jasper said. That includes a pair recently spotted near Cleves.
The peregrine recovery program has been one of the most successful, Mr. Jasper said. And if they are removed from the federal endangered species list, they will continue to be a protected animal under federal and state laws. Ohio still considers the bird endangered, Mr. Jasper said.
Also to be considered for removal from the federal endangered list is the bald eagle. It too will still be protected by the state, and it will still be against federal law to hunt the birds or disturb their nests.
The state peregrine program introduced the falcons to downtown skyscrapers because they resemble the rocky cliffs of the bird's natural habitat. A box prepared with a few inches of gravel was used as a nest at Fourth and Vine. But the peregrines are attracted to the Chemed building's roof, which has gravel for drainage, Mr. Jasper said.
The 27th-floor office of Ann Mawicke, a manager at CSC Consulting, overlooks their Chemed nest. The image in the lobby monitor is from a camera mounted on her office window. Keeping tabs on the falcons has become a regular duty, she said.
"They are fascinating animals," she said. Along with the video monitor, the company is planning to put the nesting image on the Internet, she said. And people are always asking about the birds.
The three eggs inside are expected to hatch around May 23, Mr. Jasper said. The young will then spend about 6-7 weeks in the nest, with the falcons, and the Chemed tenants keeping watch.
