Campus Peregrine Falcons
The Phoenix &
The Falcons
In addition to our Phoenix, Peregrine Falcons call our campus home.
Since 2011, these amazing falcons have been spotted on campus, and they've been nesting on the Cofrin Library since 2017. They use a nest box inside an air shaft, filled with small pieces of gravel where they scrape out a spot to lay their eggs. Over the years, our campus has fallen in love with the falcons, complete with naming contests! You can watch them on the falcon cam throughout the year or listen for their distinctive alarm calls ("kak kak kak"). But look quick! These are some fast flyers, reaching speeds up to 240 mph as they soar overhead or hunt around campus. (Blue Jays beware!)
Falcon Facts
According to the WI Breeding Bird Atlas II Project (2015-2019), Peregrine Falcons have nested in Wisconsin primarily along the Mississippi River and Lake Michigan but also in urban areas including Green Bay, Milwaukee, Madison and the Fox Cities.
Fastest Animal on Earth
Despite their relatively small appearance (14"-19" tall), Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus) are the fastest animal on Earth and can reach speeds as fast as 238 mph.
Eating Habits
These incredibly fast speeds help Peregrines primarily prey on birds, especially songbirds, ducks, gulls, pigeons and shorebirds, though they do consume bats on occasion.
Found on 6 of 7 Continents
Peregrines are globally widespread and reported on all continents except Antarctica. Despite massive population declines in the 1950s-70s caused by DDT effects, populations are globally stable. In Wisconsin, they are still listed as "state endangered."
Where's Next Nest?
Stay in touch for feathered developments!
The Cofrin Library is being replaced by the Cofrin Technology and Education Center, but that doesn't mean these birds will fly the coop. Efforts are underway to relocate their nesting box, ensuring that generations of falcons will continue to swoop around campus. Stay tuned!
Peregrine Falcon Phases of Life
Here's everything you ever wanted to know about raising a falcon family! Once a falcon pair mates, the female will lay between two and five eggs in early April. Both parents take turns incubating the eggs for about a month. When the eggs hatch, the adorable falcon chicks, known as eyases, are completely dependent on their parents. These helpless little ones stay in the nest for 35-42 days, growing their flight feathers and practicing their flying skills. They stick around with their parents for a while to learn how to fly and hunt, eventually fledging (leaving the nest) and starting their own adventures. Then next spring, it starts all over again...
Nestlings (left), juvenile (middle) and adult (right)
Nesting Pairs
Peregrine Falcons nest naturally on the edges of high cliffs, though they have adapted well to humans by using nest sites located on tall buildings, quarries, bridges, transmission towers and in artificial nest boxes. Some pairs mate for life, particularly those in more remote and natural landscapes, but not all pairs do.
Mimi and Rupert have been the primary nesting pair of Peregrine Falcons here on campus over the years. Mimi and Rupert were originally banded in 2014 and are approximately 8 years old. Mimi was born in Milwaukee County, while Rupert was born in Oshkosh. In 2021, Mimi successfully nested with one of her offspring, Leopold. This was followed by two more successful nesting years for Leopold. But we may be entering a new era with no known connection to Mimi and Rupert; in 2025, Aries, a banded male born in Menasha in 2022, successfully nested with an unbanded female.
| Year | Adults | Banded Fledged Young |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Unbanded Pair | 0 young: nest failed |
| 2012 | Unbanded Pair | 0 young: nest failed |
| 2016 | Mimi & Unbanded Male | 0 young: nest failed |
| 2017 | Mimi & Rupert | 4 young: Austin (male), David (male), Douglass (male; died in late summer 2017) and Peter (male) |
| 2018 | Mimi & Rupert | 3 young: Annie (female), Gary (male) and Tom (male) |
| 2019 | Mimi & Rupert | 4 young: Leopold (male), Muir (male), Carson (female) and Thoreau (male) |
| 2020 | Mimi & Rupert | 4 young: Joanne (female), Cathie (female), Arvid (male), and Robert (male); though none were banded due to the COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2021 | Mimi & Leopold | 2 young: Holly (female) and Wolf (female) |
| 2022 | Mimi & Leopold | 3 young: Wilson (male), Stotts (male) and Gladys (female) |
| 2023 | Unbanded Female & Leopold | 3 young: Sanford (male), Gorham (male) and Whitman (male) |
| 2024 | Unbanded Female & Unbanded Male | 0 young; Nest failed |
| 2025 | Unbanded Female & Aries | 3 young; Zeus (male), Apollo (male) and Athena (female) |
To learn more about the Peregrine Falcons that have nested on campus, please download annual reports produced by Greg Septon on "Wisconsin Falconwatch."
Banding the
Birds
How we track the chicks each year.
Master raptor bander Greg Septon, the founder of Wisconsin Peregrine Falcon Recovery Project, comes to UW-Green Bay each year to band Peregrine Falcon chicks. He conducts a series of measurements on each bird, determines the gender, and attaches metal and color bands to each bird to assist with resighting a bird in the field at a later time. Students from UW-Green Bay's Green Bay Bird Club typically assist Septon during the banding process along with other interested campus staff, faculty and visitors.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to all the people who have made this project possible, starting with Dr. Amy Wolf, Dr. Robert Howe, Tom Erdman and Erin Giese from the Cofrin Center for Biodiversity. We also thank UW-Green Bay students Jacob Woulf, Brandon Bryne, Noah Nei and several other student volunteers for their work establishing, cleaning and maintaining the nest box. This project was supported by Facilities Management (Paul Pinkston), the Division of Information Technology (Ron Kottnitz and Monika Pynaker), the David A. Cofrin Library staff, the campus police and the UW-Green Bay Chancellor and leadership team (especially Holly Keener). Funding for the nest box and camera were provided by the Cofrin Center for Biodiversity, Facilities Management and Paul and Annie Muller.
The nest box and camera are currently maintained by Dr. Paolo Segre and student volunteers from the UW-Green Bay Bird Club.
Ask an Expert
Meet Professor Paolo Segre. When not maintaining the UW-Green Bay nesting box livestream, he's interested in how animals run, swim and fly. His research uses techniques such as 3D video-tracking, bio-logging and hydrodynamic modeling to study how animals move and how this affects their ecology, behavior and evolution.