Looking for peregrines in Franconia Notch. Photo by Chris Martin/ASNH

Over 100 cliffs, bridges, and buildings in the Granite State have been assessed for their potential suitability as peregrine breeding sites. Volunteer observers donate hundreds of hours and rack up thousands of driving miles annually to survey dozens of active and potential nest sites. Using binoculars and high-power spotting scopes, seasonal field biologists and volunteers observe falcon nests, known as eyries, from distances of one-eighth to one-half mile away. Their detailed observations, often hard-won in battles with swirling snow, swarming black flies, or shimmering heat waves, form the basis for New Hampshire's annual estimates of breeding success. At cliffs with especially high levels of human recreational activity, information is provided to promote a greater understanding of and to reduce disturbance to nesting falcons. Highly-skilled rock climbers guide raptor biologists to nearly inaccessible cliff-face eyries to band young falcons and retrieve valuable biological samples.

Scaling a rock face to reach a nest site. Photo by Chris Martin/ASNH

A climber reaches a nest site. Photo by Chris Martin/ASNH

An extremely dedicated group of rock climbers and professional climbing guides continues to help New Hampshire Audubon and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists access most of the state's peregrine nests. In 2002, biologists managed to visit 13 of the state's 14 nests, examine and band all 27 nestlings, and recover eight eggs that failed to hatch. Over the long-term, in the past two decades Audubon has facilitated a total of 119 separate climbs and worked with 30 individual climbers to place leg bands on a total of 200 peregrine chicks and retrieve 80 unhatched peregrine eggs for shell-thickness and chemical content analyses by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Eggs being sampled in the lab. Photo by Chris Martin/ASNH

Ever wonder whether peregrine falcons, or other birds of prey, return to breed at the same sites where they were raised? How about whether or not cliff-raised raptors might eventually elect to nest in an urban area? How far, and in what direction, do northern New England's peregrines migrate during the winter? Do males and females eventually establish territories at different distances from their natal areas? In order to answer detailed questions such as these, raptor biologists need to have access to a population of individually marked birds.

Banded chick at a natural nest site. Photo by Chris Martin/ASNH

The band on a chick's nearly full-sized tarsus. Photo by Chris Martin/ASNH

In the past ten years, we have banded a remarkable 96% (172 of 179) of the state's peregrine fledglings. In 2002, 54% (15 of 28) of New Hampshire's territorial adult peregrines were known to be color-banded and we were able to positively identify six of these. Over 16% (33 of 200) of the young falcons banded in New Hampshire since 1981 have eventually been seen again, giving wildlife managers valuable data on the longevity of individuals and on overall population dispersal patterns. Wild-raised or hacked peregrines banded as chicks in the Granite State since 1976 have turned up at breeding sites in Vermont and New York City, as well as at other New Hampshire sites. Migrating fledglings from local cliffs have been seen or recovered from sites as far flung as Saskatchewan and Florida.

Wildlife professionals and a corps of truly dedicated volunteers have worked tirelessly to advance peregrine falcon restoration in New Hampshire. State-wide monitoring and management activities have been accomplished through the cooperative efforts of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, N.H. Fish and Game Department, N.H. Division of Parks, and the Audubon Society of N.H., with added assistance from other private organizations and hundreds of individuals.

Audubon's peregrine falcon monitoring and management project, which is carried out as part of a comprehensive wildlife monitoring contract with the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, would not happen without the sizable donations of time and talent that we receive from many other agencies and individuals. Special thanks to all our volunteer observers scattered across the state. Thanks to the expert climbing guides at International Mountaineering Climbing School, and to many other individual rock climbers who have helped us over the years. Finally, thanks to friends and colleagues at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, the New Hampshire Division of Parks, Dartmouth College, Tower Realty, and Spectra Access Wireless Communications for their support and assistance.