University of Michigan names peregrine falcon chicks born atop quad
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The University of Michigan community has two new members after a family of peregrine falcons hatched two eggs in the school's nesting box.
DNR removes peregrine falcon from state's endangered list
The two chicks, one male and one female, hatched in a box on top of the university's North Quad. The university asked the community for name suggestions, eventually landing on Victoria and Valiant — a play on the words from the school's fight song.
The university has made it a tradition to to name its falcons. Most are typically a reference to the city or U-M legends, including Ann (Arbor), Jim (Harbaugh) and Lloyd (Carr).
Peregrine falcons typically nest in cliffs or mountains high off the ground. Given that there aren't many natural nesting places in southeast Michigan, the university noticed the birds were using Burton Tower.
Snake covered by Endangered Species Act killed at Michigan park
'Burton Tower, however, proved an unsafe nesting spot because the falcons laid their eggs too close to a gutter, and that didn't end well for any eggs that rolled,' the university .
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources set up a nesting box on top of U-M's hospital in 2011 and one on top of North Quad in 2015. The box atop the hospital has since been removed, but the university has seen new falcon chicks consistently since 2011.
The DNR has kept a close eye on the boxes and bands each chick to monitor the birds' migration patterns and population growth in Michigan.
The peregrine falcon population in Michigan is still extremely small. They were reintroduced in the state in the 1980s after they were nearly wiped out by .
Michigan DNR verifies wild cougar cubs in U.P. for first time in decades
The DNR says as of last summer, there are approximately 30 peregrine falcon nests across the state, a number that has stayed relatively stable in recent years. The number of falcons, however, continues to tick higher. Recently, the species was and is now only considered 'threatened.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
6 West Michigan communities awarded DNR grants for tree projects
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has announced 15 grants totaling more than $1 million to help communities across the state develop their tree canopies. Michigan DNR halts program to euthanize Canada geese 'Trees are vital community infrastructure, and this grant program supports projects that bring the important benefits trees provide to more Michigan communities,' Kerry Gray, a grant specialist with the DNR's Urban and Community Forestry Program, . In all, the grants are expected to plant more than 1,700 new trees, offer 33 training workshops and develop plans to manage more than 32,000 public trees. The grants range between approximately $23,000 and $144,000. Of those grants, six of them are in West Michigan. DNR focuses on long-term health of forests damaged by ice storm Crystal Township in Montcalm County is getting one of the largest: $133,112 to complete a public tree inventory and management plan for future tree planting and maintenance. The township also has plans to develop a community orchard. The village of Lakeview will receive $95,172 to help cover tree planting along streets and in parks. The city of Battle Creek will receive $38,850 for tree planting and maintenance. The will get $36,993 to develop a 'series of tree-planting and care workshops for municipal employees, residents and landscape contractors within the Lower Grand River Watershed.' Spongy moth population dropping, not gone in Michigan The city of Ionia will receive $30,000 for planting trees in neighborhoods with 'low tree canopy cover.' The will get $23,438 to create 'food forests' in the city of Muskegon and start outreach for the program. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Chicago Tribune
7 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Elgin News Digest: ECC's Project Backpack in need of volunteers, sponsors; lunchtime hike to be held at Hawthorne Hill Nature Center
Elgin Community College is seeking volunteers and sponsors for Project Backpack, which provides backpacks and essential school supplies to students and families in need. This year the giveaway will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 2, on the ECC campus at 1700 Spartan Drive. Volunteers will help assemble backpacks on July 30-31 and assist during the event, a news release said. Nonprofit and for-profit organizations can set up booths as part of the giveaway, with the latter asked to make a $150 donation to participate. To donate, volunteer or become a sponsor, go to Hawthorne Hill Nature Center in Elgin will host a brown bag lunch hike from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, June 19. Lynette Spencer, a licensed clinical social worker and certified clinical adventure therapist, will talk about how spending time outdoors can boost mental wellbeing in advance of the walk, a social media post for the event said. The cost is $8 for Elgin residents and $11 for nonresidents. Register at Participants should bring their