Meet Goalden, Sassafras & Moose: 3 Peregrine falcon chicks hatched in KC
A downtown Kansas City law firm celebrated the coming-of-age of three newly-hatched falcon chicks Thursday by attaching their tracker bands and naming the chicks.
The three Peregrine falcon chicks, now known as Goalden, Sassafras and Moose, were hatched in late March on the roof of Shook, Hardy & Bacon’s downtown building, located south of Crown Center.
Typically, chicks are banded around 20 days after hatching, giving their legs time to develop properly before attaching their bands, according to a list of Peregrine falcon milestones to watch.
On Thursday morning, the chicks were banded. The event brought anticipation, joy, and laughter to firm employees as they watched the chicks, two females and one male, chirp while being banded. Each band has numbers to identify the bird.
Following the banding, the names Goalden and Sassafras were chosen for the two female chicks. The male chick was named Moose.
“Without you all participating in this, this wouldn’t be possible. As y’all know, about two years ago, Joe [DeBold] actually got them off the endangered species list from Missouri, which is great,” said Christopher Cain, an urban wildlife specialist from the Missouri Department of Conservation. DeBold, a wildlife damage biologist, was initially in charge of this project.
This species of bird, although no longer endangered in Missouri, is still on the federal list of endangered animals. That’s why it’s still necessary to track the movements of the birds and their traveled habitats, according to Cain.
Cain has even seen chicks from Kansas City end up in Texas.
“That’s the beauty of it,” said Cain. These birds don’t follow precise routes and can travel anywhere, he said. There’s no rhyme or reason. They go wherever they feel like going, he added.
Conservation partnerships, like the one between Shook, Hardy & Bacon and the Missouri Department of Conservation, are critical for Missouri wildlife, said Cain.
“Missouri is about just over 90% private land owned, and so, without the collaboration of private land owners — be it a business, homeowners or land owners — we couldn’t bring species back or keep species from falling on the list,” said Cain.
The chick’s mother, Endura, has been nesting at the law firm’s building since 2018.
She’s raised a total of 28 chicks in the nest box placed in 2016 by the firm in partnership with the Missouri Department of Conservation.
Soon, in June, these chicks will take off from their downtown home and fly the skies of the world.
Until then, everyone is welcome to watch the 24/7 livestream of the nest.
This story was originally published May 15, 2025 at 2:12 PM.