Falcons Rebound in Vermont

The return of Peregrine Falcons to New England offers promise. Photo by: Peter Larsen

The Burlington Free Press reports:

"Thirty years ago, 60 Vermont cliffs and quarries had emptied of the falcons that once nested there. The birds had been wiped out by DDT, the now-banned pesticide that accumulated in animal tissue and thinned the shells of bird eggs.

Peregrines, small but aggressive hunters, sit at the top of the avian food chain and thus accumulated high concentrations of DDT from their prey. Nest after nest went silent in the 1940s and ’50s, until the birds were gone.Today, many bird species are in steep decline, but peregrines — along with loons, osprey and bald eagles — offer rare good news.Falcons were reintroduced in New England in the 1980s and have thrived. Thirty-eight pairs nested in Vermont this year and have produced at least 50 chicks." See full article.