Peregrine Falcons Are Back Nesting In Minnesota This Spring

I've been so busy watching our Minnesota DNR EagleCam that I almost forgot to check in on our nesting Peregrine Falcons.

Since mid-March, it appears we have had a pair of falcons preparing for their future family. Admittedly, I've been confusing the stories of our falcons and our eagle females. Acadia is the name of the St. Cloud falcon, NOT the eagle we are watching on the EagleCam, so let's go back in time a bit and get caught up on what our falcons have been up to over the past month.

BOWING BEGAN IN LATE MARCH 23RD

The Minnesota DNR posted on their social media that they viewed 'bowing' taking place, which is something falcons do to show their bond to each other and show how ready they are for nesting.

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LOOKS LIKE HOME

Two falcons have been visiting that same box and seem to be maintaining it as the location where they plan to start a family. The falcon in the St. Paul Nesting box that we've been viewing over the past few years has been the same one, and it appears she once again chose this same nesting site.

OTHER WILDLIFE STORIES: EagleCam Captures The Lives Of Three New Eaglets

IT'S FAMILY TIME

Two falcons have been visiting that same nesting box and seem to be maintaining it as the location where they plan to start a family.

Somewhere around March 31st, the falcons had made what's called a 'scrape' in the nest box. The scrape is a bit hard to see on camera, but basically, it's sort of a little bowl that the falcons have dug out in the nesting box, where they plan to lay their eggs. Once you start seeing the scrape, it can mean that we could see eggs within the next month or two. At this point, we should be seeing eggs any day now, since they base their nesting on past behaviors that have been studied throughout the years.

IS ACADIA BACK FOR ANOTHER NESTING SEASON?

Acadia is the St. Cloud Falcon that we've been watching in this nest for many years now, but throughout that time, she has chosen different mates. We finally know that the female in our nest is indeed Acadiea again, and the mate she has chosen this year IS a different mate than she had last year.

WHO IS ACADIA'S NEW MATE?

This year, Acadia has chosen a 4-year-old male that fledged from Minneapolis City Hall in 2022. Acadia is now 13 years old and fledged from the St. Cloud Correctional Facility back in 2013. This is Acadia's 11th breeding season in this same nesting box.

COULD WE SEE EGGS TOMORROW

I wonder if our late snow weather will be the change our falcon pair needs to lay their first egg of the season, and I wonder how many she will lay this year? In years past, she has laid three to four, and I'm curious what will happen. Acadia doesn't always help all of her young full-term, so I'm kind of hoping that she will only lay one egg, as I'm sure if she only has one, she will surely give her young the undivided attention they need to survive the first few weeks before they fledge from the nest.

If you are fascinated with Acadia, you can follow her journey on the Minnesota DNR FalconCam by clicking HERE.