'It's always amazing': How Wisconsin's peregrine falcon programs help endangered raptors thrive

OAK CREEK, Wis. (CBS 58) — Late spring often brings special moments at We Energies Oak Creek Power Plant. It's when peregrine falcon chicks typically hatch and are named and banded -- free to fly off when they're able.

Greg Septon is the peregrine falcon manager at We Energies. It has been his job since 1992, when the company began their peregrine program.

"For over 20 years, power plants in Wisconsin every year have produced over 50% of the young," Septon said. "So they've been very, very important for the recovery."

They keep nest boxes atop power plants, providing a safe place for the endangered raptors to grow their families.

"As long as they're provided a safe place to nest that's up high, away from disturbance, they seem to do very, very well," Septon explained.

Peregrine falcons are the fastest animal on the planet, but their population was decimated in the 1970s due to a pesticide called DDT that affected their eggs.

"When I was a kid, there never were any peregrines. They've been gone from the state for a long, long time," Septon said. "It's something I've always hoped to see, peregrines nesting here again."

For Septon, it has been rewarding to see the success of falcon nesting programs, and this year, four chicks are the newest successes.

They're the children of Essity and Joel, two peregrines who nested at the Oak Creek plant this year.

"It's always amazing to get to watch these little creatures grow up on the live cams," said We Energies spokesperson, Alison Trouy.

The chicks are named after four of the "founding feathers" of the peregrine program: Atlanta, Leopold, Eclipse, and Scott.

Trouy said those birds made an early impact on reviving the species.

"Three of them had ties right here to the Oak Creek power plant, and between the four of them produced over 100 chicks," she explained. "It's just a way to pay tribute to the peregrine falcons that have come before."

The chicks are given bands around each foot for identification. It doesn't hurt to pop them on, but baby falcons can be feisty.

"It's fun, I love it. I never get tired of banding these youngsters," Septon said. "They all have personalities just like all of us in this room do."

Soon, the chicks will be ready to leave the nest.

Septon says that can be dangerous, as peregrine first-year survival rates aren't great.

"They've always been the rarest raptor in the state, even historically," he explained, but the strongest ones can live long lives.

"Without sites like this and these nest boxes, the population would have never been as good as it is now," he said.

If we're lucky, they might find their way back to Oak Creek someday.

"Peregrine means wanderer, and that's what they do, they wander around," Septon said.