In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the once endangered bird of prey builds a nest and prepares to lay eggs.
In 1962, Rachel Carson wrote the book Silent Spring, which defined the effect DDT had on the environment. Her book became controversial and resulted in the banning of DDT and other harmful chemicals. The peregrine falcon faced extinction due to DDT.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Department of Environmental Protection first became interested in the Harrisburg peregrine falcons in 1996 when they learned a male falcon was flying over the city. The DEP, knowing the nature of the falcons, promptly put a nesting tray on the fifteenth floor of their building(Rachel Carson State Office Building) with hopes the male would return with a mate and find a comfortable home in the nesting tray. In March of 1997, the male did return with a mate, unfortunately, the pair did not produce any eggs. The pair returned in 1998, and again unsuccessful in producing eggs.
After investigating the birds, the Pennsylvania Game Commission and DEP learned that the female falcon came from a nest on the National Shrine in Washington, D.C. where she was banded. Her father escaped from a falconer and therefore was a hybrid. This information concluded that the female was infertile. On April 28, 1999, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service Region 5 captured the female and relocated her at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A week later, the male arrived with a new female. The female was too young to produce eggs.
In 2000, the pair returned and on March 27, the first egg was laid. Recognizing the opportunity they had, the Game Commission and DEP decided to blend several environmental and wildlife organizations and agencies into the Rachel Carson Falcon Team. The team developed educational programs for the public and a streaming video with audio for people worldwide to watch the nesting falcons and the hatching of the eggs. Each year since the first egg was laid the falcons have returned laying anywhere from three to five eggs.
The falcons are territorial. While the female remains on the eggs, the male sits and keeps watch for uninvited guests. In two situations, the male and the female fought off intruders. One intruder, a fellow falcon, eventually gave up after the fight and flew away and the other, a hawk, was injured and landed on the sidewalk in front of the building. A passerby took the injured hawk in to the Rachel Carson building for medical assistance.
It is ironic that a pair of peregrine falcons makes a home each spring at the Rachel Carson building. After all, her book played a major role in saving the falcons.
1. DDT - Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane - a colorless odorless water-insoluble insecticide C14H9Cl5 that is an aromatic organochlorine banned in the United States that tends to accumulate and persist in ecosystems and has toxic effects on many vertebrates – Merriam-Webster Dictionary
2. The peregrine falcon is a bird of prey and is considered one of the swiftest flyers. It is known to dive at 300 km/h. The falcon can live up to twenty years and once it finds a mate, it is with the mate for life.
3. Bird banding data are useful in both research and management projects. Individual identification of birds makes possible studies of dispersal and migration, behavior and social structure, life-span and survival rate, reproductive success and population growth. – United States Geographical Survey
Sources
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
