From penthouse view to penthouse view

Published by Center for Conservation Biology at July 11, 2022

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peregrine falcon

Peregrine falcon with brood of two males and two females. The brood was raised in the planter until it was pulled for banding and translocation. Photo by Reese Lukei, Jr.

By: Bryan Watts
7/10/22

The pair of peregrine falcons that has been inhabiting in a nest box on the roof of the Armada Hoffler Building in the Virginia Beach Town Center since 2016 changed residences during the early spring of 2022. As the theme song to the Jefferson’s TV show says, the birds “moved on up to the top of a deluxe apartment in the sky.” In this case, the birds took up residence on a penthouse balcony of the Westin Virginia Beach Town Center – the tallest building in Virginia.

Peregrine incubating clutch in planter on balcony of the Westin Virginia Beach. Pair moved over to this site from roof of nearby building. From this location the pair had a great vantage point on the city. Photo by Reese Lukei, Jr.

Grand children of Dr. and Mrs. Hambaz look through the bedroom window and watch the falcon pair with young. The family became attached to the falcon family after watching them develop through the spring. Photo by Reese Lukei, Jr.

Reese Lukei, Jr., who monitors the pair, observed them hanging around the balcony in mid-March and confirmed four eggs in a planter on the 18^th of March. Reese met the owners of the residence, Dr. and Mrs. Hambaz, and worked with them to monitor the pair through the season. Hesitant at first, the Hambaz family adopted the pair and in watching their daily lives regularly, becoming very attached. The brood hatched on 18 April and the two males and two females developed normally within the planter. Both adults, including the female from the Jersey Shore (she arrived in 2021 and replaced previous female) and the male from the Eastern Shore of Virginia, were very attentive parents.

Marian Watts and Rolf Gubler carry falcons along the ridge trail to the hack box on Franklin Cliffs in Shenandoah National Park. The birds were hacked as part of a long-term translocation project. Photo by Bryan Watts.

Brood just after placement within the hack box on Franklin Cliffs. The birds were fed quail until release from the box and after release until they dispersed from the area. Photo by Bryan Watts.

The hack box situated on the edge of Franklin Cliffs. From the box the brood had a penthouse view out to the Shenandoah Valley. Photo by Bryan Watts.

For the safety of the family and the brood, we made a decision in early May to move the birds to Franklin Cliffs in Shenandoah National Park. On 17 May, we pulled the birds from the balcony, banded them and drove them to Franklin Cliffs. The birds had been moved from a site with a great view in Virginia Beach to one with a great view in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Rolf Gubler (biologist with NPS), staff and volunteers had prepared the site and met us at Franklin Cliffs to place the birds in the hack box. Rolf and his team would provide food to the birds until their release from the box and then after release until they dispersed from the site. The birds were released on 1 June.

Rolf Gubler gives an educational presentation about peregrine falcons and the restoration program in the park. The hacking program has been used to educate the public about peregrine falcons in the park. Photo from the National Park Service.

Group of visitors assembled in the Franklin Cliffs overlook to hear about peregrine falcons and the hacking program in Shenandoah National Park. Photo from the National Park Service.

The translocation of birds from the coast of Virginia to the mountains has been a long-term, multi-partner program designed to improve the survival of falcons hatched in hazardous settings and to recolonize the historic mountain range. Birds have been moved annually to Shenandoah National Park since 2000 and Rolf has headed up the program since its initiation. In addition to benefiting the birds, the hacking project has been used successfully by the park to educate the public about restoration of falcons in the mountains.