Raptors are making Madison home

Madison is for the birds . You may see some of our most majestic feathered friends, like bald eagles and peregrine falcons, in your neighborhood.

Eagles

In the 1970s, there were only 100 nesting pairs of bald eagles in Wisconsin. Last year, a milestone was hit when all 72 counties had active eagle nests.

See one tomorrow at the Pheasant Branch Conservancy’s Eagle Nest Watch Party from 4 to 6 p.m. Naturalists will be on hand at the eagle viewing platform (east of the parking lot at Gaylord Nelson Road and Pheasant Branch Road) providing scopes and binoculars to watch the eagles.

Falcons

Trudy and Melvin are peregrine falcons that nest at Madison Gas and Electric’s Blount Generating Station. This year, they’ve produced four eggs that are scheduled to hatch between Thursday, May 8 and Sunday, May 11.

You can watch their progress on their own livestream .

Other feathered friends

• Madison Parks Division | Attend one of the recurring 90-minute birding walks .
• Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance | The organization hosts a multitude of local field trips .
• BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin | Dexter Patterson is a co-founder of the group, known as the “ Wisco Birder .”