Where are they now?: Tundra

She was named after wild Wisconsin winters, but this Tundra can be tamed — or at least, caught. The young peregrine falcon named “Tundra” was captured and released at the Cedar Grove Ornithological Research Station (CGORS) this fall. 

Tundra was one of two chicks born at the Wisconsin Public Service (WPS) Weston Power Plant in Rothschild in May 2020. Our customers voted to name her and her brother, Kringle, after some of our favorite things about Wisconsin. 

Nadia Swanson, a volunteer at CGORS, took this photo of Tundra with Master Bander Tom Meyer in October. CGORS, established in the 1930s, traps and bands migrating raptors each fall and collects long-term population data. After each bird is banded, it is safely released back into the wild. This image is included with Nadia’s permission.

After our peregrine falcon chicks fly the nest, we never know if we’ll see them again. Sightings like this one are made possible by the small identification bands we attach to the falcons’ legs while they are still nestlings.

Hopefully the next time someone is able to ID Tundra, it will be at a nest site of her own.

Stay tuned for the start of the 2021 peregrine falcon nesting season, coming in March. If everything goes well, we’ll meet a brand-new class of chicks and watch them hatch, grow and fly away. 

Peregrine falcon program

We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service are honored to be a part of a statewide effort to restore the peregrine falcon population. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources added peregrine falcons to the state’s endangered species list in the 1970s.

Since our first successful nest in the mid-’90s, 410 peregrine falcons have hatched at our facilities. The falcons are drawn to tall structures along Lake Michigan or major rivers, which make many of the We Energies and WPS facilities ideal nesting sites.

This program is another way We Energies and WPS are building a bright, sustainable future. From helping endangered animals and restoring natural habitats, to building new solar facilities and reducing carbon emissions, we are committed to a cleaner future.