Power Engineering - Rare peregrine falcon makes its home at Consumers Energy B.C. Cobb Plant in West Michigan

MUSKEGON, Mich., July 8, 2003 -- A pair of proud peregrines have made Consumers Energy's B.C. Cobb Plant home for their three young falcons, becoming only the second known nesting site for the rare birds on Michigan's west coast.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has confirmed observations of Cobb Plant employees and birders from the Muskegon Nature Club: Three peregrine young have hatched in a nesting box attached to the plant's 650-foot stack. The young hatched approximately six weeks ago.

The successful nesting is the first at Cobb since employees installed the wooden box more than 200 feet above ground in 1995, after the release of five peregrine young from the company's JHCampbell Complex in West Olive. For the past three years, falcon young have also hatched in a nesting box on the stack at the Grand Haven Board of Light and Power's generating facility along the Grand River.

"We are extremely pleased that after eight years of watching and waiting, our Cobb employees and local birding enthusiasts finally have a pair of peregrines calling Cobb home," said Cobb Plant Business Manager Robert C. Malec. "We hope this year's successful nesting is the first of many. We appreciate all of the support and assistance we've received from our employees, the Department of Natural Resources and the Muskegon Nature Club."

A number of plant employees, as part of their duties, make "rounds" outside the powerhouse and have observed and reported falcon activity, Malec said.

While recently removed from the federal endangered species list, the peregrines remain a "threatened" federal species.

Even though the peregrine population is improving nationally, having a successful nesting is "rather rare and quite exciting," said Nik Kalejs, a DNR wildlife biologist based at the Muskegon State Game Area who has been involved in the West Michigan peregrine program since its beginning in 1995.

At least one peregrine falcon has been spotted near the Cobb Plant for more than a year, but there was no evidence of nesting until late this spring. The adult peregrines have identification leg bands but observers have been unable to read the bands. When possible, newly hatched peregrines are "banded" with the state and federal identification bracelets on their legs.

At the Cobb Plant, the young were not discovered soon enough after their hatching in the remote nesting box to be safely banded. Young falcons grow quickly, becoming adult size in less than two months. An adult peregrine falcon has a wingspan from 36 to 44 inches.

For more information on peregrines in Michigan, please visit the DNR's website at www.michigan.gov/dnr . Follow the "Wildlife and Habitat," "Wildlife Species," and "Birds" links for the Michigan peregrine story, as well as links to other related sites.

The Cobb Plant is one of several Consumers Energy facilities certified as wildlife habitat areas by the Wildlife Habitat Council, a national organization which works with companies across the United States to make wildlife preservation and enhancement part of their business operations. The peregrine falcon program is one of several wildlife enhancement programs maintained as part of the Cobb Plant's WHC certification of its 300-acre site.

Consumers Energy, the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy, provides natural gas and electricity to more than six million of the state's nearly 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties.

For more information about Consumers Energy, visit our Website at www.consumersenergy.com

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