Watch live right now, peregrine falcon chicks

Last time we checked in on the peregrine falcon nest at the downtown Commerce Tower building, there wasn’t much going on.

But today, you can see at least three falcon chicks on live streaming video.

The eggs hatched late last week, according to Joe DeBold, an urban wildlife biologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC). The chicks are huddled together and look like a ball of fur. DeBold says the young ones haven’t separated enough to determine if there are three or four chicks. There were originally four eggs. Also, the female often shelters the young with her body.

This is the first year webcam viewing of the nest at Commerce Tower has been made available to the public by the Missouri Department of Conservation in partnership with NAI Capital Realty, which manages the building.

More from the Missouri Department of Conservation

The nest at Commerce Tower is MDC’s oldest and most productive site in Missouri for peregrine falcon restoration efforts in cities. They say the falcons originally nested on cliffs along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. They are still considered endangered in Missouri but conservation efforts utilizing big-city buildings as substitutes for cliffs are helping sustain falcons in the state.

More than 30 young falcons have fledged or flown from the ledge since restoration efforts began there in 1991. MDC staff monitors four other nests in the Kansas City area. But Commerce Tower is the only site with a web camera.

For more information about falcons and wildlife in Missouri: http://mdc.mo.gov.

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