Minnesota DNR goes live with video-streaming peregrine falcon camera

Starting this week, live video from a pair of peregrine falcons in a nesting box at the top of an office building in downtown St. Paul will be featured on the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) website at http://webcams.dnr.state.mn.us/falcon/.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to watch peregrines raise their young in an urban setting” said Carrol Henderson, DNR nongame wildlife program supervisor. “It is exciting to watch the birds first-hand, in their normal habitat, without disturbing them.”

Peregrines have been raising young in this location since 1988. The female has already laid three eggs and could lay up to two more in the coming days.

The public is able view the activity in the nesting box, with the help of Sentinel Property Management and the tenants at the Bremer office building.

Once pushed to the brink of extinction, the peregrine falcon has made a steady recovery in the United States. Once down to only a few pairs in Minnesota, peregrines have returned to Minnesota’s skies and their natural habitat, including Minnesota’s bluffs, cliffs and buildings.

The peregrine camera was paid for by the DNR’s nongame wildlife program, which is largely funded by donations, especially those made when Minnesotans file their state income and property taxes. The lines on the Minnesota income tax form and property tax form, marked with a drawing of a loon, give taxpayers the option to donate to the program, often referred to as the “chickadee check-off.”

The program works to protect and preserve more than 800 species of animals in the state that are not traditionally hunted or harvested. In addition to peregrine falcons, species such as bald eagles, trumpeter swans, loons, and American white pelicans are directly benefited by check-off contributions. To donate directly online, go to http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/eco/nongame/checkoff.html