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SALT LAKE CITY -- They're back, and you can see them for yourself. Two peregrine falcons have once again made their nesting home on the side of a Salt Lake building, and a webcam has once again been placed inside the box the falcons are calling home.
Construction noise is pretty much all you can hear now from the microphone, but soon you might be able to hear baby falcons chirping for food.
"It's that time for birds to nest and bring forth more of their own kind," said Bob Walters, watchable wildlife coordinator for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.
Every year Walters hopes the peregrine falcons come back. This year, they did. "It's very exciting," he said.
Once again, the falcons have made a nest on the Northeast corner of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in downtown Salt Lake, and once again, two webcams are pointed at their every move.
One webcam gives you a full view, which sometimes makes it hard to see the birds; the other is close up. "It's a birds-eye view into what is a special activity carried out in millions of locations, both wild and not-so-wild habitats," Walters said.
The DWR believes peregrine falcons have been coming to Salt Lake City to nest since 1984. Getting a webcam installed at this location has been very popular, but last year all three baby birds died, bringing lots of calls of sympathy from watchers to DWR offices.
"It's heartbreaking, and I've taken phone calls and e-mails from all parts of the country," Walters said.
This year, though, there is new hope. Three more eggs have been counted, and people are watching again. "Maybe we'll get lucky and have some young birds fly off the building," Walters said.
If you'd like to watch the birds on your computer, or maybe even make the box small and put it in the corner of your screen during work, CLICK HERE.
E-mail: acabrero@ksl.com
