Cinco de Mayo Brings Four Peregrine Falcon Eyas to Woodmen Tower
Four peregrine falcon chicks hatched atop the Woodmen Tower over the weekend, giving Hera, the adult female falcon, and father Mintaka another reason to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. The four chicks bring the total number of falcons hatched at the Tower to 72.
Bird watchers from around the world can watch in anticipation as the falcon chicks feed and grow, eventually hopping along the ledge of the 28th floor and taking their first flight via the live FalconCam. The FalconCam provides a birds-eye view from the 28th floor of the Woodmen Tower in downtown Omaha.
This season marks the 26th year that the falcons have chosen the Tower to lay their eggs. Although they prefer high cliffs for nesting, tall buildings like the WoodmenTower have proven to be an effective substitute. Woodmen of the World first brought peregrine falcons to the Woodmen Tower in 1988, when the small predators were considered endangered. In some areas of the country, peregrine falcons had almost vanished.
Officials from the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission will remove the chicks from their nest later this month, to place identification bands around their legs and determine their gender. Following the banding, Woodmen of the World will be holding the annual “Name the Falcon” contest again this year through Facebook.
The public can find out more about the new falcon chicks at the web site at falcons.woodmen.org. They can also follow the Woodmen Falcons through their Twitter account @WoodmenFalcons.