SAULT STE. MARIE (WWJ) – A pair of peregrine falcons at the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge have nested and their three chicks have been banded.
Officials with the International Bridge Administration say the falcons, which have been returning to the bridge for years, hatched the three chicks on Friday, May 13.
Fittingly, the chicks were given “classic horror movie names” – Chuckie and Freddy for the males and Carrie for the female.
The Michigan DNR banded the chicks on June 9. Color-coded bands attached to the legs of young birds allow scientists to track the movements, reproductive behavior and population growth of the falcons.
Nest boxes for the falcons have been installed on the bridge since 2010. A live stream of the nest boxes, called “FalCam,” is available at https://www.saultbridge.com/falcam/, giving bird watchers a front-row seat to watch the peregrines.
Officials say the bridge has been a successful site for peregrines over the years, hatching 35 falcon chicks since IBA staff began counting the birds.
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Michigan lost its peregrine falcons in the 1960s and ‘70s due to the use of DDT and other environmental contaminants, according to the IBA. Conservation efforts began in the mid-80s. While the number of peregrines in the state has been fluctuating, it has generally increased since the 1990s.
The peregrine falcon has been removed from the federal endangered species list but is listed as an endangered species in Michigan, protected by state and federal law.
Officials say the high-speed hunters are capable of flying at 200 mph and may help keep populations of nuisance pigeons under control.
While the birds historically nested on cliff faces in Michigan, peregrines have adapted well to city habitats, nesting on tall buildings, smokestacks, bridges, and other man-made structures around the world.
That includes a pair of peregrines that recently nested at Spartan Stadium on the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing.
Of all the active peregrine falcon nesting sites monitored by the DNR in the Upper Peninsula, the International Bridge is the second most productive in terms of chicks hatched, behind only a nest on Grand Portal Cliff at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.
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