ATLANTA — The public can again follow the private lives of downtown Atlanta’s most prolific peregrine falcons.
A Web camera at www.georgiawildlife.com provides frequent updates on two adult peregrines and their three nestlings from a 51st-floor nest outside the offices of the McKenna, Long & Aldridge law firm. These protected raptors, which typically mate for life, are one of two peregrine pairs nesting in Atlanta. The down-covered nestlings pictured in the high-level planter home are almost 4 weeks old. They fledge at about five weeks.
Jim Ozier, a Nongame Conservation Section program manager with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, said public fascination with the falcons demonstrates “a high level of interest in wildlife conservation. People particularly enjoy success stories, and the restoration of the peregrine falcon is an inspiring example.”
Peregrines were removed from the federal list of threatened and endangered species because of a successful population recovery effort, but the birds are still listed as rare by the state of Georgia.
The DNR has peeked in on the falcons’ nests for the last four years, thanks to McKenna, Long & Aldridge and a grant from The Garden Club of Georgia.
“Watching the baby falcons is truly an exciting annual event - from birth through the transition from down to feathers, then learning to fly and to hunt, and finally ending with our couple sending their young off in the world to find their own cliffs on which to dwell,” said Clay C. Long, founding partner and past chairman of the law firm.
To see the peregrines, go to www.georgiawildlife.com and click “Conservation,” then “Species of Concern” and the falcon Web cam link. Frequently hit your computer’s refresh, or reload page, button: The images are updated every few minutes.
A Web camera at www.georgiawildlife.com provides frequent updates on two adult peregrines and their three nestlings from a 51st-floor nest outside the offices of the McKenna, Long & Aldridge law firm. These protected raptors, which typically mate for life, are one of two peregrine pairs nesting in Atlanta. The down-covered nestlings pictured in the high-level planter home are almost 4 weeks old. They fledge at about five weeks.
Jim Ozier, a Nongame Conservation Section program manager with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, said public fascination with the falcons demonstrates “a high level of interest in wildlife conservation. People particularly enjoy success stories, and the restoration of the peregrine falcon is an inspiring example.”
Peregrines were removed from the federal list of threatened and endangered species because of a successful population recovery effort, but the birds are still listed as rare by the state of Georgia.
The DNR has peeked in on the falcons’ nests for the last four years, thanks to McKenna, Long & Aldridge and a grant from The Garden Club of Georgia.
“Watching the baby falcons is truly an exciting annual event - from birth through the transition from down to feathers, then learning to fly and to hunt, and finally ending with our couple sending their young off in the world to find their own cliffs on which to dwell,” said Clay C. Long, founding partner and past chairman of the law firm.
To see the peregrines, go to www.georgiawildlife.com and click “Conservation,” then “Species of Concern” and the falcon Web cam link. Frequently hit your computer’s refresh, or reload page, button: The images are updated every few minutes.