General

More falcons on the way at North Omaha Station

OPPD’s resident peregrine falcons, Lewis and Clark, are adding to their family.

Observers spied Clark’s first egg of the year on April 1 in the pair’s nest at North Omaha Station. The second egg arrived April 3, the third April 5, and Clark laid a fourth egg April 8.

Peregrine falcon chicks take about 33 days to hatch. The birds of prey typically lay up to four eggs each year. Female falcons typically do most of the incubating so, over the next few weeks, Clark will spend a lot of time brooding, while Lewis delivers meals to the nest.

You can keep track of their activities on their live webcam.

Observers believe Clark first made her home at the OPPD box in fall 2015, eventually hatching two chicks with a mate. Because of her size, she was thought to be male when she was banded in Lincoln with her brother (and current mate), Lewis.

Spring and summer are busy times in the box. New chicks hatch, feed and grow until they finally take their first steps and flights beyond the box.

Peregrine falcon family line

Last year, Clark laid four eggs. Two of the four chicks survived, sisters Thunder and Lightning.

The pair raised four chicks in 2021, three male falcons – Watt, Ohm and Ampere – and a female falcon, Volta. The pair had three chicks in 2020, daughters Storm and Flicker and son Flash.

Clark and Lewis, born in 2012, continue a large – and long – line of peregrine falcons who originated from a pair that lived at the State Capitol in Lincoln for several years.

A Facebook page called Peregrine Falcons Lincoln Ne follows the OPPD falcons, along with new falcons recently spotted at the Capitol in Lincoln, where there’s been some competition going on recently – be sure to watch that page to see the action; a pair at the WoodmenLife Tower in downtown Omaha; and a pair at an Envergy power plant in Kansas.