Visiting A Peregrine Falcon Nesting Box

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- In the 1960s, they were an endangered species, threatened by the pesticide DDT. But now peregrine falcons have made an amazing comeback.

The birds have been helped with nesting boxes provided by the Midwest Peregrine Society and other groups.

On Thursday, three chicks were removed from a box on the 26th floor of the Bremer Bank Building in St. Paul.

The peregrine parents were not happy with the human interference but the babies were back to the nest in about a half an hour.

"We take a very small blood sample for contaminate work, for genetic data banking, things like that," said Jackie Fallon with the Midwest Peregrine Society. "We've got over 5,000 blood samples banked in our collection right now and then we're going to be putting two bands on their legs."  

At the age of 17, the father of these chicks in the oldest peregrine known in Minnesota. The babies are about three weeks old.