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Peregrine Falcon

Peregrine Falcon Monitoring and Management

Since the early 1980s, NH Audubon staff and dedicated volunteers have worked tirelessly to restore the Peregrine Falcon population in New Hampshire. NH Audubon got involved as federal and state wildlife agencies, along with The Peregrine Fund, were finishing a decade-long effort to release captive-bred falcon chicks and as monitoring of wild-breeding pairs was just starting up. From New England’s first cliff-nesting pair in Franconia Notch in 1981, to roughly 30 breeding territories today (which annually produce dozens of fledglings), NH Audubon has been there to support recovery efforts for more than 40 years!

We work with NH Fish & Game and managers of tall buildings and high bridges to install nesting boxes and trays that give Peregrines a safe place to nest. We work with rock climbing groups and state park and national forest staff to set up temporary recreational closures on climbing routes and scenic overlooks that improve falcon nesting success. We have banded roughly 400 Peregrine chicks in the state, and roughly 25% of those banded have been re-sighted, resulting in hard-to-obtain data on longevity and dispersal. We have been involved in a project that satellite-tracked five of NH’s breeding falcons on migration to their wintering grounds. We have collected dozens of non-viable falcon eggs that have contributed significantly to what is known about PDBEs and other toxins in the region’s Peregrine Falcon population.

The Peregrine Falcon was removed from the federal Threatened and Endangered Species List in 1999, and downlisted from Endangered to Threatened on the New Hampshire T&E List in September 2008. Volunteers can learn more about becoming involved in our ongoing monitoring and management efforts by contacting raptor specialist Chris Martin in the Conservation Department.

Project Leader: Chris Martin

Watch the Manchester Peregrine Cam

Links and Articles of Interest

NH Peregrines Continue to Thrive (NH Audubon Winter 2023-24 Afield)

Something Wild Podcast featuring Peregrine Falcons

Recent Grant Awards to NH Audubon

New Hampshire Audubon is grateful for generous funding recently awarded from the following supporters: The Knopf Family Foundation awarded NH Audubon a grant to support the management and monitoring of

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Photos, from the top: Peregrine Falcon, archive image; female Peregrine Falcon, Brady Sullivan Tower, Manchester, NH, March 2008, photo by Chris Martin.