Downtown Spokane Cuisine Suits Falcon

The skies still are not particularly friendly over Spokane.

One of the peregrine falcons that nested in Spokane this summer was recently spotted downtown with a feast. The banded adult falcon had taken a gull in mid-air. The falcon was taking its meal on the rim of the Parkade when photographed by Adam Musa of Huppin’s Photo.

The falcon apparently is one of two banded adults that reared three chicks from the Sunset Highway bridge over Hangman Creek this summer.

Birders using high-powered scopes could read numbers on the bands earlier this year as the peregrines fed their young. Bill Heinrick of the World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise confirmed that the two adults were captive-raised peregrines that had been released as fledglings near the Clark Fork River delta around 1994.

The peregrine falcon was listed as an endangered species in 1970. Thanks to captive breeding programs and the ban on DDT 25 years ago, the falcon’s recovery throughout North America is nearly complete

Young captive-raised peregrine falcons that were released from the Washington Water Power building near Riverfront Park in 1988, 1989 and 1990 have not been seen for years, Heinrick said. No one knows if they produced nesting pairs.

It’s unclear how strong the migration instinct will be in the falcons that settled in Spokane this summer. Some could remain here while others head south as far as Mexico. But that might not necessarily spell relief for downtown birds.

Kestrels that have been making the city their home for years continue to terrorize sparrows and other small birds above the streets. They nests in various tall structures, including the Paulsen Building.

Two weeks ago, a pigeon crashed into the Huppin’s store window, followed in quick succession by the thump of a falcon. Both birds died at the scene.

The falcon was not positively identified, although it was smaller than a peregrine, Musa said.

Since a kestral is not likely to take on prey as large as a pigeon, some local falconers believe the dead falcon could have been a sharp-skinned hawk or one of several merlins seen migrating through the area recently.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo