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Meet Nelson the peregrine falcon




I'm Nelson the peregrine falcon. I hatched at MGE's power plant in downtown Madison. I was named after the founder of Earth Day, Gaylord Nelson, who was from Wisconsin. Some of my favorite things to do around town are watching the Badgers play football games at Camp Randall Stadium and visiting Governor Nelson State Park.


Falcons like me have hatched at MGE since one of MGE's employees installed a place for mom and dad falcons to lay eggs and care for their chicks after they hatch.


A number of electric companies have built these special places, called nesting boxes, on top of their tall power plants. They do this to help falcons like me, who were almost extinct, have a safe place to hatch and grow.


Mom falcons usually lay eggs before Earth Day and then chicks hatch about a month after Earth Day. While the time of year around Earth Day is very special for peregrine falcons, we believe in celebrating our Earth every day of the year! I hope you enjoy learning about ways you can help save energy at home, how solar power works and how to power cars with electricity—all of which are good for our Earth!

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