Unless you’ve been living under a rock or dwelling on a cliff (more on that later), you have probably heard of the peregrine falcon that has taken up residence at the Richland Bank building on the corner of Park Avenue and Main Street.
And now it needs a name. Help Richland Source and Richland Bank name this new resident of downtown Mansfield by participating in our naming contest (scroll to the bottom of this article). The winner will receive gift certificates to TGI Fridays and BW3 where they might take our new ledge dweller out for a few chicken wings.
Facebook went nuts last night when Gail Laux, Executive Director of the Ohio Bird Sanctuary posted a picture taken by local attorney Jerry Thompson of the firm Spaulding and Kitzler.
Thompson took the photo on Jan. 19, after he noticed fresh remains of a local pigeon at the main entrance of the bank. Upon arriving in his eighth floor office, which faces the square, he heard loud noises and noticed the falcon looking in his window.
“The picture that ended up on Facebook was the fourth one I took. I just kept moving closer and that last shot was from probably two to three feet away.”
Thompson kept the picture as the screensaver on his phone until his wife Jamie of Downtown Mansfield, Inc. passed it on to Laux, who posted it Thursday.
As of Friday, the picture had flown all over the social landscape. A quick check showed over 2,000 likes, and a reach of over 67,000.
Peregrine falcons are cliff-dwelling raptors that feed on other birds. They are sometimes migratory, taking up residence in cities due to the tall buildings (cliffs), and plentiful food supply (pigeons).
They don’t play well with others, either. Should he stay, this falcon and its mate – if there is one – will likely be the only ones in Mansfield. They are very aggressive toward other peregrine falcons, to the point where one will kill another if it senses invasion of territory.
Peregrine falcons were re-introduced to Ohio in 1988 after they suffered due to eating prey tainted with DDT, according to Laux.
The population in Ohio has recovered and is stable and growing.
