LINCOLN, Neb. — A pair of peregrine falcons has laid three eggs outside the 18th floor of the Nebraska Capitol, the state Game and Parks Commission said.
Joel Jorgensen, a commission manager, said he discovered the eggs Wednesday. It's the seventh year in a row the falcons have laid eggs at the Capitol. In the past, the pair has laid one to six eggs, although three or four is typical for peregrine falcons.
The eggs are expected to hatch in early May, Jorgensen said. A contest is typically held to name the chicks after hatching.
The falcon nest can be viewed online through the commission's FalcomCam,
http://outdoornebraska.ne.gov/wildlife/webcam/peregrine/default.asp.Last year, the falcons laid four eggs, three of which hatched. Those chicks were named Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka, after the stars in the belt of the constellation Orion.
The peregrine falcons have produced chicks in five of the last six years. None of the eggs hatched in 2008. The falcons have spawned a total of 15 chicks at the Capitol.
In 2009, four chicks were named after Nebraska rivers: Nemaha, Niobrara, Calamus and Platte. The four chicks that fledged in 2007 were called named Boreas, Notus, Eurus and Zephyrus after the four wind gods from Greek mythology. In 2006, three chicks were named Willa, Bess and Sterling for famous Nebraskans Willa Cather, Bess Streeter Aldrich and J. Sterling. And in 2005, the first chick raised at the Capitol was named Pioneer.
Jorgensen said the male falcon has been at the Capitol since 2003.
http://outdoornebraska.ne.gov/wildlife/webcam/peregrine/default.asp
