ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP) - The peregrine falcon has been named the official city bird of Rockford.
The symbolic designation was made Friday not far from the spot where a pair of peregrine falcons produced eggs in 2018 atop the downtown Register Star News Tower, the Rockford Register Star reported.
The female falcon, Louise, has returned to the spot each spring in northern Illinois, hatching a total of seven chicks, according to the newspaper.
“They are a conservation success story,” said Guilford High School student Jackie Kuroda who started a campaign a year ago to name it the city bird.
A camera installed on the tower by the Sinnissippi Audubon Society livestreams the birds’ activities.
“The community loves them and people from all over the United States watch the camera each year,” Kuroda said.
Peregrines are the fastest bird in the world and have the ability to dive at speeds up to 200 mph.
They were nearly wiped out in North America by DDT and similar pesticides in the 1950s. Their numbers began to rebound after DDT was banned.
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