Falcons nesting in downtown Davenport await hatching

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) - A pair of peregrine falcons nesting outside of a downtown Davenport high-rise building is expecting their chicks to hatch any day.

MidAmerican Energy spokeswoman Ruth Comer says the birds have laid four eggs in a nesting box outside the company’s 10th-floor window in Davenport. Their impending hatching has prompted MidAmerican and a local news team to livestream the event.

According to a news release, the same male and female falcons have raised 15 chicks in the nesting box since 2003 but this year, a new male bird has staked out the area.

MidAmerican senior facilities technician Dave Sebben says the new bird came as a surprise, but that his arrival is likely due to the falcons’ competitive nature or the former mate’s death.