Popular falcon found dead on downtown building - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

A popular Indianapolis peregrine falcon has died.

The Department of Natural Resources reported the death of Kinney, the oldest and most productive peregrine falcon in the Midwest, in a release Friday afternoon. The DNR says the 19-year-old Kinney was found dead Friday outside the 29th floor of Market Tower downtown. The bird appeared to have suffered injuries "consistent with colliding into the building," DNR biologist John Castrale said.

"It's certainly unfortunate," Castrale said in the release. "But the average age of a breeding peregrine is 6 to 7 years, so he's beaten the odds and lived a long, productive life."

Kinney was hatched in Lexington, Ky. in 1993. He showed up in Indianapolis a year later, after being released by the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources. He fathered 61 children with two females, starting in 1995.

A webcam was placed in Kinney's nesting spot on the 31st floor of Market Tower in recent years, so the public could watch Kinney and his nesting partner of 11 years, Kathy Q, raise their young. Two chicks raised by the pair this year have already left the nest.

Castrale expects Kathy Q to pair up with another male and continue to nest on Market Tower.

"Hopefully the legacy of Kinney and his nest site will go on," he said.