Peregrine falcon chicks hatch at power stacks in Cohasset, Duluth

DULUTH, Minn. — Six peregrine falcon chicks have hatched at two power stack sites in Cohasset and Duluth.

Raptor Resource Project and Minnesota Power teams climbed the stacks to check on the new chicks; the three that hatched at each site appear to be well-fed and healthy.

The birds’ names were chosen by local elementary school children. Cohasset Elementary students named the nestlings Hawkeye, Tiberius, and Frightful, while students at STARBASE Minnesota-Duluth named their nearby chicks Louis, Agrios, and Flecha.

Because of the recent spread of the avian influenza, which has ravaged poultry and raptor communities across the country, raptor specialists instituted a moratorium on handling the birds, so teams could not put leg bands on the Duluth chicks. But they were able to visit the Cohasset chicks, so they climbed over 200 feet to check on the chicks and band them.

Researchers use the bands to check in on the birds and their behavior.

The peregrine falcon was named an endangered species in the 1970s but have made a comeback since then. More than 35 chicks have hatched the Duluth site and more than 85 have hatched in Cohasset since nest boxes were installed on the top of the stacks.

To view the falcon cams at the Duluth and Cohasset stacks, click here.

Source: CBS Minnesota