triplet! Three baby peregrine falcons hatched on the roof of Lakeridge Health Oshawa this spring.
The three peregrine falcons chicks — two female and one male — were born in early May on the roof of the hospital.
Lakeridge Health welcomed the Canadian Peregrine Foundation and Ministry of Natural Resources on-site to band, weigh, and measure the chicks before their first flight. The first female weighed 835 grams and was named Jessie, according to the Canadian Peregrine Foundation. The second female weighed 760 grams and the boy was the smallest of the three, at just 585 grams. There were no names listed for Jessie’s siblings.
“The chicks were all healthy and so far, we have not seen any evidence of avian flu in any of the chicks,” stated a Canadian Peregrine Foundation post.
A pair of peregrine falcon parents have been nesting on the roof of the Oshawa hospital for years. They use a box designed by hospital staff (under the guidance of Peregrine Foundation experts). This year marks almost a decade the peregrine falcons have returned to the nesting spot on top of the Oshawa hospital.
Peregrine falcons were once endangered but the population has since recovered. The population started drastically declining in the 1950s with the use of DDT pesticide. Many countries banned the use of DDT in the 1970s, which, combined with captive breeding efforts, helped gradually increase the number of peregrines.
Currently, the peregrine falcon is listed as a species of special concern provincially and federally.
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