Huntington Bank Building

Huntington Bank Building

106 South Main Street Akron, Ohio 44308

Tips for Birding

Photo Tour of Huntington Bank Building Falcons
(see photos in gallery)
By Susan Carpenter

#1 The small yellow circle on top is the location of the nest box on the 19th-floor balcony of the Huntington Bank Building, and the small yellow circle on the bottom is the 3-4 short-term parking spaces at the corner of South Main Street and East Bowery Street, which give a great view of the nest box. The large yellow circle on the right shows the roof of the CitiCenter Parking Deck, which offers good side views of the activity near the nest box on the balcony of the 19th floor. You cannot see directly into the nest box, however.

#2 From the vantage point of the roof of the CitiCenter Parking Deck, the red circle shows the location of the nest box on the balcony on the southeast corner of the 19th floor, and the yellow circles all show the typical spots where the adults perch when not at the nest box. If you have never observed Peregrine Falcons, this viewing area is a great place to learn their size in relation to the buildings and other birds. Feral Rock Pigeons also frequent this area, and it is very easy to think they are the Falcons until you look closely. The Falcons are 14-19″ in length with a wingspan of 39-43″. The pigeons are 11-14″ in length with a wingspan of 19-26″. That said, with the number of large, tall buildings in downtown, the birds do not appear nearly as large as you would expect. As you view the Falcons from this location, you can see them diving for prey, circling the buildings, bringing prey to the nest box, sitting on the various perches preening, and so much more.

#3 From the vantage point of the short-term parking spaces at the corner of South Main Street and East Bowery Street, the red circle shows the location of the nest box on the 19th floor.

#4 One of the adults on the roof antenna of the Huntington Bank Building, taken with my Canon PowerShot SX30IS camera on 35x zoom, 6/17/17.

#5 Two of the three known juvenile birds. The one on the left was very frightened after scooting out on the ledge. It faced into the building during my entire observation. The second juvenile is just visible inside the nest box. This photo was taken from the short-term parking spaces at the corner of South Main Street and East Bowery Street with my Canon PowerShot SX30IS camera on 35x zoom, 6/17/17. At this observation, the third juvenile was reported to have fledged to the roof of the nearby Chase, Ernst and Young Building.

Birds of Interest

There is a Peregrine Falcon nest box located at the Huntington Bank Building. The current adults are McKinley (male) and Summit (female).

About this Location

Huntington Tower, also known as First Merit Tower, First National Bank Building or the First Central Trust Building, is a skyscraper in Akron, Ohio that has remained the tallest building in that city since its completion in 1931.

Location: Huntington Bank Building, 106 South Main Street, Akron, Ohio 44308. Formerly called First Merit and before that First National.

Parking: CitiCenter Parking Deck, 132 South High Street, Akron. $1 per half hour, $7 max per day, free on weekends and holidays. Parking on the rooftop gives a good side view of the balcony of the nest box. There is other parking all around downtown.

Restrooms in nearby businesses.

Features

  • Restrooms on site

  • Wheelchair accessible trail

  • Entrance fee

  • Roadside viewing

Content from Wikipedia and Susan Carpenter