Rock City hack box
photo by Ray Helman
Rock City is continuing its partnership with Wings to Soar in an ongoing peregrine falcon restoration project. Two brother peregrines arrived at Rock City on May 27, and were placed in a hack box to prepare for release into the wild at sunrise on Monday. These brother birds, being from the same clutch, are from a breeder in Hastings, Mn. and are 43 days old.
“We are so excited to be partnering once again with Wings to Soar for this year’s peregrine falcon release from Rock City’s Lover’s Leap area,” said Jeff Raabe, director of operations for See Rock City, Inc. “There is much hope that through our ongoing program this beautiful raptor species will once again be repopulated in the Chattanooga and North Georgia area after years of extinction here.”
Wings to Soar has led the falcon program at Rock City since 2006, when the first peregrines Garnet and Frieda were released (named after Rock City’s founders). Since then, eight other peregrines have flown from the hacking site, most of the names chosen by Rock City’s Facebook followers: Rocky, Ted, Zenith, Chatty, Lookout, Fourscore, Orville and Wilbur.
Once again, Rock City has encouraged its social media followers to help name these two birds, and the names chosen this week are: Lewis and Clark. Live from the hack box, viewers can also see the birds anytime on the webcam feed here:www.seerockcity.com/falcons!
John and Dale Stokes with Wings to Soar also host Rock City Raptors Birds of Prey Shows every Friday through Sunday during the summer through Labor Day and daily the week of July Fourth. Find out more at www.seerockcity.com/birds.
2016 male peregrine falcons
photo by Ray Helman