Peregrine Falcons Are On The Rise But Seattle Incidents Show Recovery Is Still Fragile

Peregrine falcon numbers are soaring across the United States, but the birds of prey are struggling in Seattle.

Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt took the first step Friday toward removing the American peregrine falcon, one of the world’s fastest hunting birds, from the endangered species list.

At the same time, Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo announced that it put to death one sick, young peregrine falcon Thursday, and a second remained ill. Both were rescued recently from downtown buildings near their parents’ nest atop the Washington Mutual Tower. A third juvenile from the nest was doing well in “the wild” of downtown Seattle.

The falcons’ nesting success has served as a local symbol of the species’ rebound from the edge of extinction. But the perils of their offspring served notice that nature is demanding and unforgiving.

Most young peregrine falcons do not survive their first year, said Ernie Rose, the zoo’s keeper of raptors, or birds of prey.

“They have to be like Olympic athletes to survive out there,” he said.

The dead bird suffered from a jaw infection that stemmed from her collision with a window. Keepers concluded she never would be able to eat again on her own. Her ill sister is receiving antibiotics for a chronic mouth infection.

Peregrines are crow-sized hunters that hit speeds of about 200 mph when diving after their prey, other birds. They tend to live on tall cliffs, and have adopted skyscrapers as homes in several major cities.

Babbitt, announcing his intent to propose removing the bird from the endangered list, called for information about its recovery.

The known U.S. population of the species has bounced back to almost 1,000 pairs in the 48 contiguous states from 39 pairs in the early 1970s, federal officials said.

Washington state wildlife experts hailed the species recovery as “phenomenal.” About 30 nesting pairs of peregrines are now living in the state, according to state wildlife officials, up from a count of three in 1980 and only one in 1975.

Babbitt praised the Endangered Species Act for helping to engineer the bird’s recovery. More than 4,000 of the birds have been released after being hatched in captivity, and federal and state agencies have protected nests and habitat. Washington state has bought, and guarded, the sites of five peregrine nests in the Puget Sound area alone.

But Mike Spear, regional administrator of the Fish and Wildlife Service, conceded that “clearly the most important thing that happened” to save the species was the 1972 ban on use of the pesticide DDT by the Environmental Protection Agency. Infiltration of peregrines from Canada also has helped rebuild populations in Washington, the state said.