Peregrine falcons nesting in downtown Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City's famous pair of peregrine falcons is back!

Peregrine falcons like this one are nesting in a nest box on the northeast corner of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in downtown Salt Lake City.

Photo by Phil Douglass

You can watch the falcons' antics by logging onto the Division of Wildlife Resources' website. Right now, the falcons are caring for four eggs the female has deposited in a nest box on the northeast corner of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.

You can also travel downtown and watch the falcons in person. The Joseph Smith Memorial Building is just west of State Street, between South Temple and North Temple streets.

Watching the falcons from home

You can follow the antics of the falcon family on your computer screen at wildlife.utah.gov/peregrine.

Bob Walters, Watchable Wildlife coordinator for the DWR, says officials with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have placed two cameras in the nest box.

"One camera provides a 'long view' of the interior of the box," Walters says. "The second camera focuses on the nest scrape where the parents are maintaining and safeguarding the eggs.

"If all goes well, you'll be able to watch the falcons from the time they hatch until they learn to fly."

In 2011, the falcon pair successfully raised four chicks.

Since 1986

Almost every year since 1986, a pair of peregrine falcons has nested in downtown Salt Lake City or at an alternative nest site north of the city.

Since 1986, falcons nesting in the area have successfully raised 37 chicks.

For more information, call the DWR's Salt Lake City office at 801-538-4700.