Introduction

The peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) is a medium sized raptor with long pointed wings and a long, narrow tail. The adult's plumage consists of a black crown and nape, black "sideburns" and a spotted belly.  Peregrines are distributed essentially worldwide.  Three subspecies have been described in North America: Peale's peregrine (F. p. pealei) is the largest and darkest in color, and inhabits the island chains of the Pacific Northwest; the Arctic peregrine (F. p. tundrius) is a small, pale, highly migratory form distributed in the Nearctic region (most peregrines encountered on the eastern coast in the fall and winter are of this subspecies); and the American peregrine (F. p. anatum) is intermediate in size, color, and migratory behavior.  Its range extends across the continent, reaching that of tundrius in the north and extending south to north-central Mexico.  The peregrines that originally inhabited western Virginia were of an anatum subpopulation called the Appalachian peregrine.  Those birds were larger and darker than others of the subspecies, but that population became extinct before any recovery efforts began. 

Although never occurring in large numbers, the American peregrine falcon was once found throughout the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States.  Optimum nesting habitat consisted of high, long cliffs, usually overlooking water.  Johannes Gabler in 1983 reported the existence of 24 historical cliff eyries in Virginia.  Nesting was also documented at 2 sites along the Virginia coast. At both of these sites, falcons were observed using tree nests made by other birds. 

In 1942, the known nesting population east of the Mississippi was estimated at around 350 pairs.  The decline of the eastern peregrine resulted from human disturbance and, in particular, the widespread use of organochlorine pesticides such as DDT after WWII.  Peregrine falcons were extirpated from Virginia as a nesting species by the mid-1960's. 

In response to range-wide declines and eventual extirpation in the eastern United States, the American and Arctic peregrine falcon subspecies were listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1970.  The Arctic peregrine recovered sufficiently to be delisted in October, 1994.  The American subspecies, however, remained on the federal list until August, 1999.  Because falcons have not recovered as a nesting population in their historic mountainous range within Virginia, however, they remain listed as a Threatened Species under Virginia's Endangered Species Act and regulations enacted by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.  As the Commonwealth's primary wildlife agency, the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has regulatory authority and the lead role for recovery and management of peregrine falcons in Virginia.

Initial Recovery Efforts

In 1975, an Eastern Peregrine Falcon Recovery Team was appointed to develop a federal Recovery Plan, subsequently completed in 1979.  The main objective of the plan was "to restore a new self-sustaining population of peregrine falcons in the eastern United States."  Several actions were described to accomplish this objective, including protecting and managing essential nesting, wintering, and migration habitat; eliminating the environmental pollutants that originally caused most of the population declines; protecting peregrines through law enforcement; implementing an education program to build public support for and understanding of peregrines; and releasing captive-produced falcons into the wild.  To provide a source of young birds for release, a captive breeding facility was started in 1970 at the Laboratory of Ornithology at Cornell University, and the first young falcons were produced in 1973.  The breeding birds used were of a variety of subspecies from different geographic areas including Spain, Scotland, Chile, the Canadian tundra and taiga, the Alaska tundra and taiga, the Aleutian Islands, the Queen Charlotte Islands, and California.  Subsequent peregrine reintroduction in the eastern U.S. began in 1974.

The primary method used to reintroduce falcons to the wild is called "hacking."  This process entails placing three to six birds, at approximately 28-30 days of age, into a protective box at the release site.  Food is provided daily in the form of domestic quail or chicken.  The hack box is opened and the young falcons are released when they are capable of flight (fledging), at approximately 40-45 days of age.  Food is provided until the birds are able to successfully hunt.  The hope is that the young falcons will imprint on the area and return as breeding adults in 2 to 3 years.  All released birds are individually marked with aluminum U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service bands, and sometimes birds are also marked with color-coded bands, or fitted with radio transmitters.

Past Recovery Efforts in Eastern VA

Efforts to restore the peregrine in Virginia began in 1978, when 5 young birds were released on Cobb Island in Northampton County.  Coastal release sites were initially chosen so that the young birds could disperse in areas not typically inhabited by great horned owls, known to be significant predators of young falcons.   These coastal peregrines were to become part of a small, experimental resident population.  One thought behind the coastal releases was that the young peregrines would become self-sufficient in the vicinity of the hack site and then wander extensively, returning as breeding adults to natural cliff eyries of western Virginia.

Coastal hacking continued until 1985.  In those 8 years a total of 115 birds were released from 8 sites, mostly on the Eastern Shore.  Some birds, however, were hacked at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia Beach, and from the roof of a nine-story building in Norfolk.  This urban site, first used in 1980, exhibited many of the same qualities that made the marshes and islands ideal for hacking.  Those qualities included relatively open terrain for hunting, abundant prey items, minimal human disturbance, and protection from predators.  Over 85% of the birds fledged from the coastal hack sites were reported to have successfully dispersed after hacking.

Instead of returning to the mountains to nest, however, the first breeding pair of peregrines to become naturally established in Virginia in more than 20 years took up residence in 1981 at the hack tower on Wallops Island in Accomack County.  Similarly, the first successful nesting (3 fledglings) occurred in 1982 at Assateague Island.  In subsequent years, pairs formed at all of the original hack towers and other suitable sites, including an abandoned shack and a retired ship in the James River reserve or "ghost" fleet.  In the late 1980's, birds began appearing at some of the major bridges on the coastal plain.  The most productive bridge site has been the James River Bridge in Newport News.  Unfortunately, birds hatched on bridges tend to have low survival rates, due to the tenuous nest sites often chosen.  Cross-fostering, brood manipulation, and placement of nest boxes are necessary to improve survival at these locations.

In addition to young bridge birds being killed after falling from the nest, there are other factors that increase chick mortality and depress nest productivity at the coastal sites.  Despite early belief that the islands would be void of great homed owls, predation and the displacement of adult peregrines by great homed owls became a significant problem in the mid-1990's.  Placing owl excluder bars on the nest box openings has reduced but not eliminated this problem.  Also, human disturbance of some nests has occurred over the years.

Finally, despite establishment of a nesting coastal population, some eggs fail to hatch.  Analysis of some “addled” eggs has revealed high levels of DDE (a byproduct of DDT) and other contaminants.  Although use of such pesticides as DDT has been banned in the U.S., they are still widely used in other countries.  The highly migratory behavior of peregrines and many of their prey species continues to expose peregrine falcons to these substances.

Past Recovery Efforts in Western VA

In 1983, Johannes Gabler surveyed 13 of the 24 known historical peregrine nest sites in the mountains to locate any resident peregrines, to determine the suitability of the sites for releasing birds, and to describe the characteristics of the historic eyries.  Acknowledging difficulty in verifying some of the historic sites, Gabler nonetheless found no peregrines or any evidence of breeding.  He did, however, rate the suitability of each site he visited for releasing captive produced falcons, and described his reservations about using particular sites.

Subsequently, the first mountain hack sites were established in 1985 on Mt. Rogers and Clinch Mountain in southwest Virginia.  In 1988, two more sites were established in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests.  Falcons were hacked at sites in Shenandoah National Park starting in 1989.  The only urban hack site in western Virginia was in downtown Roanoke in 1992 and 1993.  All told, 131 peregrines were released from 9 western Virginia sites from 1985 through 1993, with a 90% success rate.