Peregrine falcons return to Regina's city hall after years of absence

Bits of white fluff, with a big beak — four peregrine falcon chicks may have a face only a mother can love, but some think the chicks are a thing of beauty, including Regina resident Pat Thompson. 

He's delighted that a pair of falcons have made their home atop Regina's city hall for the second year in a row. 

It was doubly exciting to have them come back.- Pat Thompson

Peregrines are known for their speed. The birds of prey can fly up to 100 kilometres an hour, and can reach speeds of more than 300 kilometres an hour when they dive to hunt prey.

Thompson used to be involved in the falcon breeding program at the University of Saskatchewan, back when the raptor was on the endangered species list. 

These days the peregrines are thriving, with numbers on the rise, or stable. 

Thompson says the breeding programs across North America "are one of those rare success stories in terms of reintroduction. But the real key is cleaning up the environment, getting rid of things, like DDT (a pesticide no longer in use), allowed them to flourish again." 

He says peregrines came off the endangered species list back in the mid-2000s and adds that support from cities such as Regina and Saskatoon helped the cause as well. 

Nesting sites were built atop city hall in Regina and there was even a peregrine falcon camera for awhile. 

For about a dozen years, a pair returned to raise their young, but according to Thompson, they stopped coming back to city hall.

He said it has been years since there was a nesting pair. 

"It was doubly exciting to have them come back," said Thompson.

"We expect the young to eventually replace the adults using the nesting site, but for a long time we had none, and it was vacant.  And then bingo – they find this little spot in the middle of Regina. It's pretty incredible." 

He says the male doesn't have a band to identify him, but the female does.  

"We know she's from Manitoba," said Thompson.