06.12.07
Protective parents part II
I’ve already posted photos about the falcons that have nested in UT’s clock tower, but it turns out I was wrong about their two eggs. In fact there were three.
All of them have since hatched and some naturalists from the ODNR came out to take some blood samples and put numbered bands on each chick’s leg. It sounds simple, right? While geese are ill-tempered when it comes to protecting their young, at least they don’t have incredibly sharp talons to worry about.
As it turns out, there was no drama. No screeching death plunge from the skies. I’m not saying the female falcon wasn’t really pissed off, because she was. We were safe mainly because the construction of the tower kept her from getting a clear shot at us. The most danger to any of us was from a heart attack while climbing up and down the stairs to the top of the 205 foot tower… twice.
I’ve been told that objects like the front of a big lens appear like huge hungry mouths to small animals. Have you ever heard a baby falcon scream? (Photos by Daniel Miller)
The angry female falcon perches on one of the stone gargoyles of UT’s clock tower.