Palisade Head Peregrine Banding

At Palisade Head, climbers descended the sheer 300-foot cliff to reach an eyrie holding two peregrine falcon chicks. On banding day, a 22-day-old male weighing 447 grams and a 23-day-old female weighing 864 grams were brought safely to the top and banded. The adult male is banded, but so far we have not been able to get a clear view or picture of the multi-colored band in order to identify him. For the past two years, it has been a male identified by the band, Black over Blue 85/U, known as “Kris”. Kris was banded in 2021 and fledged from the Kennedy Creek site, just 5 miles northeast of this site. The adult female, as in the past two years, is unbanded.

Tettegouche State Park staff, including park manager Katie Foshay, observed the process. Over the lake, the adult falcons kept a quiet watch, gliding past while the work was underway. This gallery captures the dramatic setting, the careful teamwork, and the dedication behind peregrine falcon conservation on Lake Superior’s rugged cliffs.

Climbers determine the best route down to the eyrie and get set up.

Climbers preparing for the descent.

Rechecking the route and placement of lines.

Beginning the descent

Eric is working his way down the cliff.

Almost there. You can see the ledge below Eric.

Eric relays that he's made it to the eyrie.

He lets the climbers and banders at the top know how many chicks he sees, so they can prepare.

After taking pictures of the nest site, he carefully places each chick into the backpack.

The backpack has 4 compartments.

Here the second chick is placed into the backpack

Chicks are secured. Eric radios to the top, letting them know the pack is ready

The backpack is on it's way up. Eric will stay below and wait for the pack to be lowered to him after the banding.

At the cliff top, Jim brings up the pack and delivers it to the banders.

The pack is opened to reveal the chicks.

Lots of excited oohs & ahhs as everyone gets their first look at the chicks.

Jackie explains the banding process to the park staff and other observers.

The first chick is weighed.

Next, they look at the tail feathers to determine the age of the chick.

Jackie places bands on the chick

Jackie examines the chick', including determining how much food is in its crop.

Lots of pictures are taken by guest observers and photographers.

The female chick is weighed

Jackie bands the second chick.

Jackie instructs Katie on how to hold the chick.

Katie Foshay, Park Manager holds the female chick

Jackie and Katie holding the peregrine chicks.

The male chick on left weighs 447 grams and the female on right weighs 864 grams

The male peregrine is 22 days old and the female (on right) is 23 days old.

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