LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, Ga. Rock City has continued its partnership with Wings to Soar in an ongoing peregrine falcon restoration project to reestablish the breed to this region. A pair of siblings, one male and one female, have been in a hack box at Rock City since June 13 to prepare for release into the wild. This is only the second time a female has been released from Rock City. At 25 days old upon arrival, the birds are to remain in the hack box until their planned release at sunrise on July 3.
“Traditionally during their first year of release they head down to Central and South America,” said John Stokes with Wings to Soar. “After their first migration they head back to the area in which they were released.”
This is the seventh pair of birds and ninth peregrine release from the hacking site, bringing the total number of birds released to 16 since the project’s inception in 2006. The falcons have come once again from Andy Kramer, a breeder in Minnesota. Live from the hack box, viewers can watch the birds anytime on the webcam feed at www.seerockcity.com/birds!
Rock City has held a naming contest for its social media followers over the last week to submit bird name suggestions on their Facebook page. The winner to be announced the day of the release, receives a free night’s stay at RiverView Inn on Lookout Mountain, as well as a family pass to see Rock City. Most of the previous names have also been chosen via social media: Garnet, Frieda, Rocky, Ted, Zenith, Chatty, Lookout, Fourscore, Orville, Wilbur, Lewis, Clark, Heckle and Jeckle.
John and Dale Stokes with Wings to Soar also host Rock City Raptors Birds of Prey Shows every Friday through Sunday during the summer through Labor Day and daily June 28 – July 7.
Rock City Gardens is continuing a legacy of environmental efforts, sustainability and land conservation. Rock City, high atop Lookout Mountain is just six miles from downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee. A consistent stewardship program has preserved Rock City Gardens as a showcase of more than 400 different wildflowers and plants native in the mountain area.
