"Sheldon" and "Rosalee" have come home and you have a chance to see their digs up close and personal. Peregrine falcons have returned to the Weston Power Plant near Wausau to nest and raise their young.
The falcons enjoy nesting on high places, in the wild on a high cliff. But the tall power generation towers provide a suitable place for the rare falcons to live and breed.
Wisconsin Public Service spokesperson Matt Cullen says you can see how things are going with Sheldon and Rosalee and their brood...
"...for the first time we're able to provide an uninterrupted live video and audio feed from inside those nest boxes so people can watch around the clock the progress of the Peregrine falcons and the chicks that will eventually be inside the nest boxes later this year...."
Cullen says they're again offering a contest....
"We'll be offering our 'Name The Chicks" contest for kindergartners through eighth grade students throughout the service area. They'll be able to submit a name for the falcon chicks as a part of this year's contest. The winners will be announced after the chicks have hatched inside the nesting boxes...."
For the first time, an uninterrupted live video and audio feed from inside both nest boxes is available via the energy company’s YouTube channel. You can also get more information by going to the WPS website and search for falcons.
WPS has been involved in peregrine falcon recovery efforts since 1993, and saw chicks first hatch inside its nesting boxes in 1996. In that time, 92 peregrine falcons have hatched inside the WPS nest boxes, helping a species that was once near extinction..