Four falcon chicks tagged in South Bend, ready to learn to fly in 2017

Aside from loud squawks of irritation and two parent birds swooping low in alarm above the County-City Building, the annual task of tagging the young birds with identifying markers proceeded Wednesday without a hitch.

Volunteers carefully lifted the young birds into a white bucket and carried them down to the 13th floor for the tagging process. They also took a blood sample and sprinkled the chicks, technically known as eyasses, with flea and tick powder.

Peregrine falcon restoration efforts in the Midwest started in the late 1980s, and there have been falcon pairs nesting in South Bend since 1993. Counting this year's quartet, a total of 41 chicks have been raised in South Bend.