Young Peregrine Falcons from Chicago Tribune video

A couple of Peregrine Falcons have been raising a family on top of a public library in Illinois for half a decade.

I discovered the story from one of our Twitter followers. I had been reading all the horrible news about the oil spill, so this was a nice break from it!

@Shorebird777 ‘s link took me story about the two Peregrine Falcons by the Chicago Tribune. Birdwatchers call the mother “Nona” and the father “Squawker”. They’ve been raising their children for the past five years on a ledge at the top of the Evanston Public Library located in Evanston, Illinois just north of Chicago.

In the video above, it was mentioned that the birds were going to be banded once they get a little older. So I did some more searching and found the video below. In it you can see the falcons being banded. At the time of the banding, they also give them names.

They do the banding and naming as part of their Falcon Banding Day. This gives children, as well as adults, a chance to see and learn about what they are doing. Wonderful idea!