Septon recently learned that Eclipse, a peregrine who had successfully nested in our new air quality control system (AQCS) nest box at the Oak Creek Power Plant this year, was trapped inside the waste water building at the site. The falcon couldn’t escape and with options limited, Septon figured he may be able to lure the bird from her perch with a live pigeon.
Septon explains what happened next:
“The plan was to show her the pigeon and then gradually walk back down the stairs, luring her to the ground level where I’d left some doors open for her. But this particular falcon was hungry and had more immediate plans. I’d no more than begun to show her the pigeon when in an instant she left her perch and dove straight down at me, striking and binding to the pigeon that I still held in my right hand. It was a little exciting to say the least, and with my left hand free, I grabbed the peregrine and was able to get her to let go of the pigeon. So, there I stood with an angry peregrine in one hand and a nerve-wracked pigeon in the other. Before things got entirely out of hand, I was able to put the pigeon back in a small cardboard box and wrap the falcon in a yellow rain coat that I conveniently found nearby.”
Septon safely released Eclipse outside, and she is expected to be okay. Septon also was able to return the pigeon to its owner, who had loaned the racing pigeon to Septon for the rescue effort.
Read more about the rescue in this Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article:
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