MGE’s 2021 Peregrine Falcon Chicks Named and Banded

Names reflect “close to home” theme.
 
2021 MGE peregrine falcon chicks.

About the MGE falcons

  • Trudy laid three eggs in April and they hatched in May.
  • Forty-nine MGE falcon chicks have hatched since 2009 when the birds first began nesting at Blount.
  • Falcons began nesting at Blount 10 years after MGE first installed the nesting box in 1999.
  • Falcons prefer power plants and other tall building as nesting sites.
Madison, Wis., June 3, 2021—Madison Gas and Electric (MGE) today announced the names of three peregrine falcons that hatched in the nesting box on top of its downtown Madison Blount Generating Station in May.
 
With the emphasis this past year on staying close to home, the chicks’ names reflect the neighborhood our falcons call home. This year’s chicks carry the names of nearby streets.
  • Willy, a male, was named for Williamson Street. Our falcons keep watch over Willy Street as their nesting box faces the well-known thoroughfare and Lake Monona.
  • Jenifer, a female, was named in honor of Jenifer Street, which runs parallel to Williamson Street.
  • Brearly, a female, was named for Brearly Street, which runs between Lake Monona and Lake Mendota and borders McPike Park. 
Wisconsin peregrine falcon expert Greg Septon banded the chicks at Blount yesterday afternoon. The bands allow experts to track the birds throughout their lifetimes.

Trudy, the female falcon, laid her three eggs in April. This is the seventh year Trudy and her mate, Melvin, have returned together and laid their eggs in the MGE nesting box. They have been busy feeding the three chicks that hatched in May. The chicks will learn how to fly soon and eventually depart the nesting box.

Forty-nine falcon chicks have hatched at Blount since 2009 when the birds first began nesting at the power plant. MGE installed the nesting box in 1999. Falcons prefer power plants and other tall buildings as nesting sites.

The peregrine falcon is listed as endangered in Wisconsin. Due to pesticide use in the 1960s, peregrines were declared extinct in the state. Falcons were reintroduced in the 1980s and have made a slow, steady comeback due to statewide efforts and nesting boxes like the one at Blount.

For more information on MGE’s falcons, please visit mge.com/falcons. Visit MGE's YouTube channel to watch a video of the falcon chicks being banded.
 
About MGE
MGE generates and distributes electricity to 157,000 customers in Dane County, Wis., and purchases and distributes natural gas to 166,000 customers in seven south-central and western Wisconsin counties. MGE's parent company is MGE Energy, Inc. The company's roots in the Madison area date back more than 150 years.
 

Steve Schultz - Corporate Communications Manager
Madison Gas and Electric
608-252-7219 | sbschultz@mge.com