CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The peregrine falcons that nested this spring on the old Inner Belt Bridge produced one chick that has fledged and left the nest.
But the adults and young are still in the vicinity of the Interstate 90 bridge that will collapse in a fraction of a second Saturday morning to make way for the new eastbound I-90 span.
That's why, about five seconds before the explosive demolition, there will be what the Ohio Department of Transportation calls a "pre-blast" – a blaring noisemaker designed to scare off peregrines and other birds that might be perched on the aging steel spans.
The ODOT project to build twin I-90 bridges over the Cuyahoga River took note of the peregrine pair – named Bolt and Newton – who've nested under the old Inner Belt Bridge for several years.
ODOT built peregrine nesting boxes on the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge and the new westbound Inner Belt Bridge that opened to traffic in November, hoping to attract Bolt and Newton to a different location for their brood next spring.
The bridge, which opened in 1959, is among a dozen nesting sites in Cleveland for the once-endangered birds that are best known for nesting on the Terminal Tower.
Laura Graber, a wildlife research assistant for the Division of Wildlife of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, said that young peregrines stay with their parents, learning to hunt, until late August or early September. The peregrine is the fastest creature on Earth, clocked at speeds of more than 200 miles an hour in dives for prey.
By early fall, adults encourage their juvenile offspring to move on to another territory.
But the adults often return to previous nesting spots, though they don't necessarily choose the exact same steel pier or ledge.
"Animals adapt very quickly to changes in the environment," said Jamey Emmert, spokesperson for the Division of Wildlife of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. "We're confident that the birds will be just fine."