March 9, 2021: Nina, Newman, and Nova
Channel: Raptor Resource Project
Date: 2021-03-10

On March 9 at about 6:37am central time, GSB watchers witnessed a peregrine falcon territorial battle. Unbanded resident female Nova showed up after a three-day absence and chased interloper Nina away after a brief but very intense battle. She stuck around for a little bit, although Newman was joined later that day by an unbanded female after Nova disappeared again. 

What will happen next? Neither falcon appeared to be seriously injured in the fight. They could reappear here, try to take a different nest (the La Crosse US Bank nest box is the closest, at five miles away), or skip breeding entirely this year.  Diurnal raptor migration is in full swing right now, but it should ebb in a couple of weeks, at which point things will settle down. We believe that the falcons will be productive, although the turmoil could push GSB's schedule back even if Nova reappears to claim the box. 

Why didn't Newman defend either female? Female falcons [falcons] are about a third bigger than males [tiercels]. It would be very risky for a male to take on a larger female, especially at close quarters, so males usually fight males and females usually fight females. 

To learn more about falcons in general and GSB in particular, follow this link: https://www.raptorresource.org/2021/03/08/peregrine-falcons-great-spirit-bluff-lifestyles-of-the-fast-and-furious/. To learn more about our work with peregrine falcons, check out our banding reports and papers: https://www.raptorresource.org/about-us/annual-reports-and-papers/.

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