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Peregrine
Falcons
are the fastest animal on the
planet, diving after prey from the sky at over 260 miles an hour.
Primarily bird hunters, they have gradually been rebounding from the
devastating effects of DDT, a pesticide used between 1940 - 1972. The
overuse of the pesticide caused such population declines in Peregrine
Falcons (among other species) that they were faced with extinction and
were placed on the Endangered Species List. Now with DDT banned in the
United States, the Peregrine Falcon is making a comeback, enough so
that they were able to be removed from the Endangered Species List in
1999. |
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The 2010 season ! On May 13, 5 birds were
transferred to the project by The Center for Conservation Biology in
Williamsburg, Virginia. On May 18, they were moved to a hack box
on the cliff at Grandview. Below are photos illustrating this
years's activities. We will be adding more as the season progresses
with the most recent displayed first.
click to reload photos |
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| The 2008 Final Report | The 2009 Final Report |
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Peregrine falcon populations, although rebounding slowly, have still not expanded into the full range of their native haunts. Three Rivers Avian Center, the WV Department of Natural Resources, the National Park Service - New River Gorge and the Center for Conservation Biology have joined together in a five year effort to reestablish peregrine falcon populations into their historic southern Appalachian range. |
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Working with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and State Wildlife Biologists from Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, young peregrines are taken from dangerous nesting sites in each state and brought to the New River Gorge near Fayetteville, West Virginia to be raised and released. In 2006 sixteen young peregrines took wing, in twenty four more nestling peregrine falcons were released. The single season release in 2007 marked the largest release of peregrine falcons from a single site in the species’ recovery history. In 2008, Three Rivers Avian Center was placed in charge of the restoration project in West Virginia and an additional twenty-one young peregrines took to the Gorge skies. You may view satellite tracking data from birds released in 2007 or visit the National Park Service's web site for more information about the program. |
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