ÍáÍáÂþ»­

A story is beginning to emerge on the peregrine falcons that have taken up residence in a nest box atop an elevator on the south side of Crookston.

Regional raptor expert Tim Driscoll of Grand Forks said he was able to get the number of the male peregrine's leg band Friday afternoon, and the bird is Jack, a Fargo-hatched peregrine Driscoll banded in 2014.

Jack is named after Fargo radio host Jack Sunday, Driscoll said.

The female peregrine in the Crookston nest box isn't banded, and her origin is uncertain, but she's at least 2 years old, Driscoll said.

The Crookston peregrines have been the buzz among area birders since Friday, when Driscoll confirmed the birds were peregrines. A student and professor at the University of Minnesota-Crookston installed the nest box on the grain elevator at least five years ago, and this is the first year peregrines have been confirmed in the box. Peregrines nest in high places, which is why sites such as the Crookston elevator and the University of North Dakota water tower, where peregrines nest in Grand Forks, are so attractive to the birds.

Driscoll said local residents told him they'd seen the birds at the site for about two weeks.

Driscoll, a licensed bander who teaches a raptor ecology class at UMC, said he spent about three hours at the site Friday afternoon and observed the female flying in large circles around the nest site while Jack was in the nest box.

"This behavior is consistent with the observations I have made of Grand Forks' peregrine falcons over the years," Driscoll said.

It's possible the female has started to lay eggs, he said.

The only concern, Driscoll said, is the female could be from a northern peregrine population and just stopping through en route to points farther north where she was hatched and possibly "hard wired" to return. So far, though, it appears the peregrines are on their way to incubation and raising young in Crookston.

"From what I saw, she really looks like she's settled in," Driscoll said. "I think this is great."

Driscoll said Jack's two nest mates, Sandy and Happy, which he also banded in 2014, both are dead.

One of the bird world's great comeback stories, peregrine falcons are on the rebound across North America after numbers plummeted in the 1960s along with species such as bald eagles.