Hamilton's Sky-High Residents Welcome New Arrivals
Hamilton, Ontario has something to celebrate this spring: three fluffy peregrine falcon chicks have hatched at the Sheraton Hotel in the heart of downtown, bringing a fresh round of excitement to the city's beloved FalconWatch program.
The chicks belong to McKeever and Judson, the resident nesting pair that have made the Sheraton their home high above the city streets. Their arrival marks another successful breeding season for one of Canada's most dramatic urban wildlife stories.
Peregrine Falcons and Canada's Urban Comeback Story
The peregrine falcon's return to Canadian cities is one of the great conservation success stories of the past few decades. Once pushed to the brink of extinction across North America largely due to the pesticide DDT, peregrine populations have rebounded significantly since the chemical was banned in the 1970s. Reintroduction programs across Canada helped re-establish nesting pairs in cities from Vancouver to Halifax.
Today, tall buildings and bridges serve as surrogate cliff faces for these birds — and urban environments actually offer some advantages. Pigeons are plentiful, sightlines are long, and dedicated volunteer networks like Hamilton's FalconWatch keep a close eye on nesting progress each spring.
Peregrines are the fastest animals on Earth, capable of reaching speeds over 300 km/h in a hunting stoop. Watching one hunt above a city skyline is a genuinely jaw-dropping experience that urban wildlife programs have made accessible to thousands of Canadians.
What to Expect This Season
With three chicks now hatched, the coming weeks will be a critical period. The young falcons — called eyases at this stage — will grow rapidly, going from helpless hatchlings to fully feathered juveniles in just about six weeks. Volunteers with Hamilton's FalconWatch program typically monitor the nest closely during this period, watching for the first tentative wing-flapping exercises and, eventually, the dramatic first flights known as fledging.
Fledging season is when things get truly nerve-wracking. Young falcons often misjudge their first flights and can end up grounded on city sidewalks, requiring rescue and careful handling by trained volunteers before being safely returned to the nest ledge or a nearby perch.
For Hamiltonians, the annual falcon watch has become a beloved civic tradition — the kind of local wildlife moment that brings together birders, curious passersby, and downtown workers all peering upward at the Sheraton's upper floors with binoculars and phone cameras.
Canada's Urban Falcon Network
Hamilton isn't alone. Peregrine nesting pairs are now documented in cities across Canada, including Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Edmonton. Many of these urban nest sites have live webcam feeds and active volunteer monitoring programs, making them accessible community events as much as wildlife milestones.
For anyone planning a visit to Hamilton this spring, keeping an eye on the FalconWatch social channels for fledging updates is highly recommended — there are few things in nature quite like watching a young peregrine take its first flight above a Canadian city skyline.
Source: CBC Hamilton
