MGE Peregrine Falcon Family History
MGE's peregrine falcon stewardship began in 1999 when an employee and his son built a nesting box for the son's school project. MGE installed the nesting box atop its Blount Generating Station just east of downtown Madison in 1999, where it remained unoccupied for 10 years. Falcons finally began using the box in 2009. Since 2009, 49 falcon chicks have hatched at Blount.
From 2009 to 2011, a nesting pair of falcons (Frightful and Vern) successfully hatched 11 chicks. In 2012, a female fought Frightful for the territory and displaced her for the nesting season. The new mother falcon was named Trudy.
In 2015, Vern was displaced by a new male named Melvin. Melvin's ID bands show that he was hatched at an Oak Creek, Wis., site in 2013.