Pennsylvania Game News - June 2022 - 6

continued increase, " McMorris said.
That's a function of current and potential
nest location.
Fifty-one of last year's nests were on
artificial structures: 25 bridges, 20 buildings,
three towers and three active quarries.
Plenty more such structures exist and
peregrines are showing a willingness to
use them, even in new places.
" Almost all of the historic nest sites
were in the eastern half of the state, "
Brauning said. " But now we've got birds
all over Pittsburgh. We've seen birds nest
on a big industrial building on the coast
of Lake Erie. We never had peregrines in
those situations before. "
More importantly, the other 22 nests
documented last year were on cliffs.
" That's important because when the
birds nest on bridges and buildings and
other man-made structures, like smokestacks,
an unacceptably large number of
their fledglings die due to hazards specific
to the man-made environment, " McMorris
said.
Some fledglings, just learning to fly,
fall from bridge nests into rivers and
drown, he added. Others collide with glass
windows, drop onto roads and sidewalks
and get hit by vehicles or trampled, or
land on powerlines and get electrocuted.
Being raised on a cliff doesn't guaranPREVAILING
PEREGRINE PROTECTION
active cliff nests, three " high-profile " building
The Game Commission's peregrine management
plan outlines three specific criteria
that had to be met, for three consecutive
years, before the birds could come off the
endangered and threatened species list. One
was a measure of population size, the others
of productivity.
First, said Game Commission ornithologist
Sean Murphy, there had to be a " functional
population " of 22 nesting pairs of peregrines
in the state, with each cliff nest counting as one
and each nest on an artificial structure counting
as one-quarter of a nest. Second, at least 50
percent of those nests had to produce at least
one fledgling. And third, at least 1.5 nestlings,
on average, had to survive to leave those nests.
Peregrines first hit those latter two metrics
in 1999, Murphy said. They have remained
above goal ever since.
It took until 2018 to first achieve that functionable
population of at least 22 peregrine
nesting pairs. The population has consistently
climbed since, though.
Murphy called that a " great moment in
Pennsylvania conservation. "
So now what?
Delisting peregrines doesn't mean forgetting
them. Murphy said the peregrine management
plan calls for monitoring the birds for
another 10 years. That includes surveying all
6
nests and 50 percent of all others.
" We want to keep a close eye on our
population to ensure the continued success of
peregrines in the state, " Murphy said.
If any declines are noted, to the degree
spelled out in the plan, potential responses
will be considered, he added.
Peregrines still have protections, too. They
remain covered by the Migratory Bird Treaty
Act and, because they use artificial structures,
the state's Environmental Review system.
The Game Commission will continue
working with others - like those who own
the buildings and bridges on which birds nest
- to minimize disturbance, ensure access and
more. That's " baked into the management
plan, " said Art McMorris, the Game Commission's
Peregrine Falcon Program Coordinator.
Last but not least, the Game Commission
set the fine for harming a peregrine at $2,500,
far higher than the standard $200 penalty for
things like songbirds.
" That's because we all agree that, while
peregrines aren't endangered anymore, they
do have great value, " said retired Game Commission
Wildlife Diversity Section Chief Dan
Brauning. " They're a premier species. Adjusting
the penalties for unlawful take of birds is
a big deal. Hopefully it will be a deterrent. "
Pennsylvania Game News - June 2022

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