Curious Iowa: What happened to downtown Cedar Rapids’ peregrine falcons?

Iowa’s first peregrine falcon recovery project launched in 1989 in Cedar Rapids. That year, 10 peregrine falcons were hacked, or released into the wild.

Roy Porterfield of Cedar Rapids wondered what happened to those falcons. So, he wrote to Curious Iowa, a Gazette series that answers readers’ questions about our state, its people — and in this case, its raptors.

To answer Portfield’s question, we dug into The Gazette archives, finding dozens of “Falcon Watch“ updates, and spoke with experts about the current status of peregrine falcons in Iowa.

When were peregrine falcons listed as endangered — and why?

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The use of the insecticide DDT wiped out peregrine falcons in the eastern half of the United States by 1964. Although, Iowa’s last peregrine falcon was documented in 1956. The Gazette previously reported that DDT was ingested by small birds through contaminated insects. Then, birds of prey became contaminated after eating smaller birds. The chemical led to female falcons laying calcium-weak eggs.

“Seemingly healthy adults were sitting on eggs and breaking them just with the weight of their body,” Amy Ries of the Decorah-based Raptor Resource Project, said. “So it took a while for us to figure it out because it’s not like the peregrine itself disappeared from the sky, but suddenly they started dwindling.”

Ultimately, eggshells from the early 1900s, conserved at the Chicago Field Museum, were used to determine the eggs were thinning, Ries said.

In 1970, the U.S. Department of Interior listed peregrine falcons as endangered. In 1972, a year before Congress adopted the Endangered Species Act, DDT was banned. Experts say that because DDT was banned, peregrine falcons were able to be recovered, though it would take cross-country efforts to re-establish the raptor and save it from extinction.

In 1989, Cedar Rapids’ present-day Verizon building, 500 Second Ave. SE, became the site of such efforts.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ Peregrine Project set out to hack peregrine falcons in the city. Cedar Rapids was chosen because it was close to historic peregrine nesting areas along the cliffs at Palisades-Kepler State Park. Plus, the city was relatively free from great-horned owls, which prey on falcon chicks.

Iowa DNR Wildlife Diversity Biologist Stephanie Shepherd said that in urban areas where nests sit atop tall buildings, there are fewer predation risks.

The project’s first year cost $22,000 with the chicks priced at $2,000 a piece. The project was underwritten by the regular nongame DNR project budget, which was funded through taxpayer donations through the Chickadee Checkoff. The peregrine project also was supported by an Iowa Wildlife Federation donation.

How were peregrine falcons raised in downtown Cedar Rapids?

While this might be a refresher for longtime Cedar Rapids residents and dedicated birders, here’s a crash course in hacking falcons in urban areas.

The first batch of peregrine falcon chicks was hatched in Minnesota. After arriving in Cedar Rapids, they were placed in a large wooden box, called a hack box, on top of the present-day Verizon building on 2nd Avenue and 5th Street SE. The chicks were fed and closely monitored. They stayed in the box for about a week before their flight feathers came in.

“Everybody was excited about it. You’ve got this really cool bird and they have star power, right?” Ries said. “Like they have it all, they look great, especially when they’re in their early reproductive phase. They scream through the sky when the young hatch and then fledge, that’s super fun to watch. They have it all.”

The peregrines were monitored closely by Iowa DNR staff, who did not name the birds but referred to them by markings put on the birds by wildlife specialists.

On Aug. 18, 1989, the oldest of the peregrines, “Right green male,” made its first kill, a little less than a month after arriving in the city. While the DNR falcon watchers weren’t expecting the peregrines to hunt smaller birds for a few more weeks, they weren’t surprised as “Right green male” was adventurous from the start.

“Left Green female” stopped traffic when she fell off the roof and into an intersection before she had learned to fly. “Left Green” was rescued and given an elevator ride back up to the roof.

A total of 10 birds were hacked the first year and eight survived. Sixty to 70 percent of chicks are expected to die their first year of life. If they make it past that, the survival rate is about 80 percent.

All but one of the birds migrated in the winter. Typically peregrines migrate in late August or early September, traveling as far Central or South America. Although, “Left Green” was found spending its winter in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1991.

