A peregrine falcon named Fourscore now has a bird’s eye view of Chattanooga thanks to the efforts of Rock City Gardens and Save Our American Raptors, which oversees peregrine release projects at Rock City. The falcon, which received its name from Rock City’s Facebook and Twitter followers, darted out of its hack box and into the sky over Scenic City at 6:18 a.m. on June 18. His fans derived his name from the number 80 – the anniversary Rock City is celebrating this year.
Fourscore was born to a two-year-old mother and a father hatched in 2007 on the SunTrust building in Atlanta. Due to the inexperience of the female, the male incubated the two eggs they produced and then hunted for the birds one they’d hatched. While the female brooded the young, when it came time for her to join her mate in providing food for them, she only hunted for herself. Eventually, the father could no longer provide enough food for the growing birds.
According to Greg Greer, who had been observing the nest at the Manhattan Condos, the young left the nest sooner than they should have, probably due to hunger. One was killed in traffic. Greer marked the location of where the second one went, but couldn’t find it until the next day.
Greer took the peregrine to a rehab center, where it spent a few days, and then delivered it to Rock City, where John and Dale Stokes of Save Our American Raptors placed it in a hack box and began preparing it for release into the wild.
John is tracking the bird in the hopes of providing a good report on its well-being. “Let’s hope he does well. At least for now, he has a second chance,” he said.
The peregrine release program is an ongoing project for Rocky City. Save Our American Raptors oversees the program.