FREE PRESS • August 31, 2021
Following decades of recovery efforts from the devastating effects of DDT pesticide through the 1960s, opportunities for Maine peregrine sightings have expanded in recent years. The Eastern falcon population was historically rare and was considered extirpated by 1964. Under the Endangered Species Act, peregrines were delisted federally in 1999; however, Maine’s breeding population remains under endangered status. How are Maine’s peregrines doing? According to a 2020 Maine IF&W update, “the peregrine population consisted of 37 pairs with 29 breeding pairs documented. Of the 29 pairs that attempted to nest, 26 pairs were successful and hatched 62 chicks and produced 49 fledglings, with 25 young observed at the flight stage. ~ Don Reimer