There’s much happier news to report on the UB falcon front this spring. The four eggs Dixie laid a month ago have hatched and viewers of UB’s Falcon Cam can watch as Dixie and Yankee care for their four fledgling fluff balls.

One of the chicks is much smaller than the other three, but still appears to be getting fed, although it isn’t as aggressive as its siblings, according to the Peregrine Place Facebook page.

Newly hatched falcon chicks weigh about 1.5 ounces and are virtually blind, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. At two weeks, though, they’ve gained the keen eyesight that characterizes peregrine falcons. At six weeks, they take their first flight from the nest.

This spring’s brood brings to 24 the number of peregrine falcons that have been born at UB’s Mackay Heating Tower nesting box. Yankee has been there since 2010, while his female companion, Dixie, arrived three years later.

The news wasn’t as good at another falcon nesting site in Buffalo, as the eggs from the Richardson Complex proved not to be viable. The same thing happened at UB last spring.