Port peregrines likely flu victims

Brinn and Beasley, who have been the resident peregrine falcons at the Port Washington power plant for the last eight years, are believed to have died of avian flu this spring, Greg Septon of the Wisconsin Peregrine Falcon Recovery Program said this week.

Septon said Brinn, who leaves every winter for parts unknown, returned to the Port nesting site on March 4 and everything appeared to be normal. But on March 8, he found the bird dead in the nest box.

A few days later, he said, Beasley, who spent the winter in Port, disappeared.

Because of their sudden disappearance — and the fact Beasley disappeared days later — Septon said he believes the birds are dead of bird flu, which has been taking a toll on fowl in recent months.

“If I were a betting man, I’d bet a lot of money on it,” Septon said.

He noted that they were not able to conduct a necropsy on Brinn and Beasley’s body has not been found.

Septon noted two adult peregrines in Milwaukee died and tested positive for avian flu and at least four others in the Chicago area have died as well.   

“This is the first year I had any peregrines test positive,” he said.

The Port birds, he said, were in good shape before this.

“They were healthy. Both of them looked great,” he said.

Septon said a number of merganser ducks were found dead of avian flu along the lakeshore in February.

“I think it really affected the peregrines,” he said, noting the name peregrine means duck hawk.

A duck that’s ill would be an easy target for peregrines, Septon said, adding it’s possible that Port’s birds may have eaten a sick merganser and died.

“Often at this time of year, they hunt together and share food,” he said, adding males in particular “turn into hunting machines this time of year.”

The avian flu outbreak right now “is unprecedented,” Septon said, adding that he’s hoping it will abate soon.

He noted that a recent paper noted that a number of birds tested during the last year have shown higher amounts of antibodies to the flu.

“We’re hoping the birds we have around here are developing immunity,” he said. “I’m hopeful the worst is behind us.”

Brinn was hatched at the Gold Hoist Cliff in Split Rock State Park in Minnesota in 2012 and came to the Port nesting site in 2013.

Beasley, who was hatched at the  Milwaukee County power plant nesting site in Wauwatosa in 2014, had been at the Port nesting site since 2016.

The pair produced 27 chicks.

But the loss of Brinn and Beasley has a silver lining, Septon said.

A female peregrine who had made a couple attempts to move into the Port nest has taken it over, Septon said, and she drew in a male peregrine named Hamm’s Solo, who was hatched in 2023 at the Molson Coors nest site in Milwaukee.

The birds were so-called floaters, unattached peregrines who are not tied to a specific site and haven’t yet nested.

“My guess is he’d been watching and waiting for a new opportunity,” Septon said of Hamm’s Solo.

He noted that when both peregrines at a site are lost, other birds don’t always move in.

“We’re very lucky,” Septon said, adding he is “pretty confident” the new pair will lay eggs at the Port nesting site.

It is peak laying season now, Septon said, but because the pair recently settled in Port  it may take a while for them to bond and produce eggs.

The Port nesting box has a camera. To watch the peregrines, visit www.wecenergygroup.com/environment/falcons/.