General

It’s a family reunion for the falcons at North Omaha Station

Lewis and Clark, the resident peregrine falcons at North Omaha Station, are back for another year, and this year they’ve had a bit of a family reunion. 

Clark was spotted back at the nest on Feb. 17, and a second falcon was seen with her that day and in the days that followed. Finally, on March 2, that second falcon perched right in front of the camera with his bands in clear view – the second falcon was Ohm, one of the chicks Lewis and Clark hatched and raised in 2021. 

Lewis arrived March 5, and he and Clark have been tidying their nest and taking turns staring directly at their webcam. Clark has always kept a close eye on the camera, but Lewis has been following suit this year, with a rather stern gaze. 

Employees at OPPD’s Nebraska City Station will be watching their falcon box to see if a pair returns again this year and to try to determine whether Ohm is one of the falcons that has nested there over the past couple of years. 

A productive pair

Lewis and Clark were born at the Nebraska State Capitol in 2012. Banders initially thought Clark was male, based on her weight at banding time.  

The two settled into the box at North Omaha Station in 2015, and they have produced and raised 10 chicks: Storm, Flicker, Flash, Volta, Watt, Ohm, Ampere, Thunder, Lightning and, last year, Beak Randby. 

Clark continued to lay eggs in 2023 and 2024, but all of those offspring died. Some of their eggs never hatched, and the chicks that did barely ate and appeared to be sick and weak. 

Clark surprised observers in 2024 when she laid a second clutch after losing her first clutch of the year. Unfortunately, she lost that clutch, as well. 

The cause of the deaths is unknown, but James Thiele, OPPD’s Wildlife and Natural Resources program manager, and others have speculated that Clark’s advanced age may be a factor. 

That’s why observers were surprised and excited in 2025 when Beak Randby survived and appeared to fledge successfully.  

Ospreys on the way?

We haven’t spotted the ospreys that nest at Fort Calhoun Station so far this year; they usually arrive later than the falcons do, so they should appear in the next couple weeks. Keep an eye on their webcam. 

And we’ll be watching North Omaha Station for the ospreys that first arrived there in 2024 and returned again last year. That nest does not have a webcam, but OPPD employees will monitor and report on developments there.