Learn all about peregrine falcons and other raptors at the special Falcon Focus video website developed by the GreenTreks Network.

Watch video features on the Return of the Raptor, The Falcon Story and the banding of peregrine falcons nesting on the Rachel Carson Building in Harrisburg.

Also featured are special webpages for students and a message board for asking questions of other falcon watchers.

Take time to check in on the peregrine falcons nesting on the Rachel Carson Building.

You can also check in on the pair of falcons nesting on the Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh sponsored by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy which typically lay their eggs before the Harrisburg pair.

Redtail Hawk Loses Battle with Female Falcon on Rachel Carson Building

The “turf war” between the female Peregrine falcon that resides in a nest on the Rachel Carson Building in Harrisburg and a large redtail hawk that has been seen in Capitol Park challenging the falcon’s home territory, is now over.

On March 14, the female falcon and the hawk engaged in an aerial battle, according to the Department of Environmental Protection. While the hawk was larger in size than the falcon, the falcon’s speed and cunning was no match. The falcon forced the hawk into a wall of the Capitol parking garage and was killed.

Capitol Police officers alerted DEP officials about the downed hawk. After close examination it appears the hawk broke its neck.

For the last several weeks, the redtail hawk, presumed to be a female due to its large size, had claimed a park at the Capitol Complex as its prime hunting ground.

3/17/2006