Just for Fun: Falcons nesting on high-rise building in Springfield, MA

Hi, crew!

Just a quick fun post I wanted to share in-between G3 programs. My Aunt shared this cool web site with me. Since 1989, peregrine falcons have been nesting on the high-rise Monarch Place building in Springfield, MA. Over the years, they have produced over 30 offspring from that location. A permanent nesting ledge – with live camera – was attached to the building to help them out and keep them safe.  You can view them during any daylight hours by going here:

http://www.wfsb.com/category/281239/falcon-cam

I’ll warn you now, watching the live web cam can be addictive (though I often seem to catch the chicks when they’re sleeping in a giant, fluffy huddle 🙂 ).

Here are some interesting facts taken verbatim from the WFSB website:

Mating season for Falcons occurs in March. The female lays three or four eggs over a period of approximately seven days. Hatching begins in early May and flight begins at approximately 42 days for male falcons and 45 days for female falcons.

Peregrines mate for life and will often return to the same nest, year after year. They make their nest in a scrape, normally on a cliff edge. The female chooses a nest site, where she creates a shallow hollow in the loose soil, sand, gravel, or dead vegetation in which to lay eggs. No nest materials are added.

The Peregrine is known as the fastest member of the animal kingdom, reaching over 200 mph during its characteristic hunting high speed dive called a “stoop.”

The Peregrine Falcon is also known as a Duck Hawk in North America and is a bird of prey in the family Falconidae.

While its diet consists almost exclusively of medium-sized birds, the Peregrine will occasionally hunt small mammals, small reptiles, or even insects.

After hatching, the chicks are called “eyases.” Both male and female parents leave the nest and travel up to 15 miles to gather prey to feed the young. Chicks fledge 42 to 46 days after hatching, and remain dependent on their parents for up to two months.

The Peregrine Falcon can be found nearly everywhere on Earth, except extreme polar regions, very high mountains, and most tropical rain forests. This makes it the world’s most widespread bird of prey.

Tags: falcons, nesting, peregrine falcons