WAUSAU (NBC 26) -- The Wisconsin Public Service (WPS) and We Energies falcon chicks have now grown and left the nest.
According to a news release from WPS, Blaze was the first chick to spread his wings, and his younger brother, Hoppy, was the last.
WPS said all of the chicks were named in honor of "favorite things" about Wisconsin.
The fledglings will spend the next few weeks learning how to hunt prey and mastering their flying skills. After that, WPS said they’ll head off in separate directions to start their own lives.
The Department of Natural Resources added peregrine falcons to Wisconsin’s endangered species list in the 1970s. WPS said since the 1990s, WPS and We Energies are a part of a statewide effort to restore the peregrine falcon population. This year’s class of chicks brings the total number of peregrines hatched, named and banded at WPS and We Energies power plants to 410, according to WPS.
