LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — The Lansing Board of Water & Light, in partnership with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, banded four new baby peregrine falcons Wednesday.
It is the first year BWL has banded peregrine falcons at the Erickson Power Station. The four babies were born to an unbanded female falcon, Ericka, and a banded male falcon, Eckert.
The falcon chicks were named Icon, Flash, Turbo and Artemis.
Banding is a process where a small band is wrapped around a falcon’s leg, which allows for nature researchers to track its migration patterns.
Last week, three male falcons, Thomas, Fred and Sailor, and one female falcon, Sarah, were also banded at the station.
They were born to mother falcon, Millie, a female that was originally banded in Chicago’s Millennium Park in 2019, and father falcon, Newman, an unbanded male.
This is the first year this pair of falcons have mated.
Since 2004, BWL has hosted a nesting site atop the Eckert Power Station to help endangered peregrine falcons.
In 2022, a new camera was installed at the station, when a second paid of peregrines successfully had a clutch. Since the project began, nearly 80 eggs have been hatched.
The peregrine flacon is world renowned for its high speeds, reaching more 200 mph during its characteristic hunting dive. It is one of the fastest members of the animal kingdom, and resides on the list of Michigan’s endangered species.
The public can watch a 24-hour livestream inside both BWL falcon nests by visiting the camera’s official website.
A similar falcon nest is in operation on top of Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.
