We Energies peregrine falcon chicks take 1st flights

Peregrine falcon Mario leaves nest at We Energies

OAK CREEK, Wis. - Two of the peregrine falcon chicks born this spring at the Oak Creek Power Plant have flown the coop!

"Mario," named in honor of the 1992 debut of Super Mario Kart, raced out of the nest first. Next to leave was "Whitney," named in honor of Whitney Houston’s "I Will Always Love You," the bestselling song of 1992.

Siblings "Mae" and "Favre," named in honor of astronaut Mae Jemison and Packers quarterback Brett Favre, will likely spread their wings any day now.

Peregrine falcon Whitney leaves nest at We Energies

Peregrine falcon Whitney leaves nest at We Energies.

All of the falcon chicks were given 1992-themed names in honor of the 30th anniversary of We Energies’ peregrine falcon program.

The fledglings will spend the next few weeks learning how to hunt prey and mastering their flying skills. After that, they’ll head off in separate directions to start their own lives.

There’s still plenty of action on our live nest box cameras. The chicks born at the Port Washington Generating Station and Milwaukee’s Valley Power Plant are younger and will likely stick around for at least another week or two. The chicks at Weston Power Plant just started to hatch last week.

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This year’s class of chicks brings the total number of peregrines hatched, named and banded at We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service (WPS) power plants to 433 since our recovery efforts began.