Xcel Energy Falcon Cam
Falcon Cam
Active: March - May
Riverside Plant, Minneapolis, MN
The Riverside plant is located on the Mississippi River in northeast Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The Riverside generating plant has been a fixture and visible presence in Minneapolis since 1911, and it remains a critical source of electricity for downtown Minneapolis and the surrounding communities. The Riverside Repowering Project involves repowering our existing Riverside coal fired power plant with a natural gas combined cycle power plant. Due to this project the next box will be relocated later this year after the nesting season. For the past several years, the nest box at this location has not attracted a nesting pair of peregrine falcons, only a single female bird that has not produced eggs. Because of this and the construction project, we have removed this camera from our web site. It could be reactivated in 2009 after the box is relocated and if it attracts an active pair of birds.
Other Falcon Daily Pix
Latest News
It's too soon for peregrine falcon nesting, but we expect to see activity when the migrants begin to return this next month. The male falcon living at our Black Dog Plant is an exception, this bird has spent the entire winter at the site. Nora, who has traditionally nested at Black Dog, appears to have gone south for the season.
About Falcon Cam
Peregrine falcons find power plant stacks very attractive nest sites for because:
- peregrine falcons are most at home high in the sky, where they "skydive" for prey. By installing nest boxes at a height of 300- 600 feet above the ground, we are able to offer them an environment similar to the high cliffs they naturally prefer;
- from high on the stacks, peregrines get an excellent view of the skies around them, giving them the opportunity to quickly spot their intended prey.
Using Falcon Cam, you can watch these birds throughout the day as they go about raising their families, from mid-April through June.
Interested in corresponding with other Bird Cam viewers? Join the BirdCam Forum available through the Raptor Resource Project.
Falcon Facts
- Both parents help raise their young.
- Have been known to live up to 15 years.
- Eat prey largely made up of other birds which they catch in flight.
- Use of the pesticide DDT nearly wiped out the entire population in the 1960s.
- Peregrine Falcons are the fastest raptors on earth, with diving speeds over 200 miles per hour and level flight speeds of over 60 miles per hour.
