Hello all - I have provided this type of information for the list in the past, looks like it is time to revisit it again. As manager of the Central Ohio peregrine nest sites I find the remains of some of the birds they eat on the ledge, in the vicinity of the nest, etc. Most of my observations have been from the downtown Columbus nesting territory but in the past 2 years with peregrines hanging about OSU (no successful nesting attempt yet) I have added observations from that location as well. Keep in mind that the falcons eat a lot of birds away from the nest ledge so the pieces/parts/remains I find are only a very small sampling of their overall diet. And, my findings are only a very small sampling of peregrine diets in Ohio. When peregrines were being released in the state as part of the Midwest Peregrine Recovery Project the media did us no favor by reporting that the releases were to "control pigeons downtown." Completely false. The project was to restore the population of an endangered species. Anyway, peregrines do indeed eat pigeons. But most pigeons that reside downtown know that the falcons are there and tend to stay lower to the ground. Probably the majority of the pigeons that are consumed are likely racing pigeons that are making their way through town and are not familiar with the threat of resident peregrines. I actually find a few of racing pigeon bands in/near the nest each year to support this theory. Bottom line, peregrines are opportunistic predators and will prey on what is readily available and easy to catch. Based only on the remains found at/near the nest at the Rhodes Tower (and again, this is a VERY small sample size) pigeons, starlings and mourning doves are the primary prey species that are consumed at/near the nest. It is not uncommon to find the remains of one or two cuckoos each year. Even with that, after 15+ years of hosting nesting peregrines, the local cuckoo population in Columbus must be stable to supply the peregrines with the token one or two cuckoos every year. The variety of prey I have observed over the years is amazing. To list a few off the top of my head: downy woodpecker, meadowlark, cardinal, flicker, woodcock, oriole, chimney swift, gallinule, red-winged blackbird, cedar waxwing, rose-breasted grosbeak and my personal favorite find: parakeet. As you can see with this small sampling the diet is very varied. The river as a migratory corridor no doubt helps bring some of this diversity to the table. A few years ago Rob Thorn and I together looked through the remains from the nestbox at the Rhodes Tower so perhaps he can add anything from that year that he remembers that I do not. Just as a side note it might be interesting to some that well over 103,000 viewers from locations all over the world have watched the Columbus Falcons over the years. This peregrine exposure has no doubt led to increased awareness of other aspects of birding and wildlife conservation. Donna M. Daniel Assistant Wildlife Management Supervisor ODNR, Division of Wildlife, District One 1500 Dublin Rd. Columbus, OH 43215 614/644-3925 614/644-3931 FAX [log in to unmask] http://www.ohiodnr.com/wildlife/ http://ohioperegrinefalcons.blogspot.com/ ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]