In the 1960's, no peregrine falcons remained in Massachusetts due to the use of a harmful pesticide called DDT. Now, the species is rebounding. Three falcon chicks being banded in Newburyport on Wednesday as part of a larger effort to identify these birds.
State officials will attach identifying bands to three recently hatched peregrine falcon chicks on Wednesday, as part of the state's ongoing efforts to restore the species of special concern in Massachusetts.
Prior to the use of a harmful pesticide called DDT, there were 375 nesting pairs of peregrine falcons in eastern United States. The last wild pair was found in 1955 on Monument Mountain, which straddles Great Barrington and Stockbridge in the Berkshires. By the 60's, none of the birds remained in Massachusetts, according to MassWildlife's Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program.and there are now nearly 50 territorial pairs of peregrine falcons across the Bay State.
Historically, peregrine falcons used to nest on natural cliffs, but today they also nest on bridges andThe state Department of Transportation installed nest boxes across the state, including at the Gillis Bridge in Newburyport — where Wednesday's event will take place — as well as bridges in Charlestown, Fall River, West Springfield and Northampton, and buildings in Amherst, Boston, Chelsea, Cambridge, Watertown, Lawrence, Lowell, New Bedford and Worcester.
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