Watch Kansas City area peregrine falcon nests online this spring

Kansas City, Mo. - Spring brings nesting seasons for birds, and among the most fun to watch thanks to online cameras are peregrine falcons. The Missouri Department of Conservation's (MDC) decades long effort to restore falcons as nesting birds in the state is aided by partners. Peregrine falcons were originally cliff-nesting birds, and ledges on tall buildings and utility smokestacks have proved to be an optimum modern nesting site. Cameras are streaming nesting falcons at two sites nesting sites in the Kansas City area this spring.

One site is the Shook, Hardy, and Bacon law office building at 2555 Grand Blvd. in Kansas City. A falcon pair is currently guarding four eggs at this nest. Once the eggs hatch, viewers will be able to watch the parents feed the young and see the progress as the young, called eyasses, grow and later fledge. That nest can be viewed online at Shook Falcon Cam Live Stream - YouTube.

Another online nest is on a smokestack at the Iatan Energy Plant north of Weston in Platte County. This has been a productive nest site for falcons for several years. Falcons at that nest overlook the Missouri River valley. The nest can be viewed online at Evergy Iatan Falcon Cam | Inside The Nest Live Stream - YouTube.

MDC staff annually visits the nest boxes and bands the young falcons before they fledge. Those leg bands have enabled biologists to track movements of falcons throughout the United States. Falcons banded in the Kansas City area have sometimes returned to nest, or they have been spotted in pairs nesting in other Midwestern cities.

The falcons are among the fastest aerial flyers and they feed on smaller wildlife including pigeons. Their preying on the non-native pigeons is a service to communities.

Peregrine falcons are a species of conservation concern in Missouri. They were once almost eradicated in the lower 48 states due to pesticides like DDT harming reproduction. Conservation efforts such as nesting boxes in urban areas has helped re-establish peregrines in the Midwest. To learn more about peregrine falcons in Missouri, visit http://short.mdc.mo.gov/Zrd.