EAST LANSING, Mich. — Students aren't the only ones living on campus at Michigan State University. In fact, peregrine falcons decided to make MSU their home, thanks to a recently installed falcon nesting box.
“Peregrine falcons are typically cliff dwellers. They really just need a flat surface with rocks or gravel where they can make a scrape and lay their eggs," said the President of MSU’s Fisheries and Wildlife Club, Molly Engleman. "So the nest box provides them with that area where they can make a nest and hopefully reproduce."
The box is the work of MSU’s Fisheries and Wildlife Club. They have been seeing the falcons above the Spartan Stadium for the last five years.
When they noticed the endangered birds weren’t reproducing, they decided to do something about it.
“We figured, hey, let's pool our resources together, try the best we can, see if we can help them out there. That's really where the project started,” said the club’s Treasurer, Eddie Yago.
Last year, the club spent a lot of time writing grants and trying to get donations.
By January, they had all the money they needed; close to $5,000.
The nesting box was installed in January and last week two peregrine falcons made the box their home.
They’re the fastest birds in the world, so if you see a falcon diving out of the sky at 200 miles per hour, it might be them.
“They’re top predators, so they have an important role in the ecosystem as well. And the fact that they're taking to this urban environment is just kind of showing us and what we want to show other people is, you know, it's possible for wildlife and people to coexist in the same area,” Engleman said.
Last week there were only two eggs in the nest box. Now, there are four.
To watch the 24/7 live stream on top of Spartan Stadium, click here.
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