For the first time in five decades, the birth of peregrine falcons was documented in June by Connecticut state environment officials. Three chicks were discovered in a nest on the Travelers Tower in downtown Hartford.
Nationwide, falcon populations have made a dramatic recovery over the past several decades. But that success story had not been repeated in Connecticut. Though falcons have been spotted around Hartford in the last decade, those sightings usually occurred only in the winter or during the birds’ fall migration.
To coax wintertime falcons into breeding, a nest platform was placed on a ledge high on the Travelers Tower more than a decade ago. But until now, there was no confirmed hatching of peregrine chicks.