Wildlife Blog of Charles A.

Peregrine Falcons Prominent Once Again By Charles Avenengo A juvenile peregrine falcon perches under the old Sakonnet River Bridge.  (Photo courtesy of ©Peter Green/providenceraptors.com) Another casualty in our area of the pesticide DDT, like the osprey, was the peregrine falcon. Similar to the osprey and other apex birds of prey, peregrines consume smaller grain-eating birds. During the spraying years, the smaller birds munched on insecticide-laced seeds, and when peregrines ate them, the poison built-up in their fat tissues. This reduced the calcium in their eggshells and resulted in fewer eggs being hatched. As a result, the subspecies of peregrines east of the Mississippi river vanished by the mid-1960s. The only peregrines seen locally were an Arctic subspecies that would pass through our region during migration periods. But their recovery began after peregrines were included on the Endangered Species list in 1969, followed by the banning of DDT in 1972. These...