GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Two peregrine falcon chicks were born at the beginning of May in a nesting box on the roof of Grand Valley's Eberhard Center on the Pew Grand Rapids Campus.
Peregrine falcons are listed as an endangered species in the state of Michigan, but the two new chicks add to the numbers of the diminishing population in the state.
On May 24, a team from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources banded the two birds, giving them unique identification numbers as a way to study migration, behavior, social structures, life-span, population growth, survival rate and more.
Nik Kalejs, a wildlife biologist with the DNR said that Michigan is reaching a point where there may be more peregrine falcons in the near future than were found when the state was settled.
“Michigan was never really blessed with an extremely large peregrine population because historically they were always nesting in cliffs and high mountainous ledges,” said Kalejs. “Of course, that’s not a topographical feature that we have in abundance around here, but the restoration of the peregrine has been based around man-made structures.”
Both of the chicks, one male and one female, were given two bands. One on the right leg for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and one of the left leg that would give bird watchers and opportunity to identify the birds.
The chicks' parents made the box on top of the Eberhard Center their home in May 2017. The box had been uninhabited since it was installed in 2009 by a biology professor and a team of students.
Since 2017, a total of four eggs have hatched in that nest. The first two chicks that hatched last year were not banded.
Peregrine falcons initially neared extinction in the 1960s because of the use of the DDT pesticide. When DDT was banned in 1972, the birds were added to the federal endangered species list. The birds were reintroduced to downtown Grand Rapids in 1986.
There is one other nesting box located in Grand Rapids. It is installed on the 63rd District Court building.
There is live webcam footage of the birds that are on the Eberhard Center. You can watch that here.
In addition to the two chicks in Grand Rapids, three peregrine falcons hatched in West Olive recently as well. The DNR also branded those ones at the Consumers Energy Campbell Generating Complex.
Rose White is a digital producer for 13 on Your Side. You can contact her at rwhite@wzzm13.com or on Twitter.
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