Peregrine Falcon Nest Monitoring Results
New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation issued their annual report on peregrine falcon nest monitoring in the Lake Champlain and Eastern Adirondack regions.
DEC wildlife staff and volunteers monitored 26 peregrine falcon nesting sites during the 2015 breeding season. The sites were located along Lake Champlain and Lake George and throughout the Adirondacks.
According to the report, they confirmed 16 of the 26 sites were occupied by territorial pairs of falcons and all but one of those pairs actively undertook nesting. Of the 15 confirmed active nesting pairs, nine successfully produced a total of 18 chicks. This equates to 1.2 young/breeding pair and 2 young/successful pair – an average level of production for this region. 2015 was slightly more productive then the last few breeding seasons.
Some highlights of the 2015 breeding season include the discovery of a new nesting site on Crane Mountain, from which 2 young peregrines fledged. Also, a single nest along Lake George produced 4 young peregrines (2 young is average for the Adirondacks), and another new nesting location along Lake George may have been discovered.
Some peregrine nests on rock climbing routes were successful this year, especially in the southern part of the region. Nest failures on other rock climbing cliffs were thought to be from factors other than human disturbance, such as the above average precipitation received during the month of June, and the presence of young or inexperienced falcons in some locations. DEC officials report that the cooperation of rock climbers has been important to the success of the monitoring effort.
The peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), also known as the peregrine, or duck hawk is a bird of prey in the family Falconidae. It has a blue-grey back, barred white underparts, and a black head. The peregrine is renowned for its speed, reaching over 200 mph during its characteristic high speed dive, or hunting stoop, making it the fastest member of the animal kingdom.
The peregrine can be found nearly everywhere on Earth, except extreme polar regions, very high mountains, and most tropical rainforests. This makes it the world’s most widespread raptor.
A copy of the full 2015 Eastern Adirondack/Lake Champlain Region Peregrine Falcon Nest Monitoring report can obtained by e-mailing a request to info.R5@dec.ny.gov.
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