own lunches. The nature center is located at 28 Brookside Drive. Local historian Rebecca Miller will give a brown bag lunch lecture on the stories behind the names of Elgin streets, buildings and schools from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, June 19, at the Elgin History Museum, 360 Park St., Elgin. The presentation will explore how the names seen every day throughout the city reflect Elgin's diverse history, according to the museum's website. Guests should bring their own lunches; the museum will provide beverages and dessert. Admission is free for museum members and $5 for nonmembers. To register, go to For more information, call 847-742-4248. National Recognition Awards were presented to two infrastructure projects in Kane County at the 2025 American Council of Engineering Companies Engineering Excellence Awards in May. The first was in recognition of Carpentersville becoming a lead-free community by securing $4 million in IEPA loan-eligible reimbursement funding to pay for the removal of 400 lead water service lines to homes. Engineering Enterprises Inc. oversaw the work. Also recognized was the Kane County Department of Transportation's $117 million Longmeadow Parkway, the four-lane, 5.6-mile highway that included a 788-foot-long bridge over the Fox River, the release said. Crawford, Murphy & Tilly; Hampton, Lenzini and Renwick; Thomas Engineering; BLA Inc.; Burns & McDonnell; V3; CivilTech; Alfred Benesch; Clark Dietz; Huff & Huff served as engineering firms for the project. Six School District U-46 students earned first-place honors at the Illinois Science Olympiad. Teams from Eastview Middle School in Bartlett, Larsen Middle School in Elgin and Elgin High School competed in April at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and were honored at a June meeting of the U-46 school board, according to a news release. Pratyush Ramesh, who graduated from Elgin High last month, and junior Abhinav Arvind finished first in the anatomy and physiology category. Classmates Aarav Patel and Mahitha Ratakonda, who both graduated last month, finished first in the disease detectives category, which involved epidemiology case studies. Eastview students Jacob Baca and Melia Ortiz-Tan, who will be eighth-graders in the fall, earned first place in the remote sensing trial event.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Officials celebrate as grizzly bears are caught on camera using unique new bridge: 'It was pretty amazing to see firsthand'
KHOL 89.1FM reported that grizzly bears in Wyoming are exploring the new wildlife crossings near Wyoming Highway 22. WYDOT, Teton County, and the Wyoming Wildlife Natural Resources Trust funded the four new crossings in the area for wildlife navigation around the existing intersection construction. After a rancher spotted the bear using one, project engineer Mick Farrell captured a photo as it crossed the Snake River. Designated crossings can improve wildlife conservation for Wyoming's 122 mammal species by reducing unnecessary contact with people. Seeing a healthy grizzly bear safely using the crossing was good news after four fatalities in a month. KHOL 89.1FM reported that one cub was hit by a car, and two young bears may have been killed by an adult male grizzly. Another one was euthanized after dangerous behavior in Yellowstone. Grizzlies enable healthy biodiversity, so it's a good sign to see them roaming in their space. These apex predators keep nature in balance by hunting herbivores capable of overgrazing, which also reduces foraging and habitat space for pollinators. Typical grizzly activities like digging help aerate the soil, and they disperse blueberry and buffaloberry seeds in their feces. The brown large bear that can reach up to 700 pounds is listed as threatened by the Endangered Species Act. However, conservation acts like wildlife crossings and data from tracking collars placed by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department can prevent them from moving up to endangered. Wildlife crossings in other areas have already shown success. The Banff Wildlife Crossings in Canada have reduced car collisions with wildlife by 80%. Bison in the UK are also getting some space — their roaming area will increase from 123 acres to 494 acres — from government-backed construction on the nation's first-ever bison bridge. Los Angeles is also taking action by building the world's largest wildlife crossing — measuring 210 feet long — over an eight-lane freeway. According to Smart Growth America, there are as many as one to two million collisions between cars and wildlife. Consequently, people can also get hurt, as 200 human fatalities, 26,000 injuries, and as much as $8 billion in property damage result from these specific accidents, per Pew Research. Safer and separate crossings are invaluable for all species, not just grizzlies. However, it's good that these legendary bears are leading the way. Farrell said, "It was pretty amazing to see firsthand the wildlife crossings working." Should the U.S. invest in building more wildlife overpasses? Absolutely Depends on how we do it Depends on where we do it Nope Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
