Current Salt Lake City date & time: February 09, 7:53 pm

HE FAMOUS peregrine pair have decided to nest, again, on the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Their eggs began hatching over the Memorial Day weekend, and now the parents are tending the young birds.

The first flights

The flight training period has begun — and a little early too!

The first male took his first flight on the morning of Monday, June 29. His initial flight was a little bumpy — he ended up in a flower bed — but after a check-up and an all-clear, the bird was taken to the top of the building where he could continue his flight training.

The second bird joined his brother soon after. He took his first flight early on Wednesday, July 1. Later in the afternoon, the Watchpost and Rescue Team picked up the bird, examined him and placed him back on the top of the building so that he could resume his flight training.

Both birds have had a number of good flights around the area since. They are doing well, even after one of the birds had a collision with an antenna on top of the tallest Church office building. If you'd like to see the two young birds for yourself, head downtown in the evening. Volunteers report that the flights from 6:00 p.m. until dusk are usually the best.

Identification tips

Although the sexes are outwardly similar, there are a few differences. If you would like to identify the adults more easily, here are a few tips.

The male tiercel, or tercel, is generally one-fourth to one-third smaller in size than the female. He typically appears darker in color and his malars (the dark wedge below the eye) are broader with rounded tips.

The female falcon appears grayer and has narrow malars with pointy tips. The buff-colored area at the tip of her tail is wider than the male's.

Camera 1
Camera 2

Peregrine information

Peregrine falcons do not build nests from grass or twigs. Usually, they create a scrape (a shallow depression in the substrate) on ledges, cliffs, or — in this case — a high, protected spot on a downtown Salt Lake City building. Once a nesting site is established, it may be reused year after year, although alternative sites have been utilized as well.

Peregrine falcons have used nesting locations in downtown Salt Lake City since 1984. With the help of the Salt Lake City Peregrine Falcon Watchpost Team members, a number of birds have survived flight training and successfully learned to fly. From 1986 through 1990 and 1995, 11 of 14 young learned to fly and dispersed to the wild. From 2004 through 2008, eight of 11 young successfully departed to wilder haunts. From 1991 through 1993, five of six young reached the flying stage and dispersed from a cliff nest site located just north of the downtown area.

Peregrines are hunters extraordinaire that prey almost exclusively on birds caught in mid-air. Considered one of the world's fastest animals, peregrines can reach speeds of up to 200 miles per hour during vertical dives. The pigeon population of downtown Salt Lake City provides ample food, but, through the years, more than 35 other bird species have fallen prey to these magnificent, awe-inspiring flyers. Many falcon prey species are not normally found in urban environments, which indicates that the falcons forage within and beyond the confines of the big city.

The peregrine falcon was removed from the federal Endangered Species List in 1999. The Utah peregrine population is recovering statewide, and the species continues to enjoy protection under Utah State Code and the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Two of the three North American subspecies can be seen in Utah. The continental form, subspecies anatum, is a Utah nester that can be seen year round. The tundra form, subspecies tundrius, is a migrant that can be seen during the spring and fall

More information:

• Peregrine falcon facts
• Wikipedia