Pennsylvania Power & Light Co. and a coalition of Lehigh Valley businesses and environmental and community groups will continue the effort to help restore the peregrine falcon in the Lehigh Valley.

For the second year, young falcons will be raised on the parapet of the 23rd floor of the PP&L Building in Downtown Allentown. Last year, five falcons were successfully raised on the building and now are on their own.

"Releasing more birds this summer improves the chances that peregrines will re-establish themselves in the Lehigh Valley or Pennsylvania," said Jeff Luzenski, a PP&L employee and coordinator of the Lehigh Valley Peregrine Project. "It's very rare to see a peregrine falcon in the Lehigh Valley area. We hope that by raising and releasing the falcons here, the birds will nest and live in this area."

Peregrine falcons are an endangered bird in Pennsylvania. In recent years, the Pennsylvania Game Commission has been working to re-establish the birds in the state and the Lehigh Valley Peregrine Project is part of that effort.

Young falcons will be brought to the PP&L building during June, where they will be raised by licensed falconers and volunteers until they are mature enough to fly.

Shortly after their arrival, the game commission will record the weight of each bird and attach metal identification bands around their legs. The bands are used to identify and track the birds as they migrate.

The birds are raised in a "hack" box until they are about 45 days old. At that time, the hack box is opened and the birds released. Food and water are supplied for at least one month after the birds' release, at which time the young falcons can feed themselves.

"Last year's effort was very successful," Luzenski said. "All the birds were very healthy and, as we expected, they left the area during the fall. We hope that a nesting pair returns to the area or the state, but it's very typical for it to take at least two years until the birds begin nesting."

The PP&L building, because of its height and multitiered architecture, makes a good substitute home for the falcons, which nest on cliffs and rock faces in the wild to avoid predators.

Peregrines are small birds, averaging about 15 to 20 inches in length. They are one of the fastest creatures in nature. The falcons are birds of prey. In urban settings, the birds usually eat pigeons, starlings and similar small birds.

For people who want to observe the falcons while they are in the hack box, a closed-circuit video monitor will be located in a display window at the PP&L building, Ninth and Hamilton streets in Allentown. Service Electric Cable TV, Inc. also is planning to broadcast a live shot of the falcons on a cable access channel.

There is a toll-free telephone line for questions, comments and -- after the falcons are released -- reports of sightings. The number is 1-800-354-8383.

The Lehigh Valley Peregrine Project is a community effort that began with the participation of PP&L, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, Wildlands Conservancy, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, the Lehigh Valley Audubon Society, the Downtown Allentown Improvement District Authority and Northwest Airlines. The group has added 22 additional sponsors for this year's program. Organizers are still seeking donations and support. Call the toll-free number for more information.

To complement the efforts of the peregrine project in Allentown, PP&L has installed nesting boxes at company power plants throughout central and eastern Pennsylvania. The 2-foot-by-3-foot boxes are located about halfway up plant smokestacks and provide suitable nesting locations for migrating falcons.