And they’re off! The peregrine falcon chicks born at Wisconsin Public Service’s (WPS) Weston Power Plant this spring have left the nest.

Flaps, Hercules and Lee have all taken their first flights. They’re now learning how to hunt prey and mastering their flying skills. The peregrine falcons will head away from the Weston Power Plant to start their own lives later this month.

A photo collage showing three separate peregrine falcons flying out of a nest box near a power plant.

All 12 of the falcon chicks born at WPS and We Energies power plants this spring were given names in honor of the companies’ “founding feathers” — legendary peregrine falcons from years past. Each of the chicks have now taken their first flights, bringing another successful nesting season to a close.

This year’s class of chicks brings the total number of peregrines hatched, named and banded at WPS and We Energies power plants to 465 since recovery efforts began in 1992 — that’s almost 20% of all peregrine falcons born in the state of Wisconsin.