After being completely wiped out decades ago by DDT, peregrine falcons are back to stable condition in Wisconsin by relying on tall buildings for nesting sites.

For the past two decades, Greg Septon has helped manage the state’s peregrine falcon recovery program. While the birds virtually did not exist in Wisconsin from 1965 to 1987, he said last year’s tally found 31 nests and 97 young throughout the state. Only four of those nest sites were on natural cliffs.

"A lot of these birds have not gone back and restored native sites as quickly as we had hoped," Septon said. "Frankly, some of the cities today offer these birds an environment that wasn't here 100 years ago that suites them just fine."

Wisconsin and much of the Midwest launched a peregrine recovery program in 1987. Over a five-year span, wildlife specialists released about 100 captivity-born peregrines throughout the state, including in La Crosse, Pleasant Prairie, Madison, Milwaukee and Racine.

Septon said all of the peregrines residing in Wisconsin today are offspring and relatives to the initial captive-produced birds who were released back in the '80s and early '90s.

"Peregrines are the stealth fighters of the bird world," he said. "There’s nothing faster, and seeing one in a classic dive where they can achieve speeds of well over 200 mph is pretty awe-inspiring. It’s something that you don't get to see very often, and when you do, it stirs your soul."

A We Energies webcam provides a live look at peregrine falcons nesting on its power plant building in Milwaukee.