For Bird Banders Atop Philadelphia City Hall, Swooping Talons Are Just Part of the Job
By John McDevitt
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Four baby falcons being raised in a nest on the tower of City Hall were banded today by the state wildlife officers.
As fellow Pennsylvania Game Commission officers stood guard with brooms to keep the mother and father at bay, Art McMorris, who coordinates the banding of all peregrine falcons in the state each spring, crawled out onto the balcony of City Hall's tower and removed four chicks from their nest, built on a wooden platform constructed by humans for that purpose.
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McMorris passed the endangered birds, one by one, to a colleague inside for a medical exam and to be banded.
"Banding is our most important tool for being able to keep track of the population as it recovers," he explained, "so by banding the birds and then identifying them later on, we can tell how long they live. We can find out where they go."
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Today's examination determined there are three females and one male in this year's brood.
And not to worry: the entire family of falcons calmed down shortly after the babies were returned to their nest box.
