History

Since 2007, a pair of peregrine falcons has called UMass Lowell’s East Campus home. Their hideaway at Fox was discovered by accident in 2007 when workers tried to attach a large banner to the side of the building.

They have been adopted as our newest River Hawks. 

The birds, which are highly territorial, took turns attacking the intruders. At the time, the female had laid eggs on a bare bed of gravel on the roof, but the eggs didn’t hatch; it was too cold and too damp. 

In February 2008 the University provided a nest box so the eggs would be protected from the elements and installed a web cam, which allowed officials and the public to keep track of the hatchings. 

The birds’ penthouse digs—18 stories above the ground—come with a view of the urban sprawl of Lowell, the growing campus beneath and the mighty Merrimack River, which would lure a veritable banquet of meals.

 

Since 2008, 20 chicks have been successfully raised. This includes a chick "adopted" from Lawrence in 2008, the runt of a four-chick litter plucked from a nest up the Merrimack and brought to Lowell by wildlife officials.

An upgraded wooden box and high-definition web cameras were installed on the Fox Hall roof in March 2014—in an odd synergy with the buildings below. 

Beneath the birds’ renovated digs, a similar transformation has taken place on campus. 

More students and higher standards arrived. More buildings rose. Even the food got better in re-imagined dining facilities. Division I came calling.

All the while, the birds chose to make our world a home, each spring, after wintering not far from here, say officials. 

Some beings spend a lifetime looking for home. Our River Hawks spend a lifetime returning.