– A pair of peregrine falcons has returned to nest on the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge this spring.
– The International Bridge Administration (IBA) recently installed a webcam showing the nest site. Dubbed the “FalCam,” it can be accessed at http://www.saultbridge.com/falcam.
– Birds have been returning to the bridge for years, hatching 24 chicks since 2010.
A peregrine falcon visits the nest box at the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge this morning. The image was captured on a new nest camera, now streaming live online. (IBA photo March 29, 2018 7:48 AM EDT)
March 29, 2018 — Peregrine falcons returning to the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge this year will need to get ready for their close-ups. The International Bridge Administration (IBA) has installed a new nest camera, the “FalCam,” to allow people to watch them online this year.
While they may still fine-tune the vantage point and the zoom factor, the IBA now has the live video stream viewable at http://www.saultbridge.com/falcam.
Another pair of the endangered falcons successfully nested on the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge, where the birds have been returning for years, hatching four chicks.
A pair of peregrine falcons has returned to nest on the Portage Lake Lift Bridge again this year, successfully hatching three chicks.
The DNR recently installed an upgraded nesting box at the Portage Lake Lift Bridge, built by area students.
A video news release on falcons and falcon banding at the International Bridge and Portage Lake Lift Bridge are online athttps://youtu.be/4DQp0kU4ph4
Another pair of peregrine falcons successfully nested on the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge, hatching four chicks this year.
During banding operations last month, a member of a Michigan DNR team holds one of the four peregrine falcons chicks that successfully hatched at the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge. (IBA photo by Liz Stewart)
“This site has hatched 24 falcon chicks since 2010, when we put in the nest box and started counting,” said International Bridge Engineer Karl Hansen, “There were more before that but we don’t know the number.” Hansen said a falcon cam for the International Bridge is also planned.
Peregrine falcons have also returned to the Portage Lake Lift Bridge between Houghton and Hancock again this year – the same nesting spot, but this year with a choice between new and familiar nests.
The chicks at the International Bridge were banded by a DNR team on June 19, while the Lift Bridge birds were banded on June 23. They were also named. (more…)
A pair of peregrine falcons has successfully nested on the Portage Lake Lift Bridge again this year after completion of a major bridge repair project.
Another pair of the endangered falcons successfully nested on the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge, where the birds have been returning for years.
The DNR banded four chicks at the Portage Lake Lift Bridge and three at the International Bridge.
June 28, 2016 — It’s been a good season for Upper Peninsula bridges and their resident raptors, with peregrine falcons at the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge successfully hatching three chicks and the Portage Lake Lift Bridge between Houghton and Hancock seeing four hatchlings this spring.
At the Portage Lake Lift Bridge, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) installed two nest boxes in 2012 – one each on the north and south bridge towers. A pair of falcons discovered the nesting site the next spring and has raised a total of 10 chicks there. (more…)
A pair of peregrine falcons has successfully nested on the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge, where the birds have been returning for years.
Four chicks have hatched this year and have been banded by DNR biologists.
The peregrine falcon is listed as an endangered species in Michigan.
Karl Hansen, bridge engineer for the International Bridge Administration (IBA), reported that pair of peregrine falcons have successfully nested atop the bridge between the U.S. and Canada this spring, hatching four chicks.
Four peregrine falcon eggs shown at the nest box on the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge this spring. (IBA photo)
June 18, 2015 — A pair of regular visitors to the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge have made the trip again this year – and they’re staying to raise their family.
IBA General Manager Phil Becker said the bridge’s steeplejacks closely watch for the falcons to return each year.
“As time allows, they monitor the nest without disturbing the birds,” Becker said. “Our staff really looks forward to the return of the birds and waits with great anticipation for the occasional reports coming in from our steeplejacks on the growth of the chicks.”
The reports this year have been excellent.
The four peregrine falcon chicks – three female and one male – successfully hatched. (IBA photo)
All four young birds – three females and one male – were successfully banded Tuesday by biologists from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR). According to DNR wildlife biologist Kristie Sitar, color-coded bands attached to the legs of young birds allow scientists to track the movements, reproductive behavior and population growth of the falcons. (more…)
