The Sloop's Newest Neighbor? Where are the Peregrine Falcon's Nesting?

We need your help! Stephanie Ware (a reader, Field Museum employee and fellow Slooper) recently reached out to us about helping her program find a new resident to the South Loop, the Peregrine Falcon. They've been spotted in the South Loop (around 14th and Wabash), but they're specifically trying to determine where or IF these Falcons have chosen a new nesting site in the neighborhood:

Hi There,

I work with a program that monitors the Peregrine Falcon population here in Chicago. Two years ago, a pair of peregrines new to the Chicago region tried to nest on the Field Museum, but they were unsuccessful. They returned the following year and, after laying a few eggs in a precarious location on the museum, tried to set up shop at a construction site in the south loop. That nest failed as well.

The pair is back this year and we have been tracking them since early March. However, we haven't been able to determine where or IF they have chosen a new nesting site. At this point in the season, this pair will have likely laid eggs and they should be hatching in the next couple of weeks. We would like to find them in order to put leg bands on the chicks and record the identities of the adults.

Peregrines nest on cliff ledges, so our wild urban population makes fine use of the ledges on Chicago's taller buildings as nesting sites. Residents of those buildings may see the adults frequently and we would love to hear about those sightings. Perhaps your readers may be of some assistance. If you would consider posting a picture of a peregrine on your blog and mention my email address (sware@fieldmuseum.org), that would give people an easy place to report those sightings. I have been seeing them most frequently in the area of 14th and Wabash.

I have attached a picture I took last year of the museum's adult male, which should provide ample information regarding physical characteristics.

Thank you for your consideration!

Stephanie Ware
Collections Assistant, Insect Division
Secretary, Scholarship Committee
Member, Chicago Peregrine Program
Zoology Department
The Field Museum
1400 S. Lake Shore Dr.
Chicago, IL 60605-2496
sware@fieldmuseum.org

For those of you who don't know, the Peregrine Falcon is Chicago's official bird. For more information about the bird you can check out Stephanie's blog or this article.

Keep your eyes peeled to the sky and hopefully we can help figure out where the Falcons are nesting!