2 days ago
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.
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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.
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'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 .
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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.'
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