Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2013 9:41 am
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 A tribute to Lil Dad from the Falcon Wire:
3/19/2021 :: A Tribute to W/V
Based on inquiries and conversations with the Falcon Watch and Rescue volunteers, W/V impacted legions of followers. In recognition of the life of an amazing falcon, this update shares some wonderful anecdotes on W/V.
Renee Larry, longtime falcon watcher and DEP employee, shared that she considers W/V a legend. Having watched him for 16 years, she often would observe from the windows near the 15th floor ledge as W/V would provide multiple food drops to get the female off the eggs so he could assist with incubation. Through her experiences with W/V, Renee was able to make friends from around the world that shared her passion for falcons.
Jane Barnette, another veteran Falcon Watch and Rescue volunteer, shared that she would often go to downtown Harrisburg just to watch W/V in flight. Over the years she observed W/V bringing food to the ledge when the newly arrived hatchlings were still wet. In 2012, when the female disappeared, W/V tended to two young falcons on his own. She also fondly remembered a night when W/V was on a favorite perch, the Market Square Presbyterian Church steeple, while numerous people with cameras that night scrambled to get a picture of W/V outlined against the moon. Jane also commented that the mold was definitely broken when W/V hatched. To her and many others, they will forever cherish having him grace downtown Harrisburg for 16 wonderful years.
Falcon Watch and Rescue Volunteer Coordinator Sue Hannon shared some thoughts too. "A few years ago, I went downtown on a Sunday afternoon a few days before Watch and Rescue was due to begin," Hannon said. "The chicks were on the ledge and W/V flew to the short ledge around the column, loudly calling on his approach. Once he had the young falcons' attention, W/V called out and flew to the steeple across the street, perching there for a moment before flying back to the ledge. He continued this back and forth repeatedly over the next hour, demonstrating flight and landing skills for his young to observe. I had seen the adults do flybys and withhold food to encourage fledging. I had never witnessed a lesson like this before, or since. A week later, the red-banded fledgling completed a three-day odyssey after leaving the ledge by dropping neatly onto the steeple, exactly as her father had demonstrated, before making the short straight flight back to the ledge." Sue added that she loved to watch him fly at high speed directly at 333 Market Street, then at the last second, bank hard and shoot straight up the side like a rocket launching.
According to the records compiled by Sue Hannon from 2005-2020, W/V was responsible for 69 eggs. 54 chicks fledged, and there were six offspring that nested, producing 160 grandchildren with three grandchildren occupying known nesting sites. A remarkable contribution to the recovery of peregrine falcons in the Commonwealth!
Falcon Program Coordinator with the PA Game Commission and Biologist Dr. Art McMorris also shared some insight on W/V. "I remember W/V as aggressive and wily; an excellent hunter; and a vigorous protector of his territory, mate and young," said McMorris. "Each year the male peregrine does all the hunting and provides all the food for his mate and his voraciously hungry young from the time before the first egg is laid until the time the young are about half-grown. That's food for a hungry adult and often four nestlings, and even five on two occasions. Because of the skill required, male peregrines typically nest for the first time at age 3, but W/V started at age 2, with three successful young in that year. Often the female is the more aggressively defensive parent around the nest, but not so with W/V; he was as aggressive as his famously aggressive mates (he had three different mates over the years). And he was clever: while I was out on the ledge to bring in the nestlings for examination and banding, with the female flying at me from one direction, W/V would zoom in from the opposite direction and stay hidden against a wall or behind a column until the last second, and whack me from behind. That's the kind of spunk that makes a successful peregrine dad!"
Falcon Wire wants to thank each of these individuals for sharing their experiences. There is closure since the body of W/V was recovered and his legacy will live indefinitely. W/V was a falcon's falcon!
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Thank you, Loza! And thanks for letting us know your journey and how you arrived here. I did not know that. It seems this nest has brought in so many followers! I am aware that Lil Dad's reign here began in 2005 when he nested with "Mom", although I did not have the privilege of seeing her, I am very aware of her from comments made or photos shared. I am also, very aware of Wars who I did not see while he was living, but became aware of him through your pics and comments at Warsaw. I was then able to follow Sawa for a short period before her death, because of you. It was heartbreaking when Sawa died in that manner. And then there was Bielany the nest of Franek and Forrest with young, when he met Giga at the Palace of Culture in Warsaw and then started flying the 20 mile distance between the 2 sites to feed his family and court Giga, his mistress and mate to be ...
