The first chicks made their debut early Wednesday, and the third hatched Thursday. Watch video
One of the adult falcons tends to the four chicks Friday afternoon.SPRINGFIELD -- The final egg in the clutch laid by the female half of a pair of peregrine falcons nesting at Monarch Place hatched Friday, bringing the brood of hatchlings to four.
The first chicks made their debut early Wednesday, and the third hatched Thursday. The drama has unfolded in full view of anyone with access to an Internet connection, thanks to a live webcam maintained by CBS3 Springfield.
Earlier today the new addition was seen jockeying for position among its siblings as one of the adult falcons doled out bits of meat from the carcass of a starling. On Friday afternoon one of the adult birds rested quietly, occasionally nudging a white, downy head back under its spotted breast.
Falcons began nesting at Monarch Place in 1989, and over the years different male and female pairs have produced over thirty offspring.
Wildlife officials will band the current brood of hatchlings later this spring.
In Amherst, a second pair of falcons are nesting atop the W.E.B. Dubois Library on the University of Massachusetts campus. That nest, too, is featured on its own webcam. As in Springfield, several chicks have recently hatched at the Amherst nest.
The University of Massachusetts page dedicated to the campus falcons outlines the birds' perilous history: use of the pesticide DDT nearly wiped out the species in the mid-20th century, and by 1966 there were no nesting pairs in the eastern United States.
Restoration efforts began in 1972, and by 2007 wildlife officials counted 14 territorial pairs in the state. Falcons have nested for years at Mount Sugarloaf in Sunderland, and a pair has been spotted the past several years in Holyoke.