Peregrine Falcon Project
Important Information on the Peregrine Falcon Project
Project Goal: To annually monitor peregrine falcon (Falco peregrines) nest sites and to obtain measures of population status and productivity.
Timeline: Over the most recent 10-year period, from 1999 to 2008, peregrines nesting across the state have produced an average total of 22.5 young per year. From 1989-1998, pairs produced an average total of 11.2 young per year statewide. In the 1980s, they produced fewer than three young per year on average. A grand total of 360 chicks have fledged from New Hampshire peregrine nests since they first began breeding in the state again about 27 years ago. Monitoring for this species will be ongoing until removed from the state Threatened and Endangered Wildlife list and as an ongoing effort with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to monitor recently delisted species.
Location: Statewide
Description: Management of the state's recovering peregrine falcon population is carried out by NH Audubon, working under contract with the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department's Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program. NH Audubon recruits, trains and deploys volunteer observers to document peregrine distribution and productivity. Birds are also banded if possible.
Partners: New Hampshire Audubon, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Funding: Private donations have provided the foundation for the Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program since its inception in 1988. Contributions support the on-the-ground work and also enable the Nongame Program to qualify for additional funding through grants from both the State of New Hampshire and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Donations made to the Nongame Program are matched dollar-for-dollar by the State of New Hampshire up to $50,000 annually. Please help keep this project going by donating to the Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program.
The Nongame Program also receives a portion of proceeds from the sale of the NH Conservation License plate (moose plate) each year. To learn more please visit the NH Moose Plate Program online at www.mooseplate.com.
Volunteering: Volunteers help to monitor the breeding locations of peregrine falcons across the state. Contact New Hampshire Audubon for more information at: www.nhaudubon.org or (603) 224-9909.
Outcomes: In 2008, New Hampshire had 16 pairs of breeding peregrine falcons. Thirteen of the pairs successfully raised a total of 27 young this year. A grand total of 360 peregrine falcon chicks have fledged from New Hampshire since they first began breeding in the state again about 27 years ago.
In 2008 biologists banded 16 peregrine nestlings and were able to identify 4 adult peregrine falcons by the bands on their legs. The nesting adult peregrine falcons included a 13-year-old male raised in Dixville Notch and breeding in Franconia Notch, an 11-year-old male from Stark that has been confirmed breeding near Orford for 11 consecutive years, and two more locally raised birds found breeding in Massachusetts: one on the Logan Airport control tower and one on a campus building at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.