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In July 1990, The Gazette reported that one of the male peregrines hacked in Cedar Rapids the year before was spotted in Minneapolis. The bird’s identity was confirmed by the falcon’s band number. This marked the first time a bird raised in Cedar Rapids had been identified in another area of the country.

The first year of the program, there were concerns in the community about the falcons killing off pigeons and songbirds. The Iowa DNR maintains that the peregrine population has never threatened the populations of the birds that they feed on. Peregrines eat the equivalent of two blackbirds a day. A blackbird weighs between 2.8 and 4.4 ounces, and a pigeon weighs between 8.4 to 13 ounces.

However, downtown pigeons took notice of the raptors. When DNR falcon observer Dave Conrads arrived in Cedar Rapids in July 1989, more than 90 pigeons perched atop the Roosevelt Hotel. By Sept. 2, just a handful roosted there. Conrads suspected the pigeons relocated away from the falcons’ nest.

“The falcons haven’t eaten all these pigeons,” Conrads told The Gazette. “It was more a case of intimidation.”

Thirteen more chicks were hacked in 1990 and 11 survived. In 1991, the DNR moved the project to Des Moines.

Peregrine Falcon Facts

Peregrine falcons plunge on prey, like crows, sparrows, doves, pigeons, starlings and blue jays and can reach speeds of up to 260 mph while diving.

Peregrines have a wingspan between 2.4 and 3.9 feet.

They are very territorial and space their nests at least one mile apart.

They can live 12-15 years.

Source: Iowa Department of Natural Resources

What happened to the peregrines?

On May 15, 1992, two peregrines made up Cedar Rapids’ hottest “it couple.” The pair was seen together near a nesting box on the present-day U.S. Bank Building.

That year, another pair of peregrines was expecting in Des Moines and the male was believed to be from the 1990 Cedar Rapids stocking. The female was believed to be from the 1991 stocking in Des Moines. On May 28, 1993, three chicks hatched in Des Moines, making them the first chicks to be hatched in the wild in Iowa in 30 years.

Soon after, on June 8, a pair hatched in Cedar Rapids and peregrine fever hit the city. Adult falcons are more likely to return when they have successful nests. So when one of the chicks died, apparently from hypothermia, a replacement hatched in captivity was brought in. The local chick attempted to attack its new nestmate several times.

More drama came while the youngest learned to fly. On July 15, 1993, The Gazette reported the 5-week-old bird ended up in the clinic twice. A few security officers at the bank building joked that they wanted to attach a bungee cord to the bird so they wouldn’t have to locate it each time it landed in the street. But by July 23, it had learned to fly.

On April 29, 1994, a female peregrine had returned to Cedar Rapids to nest again. According to the Iowa DNR, 169 peregrines reared in captivity were released in Iowa by 2003. This contributed to the 875 peregrines released across the Midwest from regional restoration efforts.

What is the status of peregrine falcons today?

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The American peregrine falcon was removed from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s list of endangered and threatened species in 1999. That year, the first pair of peregrines made themselves at home on their historic nesting grounds along the Mississippi River bluffs.

“They are still a species that we monitor of course because we put, and not just us the DNR, but like lots of people in the state put in a lot of effort to bring them back,” Shepherd said.

According to the Iowa DNR’s 2023 Nesting Report, there are 15 active nests and 4 inactive nests. Peregrine nesting in Iowa typically occurs in urban areas, Mississippi River bluff faces, or on energy plant towers.

Today, the nest atop the U.S. Bank building in downtown Cedar Rapids is gone, Ries said. It was removed because the falcons were “pretty aggressive.” Ries said there are still peregrines present near the building and “acting territorial,“ but their nest has not been located.

Ries said it’s important to pay attention to species in urban industrial environments. Peregrines require a very specific habitat and can be supported through nest boxes and nesting programs.

“I think it’s really important maybe to pay more attention to that and to see what we can do to support species, especially these keystone species like the peregrine falcon in this kind of environment because we need to learn how to get along with and promote these species,” Ries said. “If we take away all their habitat and we don’t make room for them, we also don’t make room for us.”

The recovery of the peregrine falcon has been revered as an epic success story.

“They were kind of the beneficiaries of this looking into chemicals and … drawing that connection of science and research and then taking steps to protect them by banning this chemical,” Shepherd said. “And that it really worked with a little bit of help from people who cared about them.”

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Comments: bailey.cichon@thegazette.com