Get a live view of two peregrine falcon nests with baby chicks through streaming video cameras set up by the Missouri Department of Conservation.
Baby falcons, also called eyasses, are visible in nests at the Iatan Power Plant north of Weston and at the American Century Investments building near the Country Club Plaza. Both nests hatched four chicks on April 29. The cameras are catching the lives of the chicks and their parents as they bring them food and protect them.
Peregrine falcons are endangered in Missouri. They originally nested on cliffs and bluffs. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) works with conservation partners to provide nest boxes for the falcons in urban settings. MDC introduced a recovery program with releases in downtown Kansas City in 1991.
Young falcons are fragile when born, but grow and develop rapidly. They are often sheltered from weather under the body and wings of an adult parent. But as they grow and the weather warms, they will move about more freely. The young falcons will likely fledge, or start flying, in June, said Joe DeBold, MDC urban wildlife biologist.
The nest box at Iatan is near the top of a smokestack at the power plant. To see young falcons inside the nest, visit MDC Iatan nest. The American Century nest is on a rooftop. To view that nest, visit MDC American Century nest.
For more information on falcons or other wildlife, visit MDC.
Top photo: Debra Burns, Missouri Department of Conservation