The eggs of the pair of peregrine falcons nestled at the top of the tower of the Roger-Gaudry pavilion at the University of Montreal hatched Thursday.
The female, named Eve, had laid four eggs between April 6 and 13. It was mainly she who brooded, while the male, named Miro, brought her food, including pigeons.
The images of the births were captured by a camera which films live the nest box and its surroundings. The first two hatchlings were fed around 5:30 p.m. Almost an hour later, a third egg was hatching while the fourth was still awaited. We could also observe the scene on the YouTube channel “Faucons UdeM en direct”. The chicks, which are barely covered by down, remain for the moment snuggled under their mother’s belly.
Over the years, around thirty falcons have been born at the top of the tower, which has so far hosted two breeding females since the installation of the nest box in 2009.
Last year, two of the four eggs produced chicks, but none ultimately survived.
A comeback
It is sometimes difficult to know what happens to all the falcons born on university grounds, even though they all have identification bands. Some have nested in the Turcot interchange area. In the past, one of the young falcons was found injured in New York State and then released.
Peregrine falcons also nest on the structure of several bridges in the Montreal region, notably on the Jacques-Cartier and Honoré-Mercier bridges.
These births and this presence in Montreal would have been unthinkable just a few years ago, the species having completely disappeared from southern Quebec in the early 1970s.
In the past, the peregrine falcon was decimated, mainly due to the heavy use of DDT, a highly toxic pesticide that caused chronic reproductive problems in these birds.
After the ban on DDT, the numbers of these raptors ended up increasing during the 1990s, in particular because of their ability to adapt to urban environments.
“Birds have demonstrated resilience and adaptability, notably through rapid expansion into cities where they take advantage of urban nesting sites and prey,” noted the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada in an assessment published in 2017 which classified the species as “not at risk”.
Even though its situation has greatly improved in Canada, the species still faces certain threats, including collisions with high-voltage lines, cars or building windows, disturbance by climbing (the falcon often nests on the side of cliffs) or hikers as well as wind turbines.