About Our Falcons

Peregrines in Peril

Up until the 1940s, the breeding population peregrine falcons had changed little since mid-1500s to early 1600s. But in the 1950s and 1960s, a dramatic drop in the number of peregrine falcons was observed in Europe and North America.

By the 1960s, peregrines were nearly extinct in the United States. By 1970 in Canada, there was only one known pair nesting in Canada east of the Rocky Mountains and south of the Northwest Territories.

This dramatic population decline at first puzzled ornithologists. Human activities, such as nest-robbing, trapping or shooting, were ruled out as the primary cause, since the peregrines had been subjected to these kinds of activities for hundreds of years.

Further research showed that the timing and geography of the decline in peregrine populations corresponded closely with the intensive use of pesticides, such as DDT and dieldrin, after the Second World War.

High levels of pesticide residue (what is left after the chemicals break down in the environment or in an animal's body) have been found in adult peregrines, their eggs and in young birds found dead in the nest.

Pesticides are sprayed on grain and insects which are eaten by birds which in turn are preyed upon by the peregrines. With each step up the food chain, the concentration of pesticide residue increases exponentially.

Peregrines are relatively long-lived, have few natural enemies and are at the top of their food chain. As a result they are exposed to more pesticide contamination that most other predators.

Though few peregrines are directly killed by pesticide residues, the high levels found in these birds result in abnormal breeding behaviour, thin eggshells that can be easily broken and dead embryos in the eggs themselves.

As a result, contaminated breeding peregrines are less able to hatch young that survive. Similar population declines have been observed in other avian predators, particularly the osprey and the bald eagle.

In the early 1970s, Canada and the United States banned the use of DDT, however, it is still in use in several countries where peregrines winter. Moreover, songbirds wintering in Central and South America come north in the spring with these toxic chemical residues in their body tissues, which are then passed on to the peregrines when these birds are taken as prey.

Even if the DDT problem was completely addressed, there may be other chemicals that prove to be injurious to the birds. Thus, for the peregrine falcon, being on top of a food chain has its price. For the human race, the peregrine, like the proverbial canary in the coal mine, is a barometer of environmental health

Bringing Them Back

An international conservation program began in the 1970s in Canada and in the U.S. in an attempt to bring back the peregrine falcon.

A procedure known as "hacking" was suggested by experienced falconers as a means of reintroducing this endangered bird. This consists of releasing captive-bred young birds from pens or "hack-boxes" placed on city buildings and natural cliffs.

Regarded initially as an experiment, the program has had marked success. City releases have the advantage of increased security from predators such as great horned owls and reduced toxic chemical loads in such resident birds, such as pigeons. City releases are also easier to monitor; equally important, they provide an enlightening experience for large numbers of people.

In 1981, Manitoba Conservation's wildlife and ecosystem protection branch was began Manitoba's peregrine reintroduction program with the release of four captive-bred falcons from the old Fort Osborne Barracks, now the Rady Jewish Community Centre, on the banks of the Assiniboine River.

In 1989, the Zoological Society of Manitoba received a grant from the Manitoba Natural Resources' Conservation Fund, which provided the seed money for the recovery project. When the Delta Winnipeg Hotel (now the Radisson Hotel Winnipeg Downtown) expressed an interest in helping support this project a new group - the Peregrine Falcon Recovery Project (Manitoba) - was born.

In 1998, the project received non-profit charitable status and it now raises money for its recovery efforts and public education programs through public donations and government and corporate grants.

Since 1981, the project has been responsible for reintroducing over 200 young peregrines into the wild from locations in Winnipeg, Brandon, Portage la Prairie and Gimli.

A chronology of some of the project's highlights include:

1981: First four captive-bred falcons released from the Natural Resources offices at the old Fort Osborne Barracks in Winnipeg.
1984: A 1983 captive-bred female released from Winnipeg is sighted in Brazil.
1989: First confirmed peregrine nesting in the province since the mid-1900s. The male was a captive-bred bird released in Winnipeg in 1986, the female a wild-hatched falcon from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The nest was located on the Delta Winnipeg Hotel, now the Radisson Hotel Winnipeg Downtown.
1991: A 1989 captive-bred bird released in Winnipeg is found to be nesting in Edmonton with that city's most famous peregrine, Arrow. In Regina, both the male and female on territory there are from Winnipeg - the male a wild-hatch from the Radisson Hotel, the female a captive-bred bird fostered in the same nest.
1992: Second confirmed nesting, this time at the University of Manitoba. The male was hatched at the Radisson in 1989, the female a captive-bred bird released in by the project in Brandon in 1991. At the Radisson Hotel, the original female was replaced by a new female from Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
1993: Third confirmed nest in Manitoba, and the first nest outside of Winnipeg. The nest was located on the McKenzie Seeds Building in Brandon. Both of these birds were captive-bred birds released by the Project in Brandon, the male in 1991, the female in 1992. Also this year, a new pair nested on the provincial legislature after losing a nest the previous year on the Hotel Fort Garry. In Regina, a captive-bred male released from Brandon in 1990 is on territory in Regina but loses his mate when her previous mate returns late.
1994: The provincial legislature site is abandoned when the pair from last year failed to return to Winnipeg.
1995: The University of Manitoba site is abandoned when the university male replaced his father at the Radisson Hotel site. In Saskatoon, a 1994 wild-hatched male from Brandon is on territory in Saskatoon.
1996: A female hatched from Brandon in 1994 was found to be nesting on the Woodman Building in Omaha, Nebraska. She is the granddaughter of the original Delta Pair from the Radisson Hotel.
1997: A nest was found on the ruins of the old St Boniface Basilica on Tache Avenue. Because of the danger posed, the chicks from this nest were not banded except for one who crash-landed on his first flight. He was uninjured and the project was able to band him prior to re-releasing him to the wild.
1998: The St Boniface Basilica female returned, but her mate did not and he wasn't replaced by another male. By mid-summer, the female had moved on and the nest site was abandoned.
1999: A 1997 wild-hatched male from Brandon is now on territory in Regina while a female from the same nest is on territory in Moose Jaw.
2000: A great-granddaughter of the original Delta pair successfully raised four young in Fargo, North Dakota. She is a 1999 wild-hatched offspring of the 1994 wild-hatched female from Brandon that was found in Omaha, Nebraska.
2001: The Brandon pair returned but did not nest this year. At the Radisson, the resident pair renested and raised one chicks successfully after their first nest was lost.
2002: Only one nest in Manitoba this year. The Radisson pair laid two eggs but only hatched one female chick. The chick fledged successfully.
2003: This year we had no chicks in Winnipeg or Brandon. The Radisson female spent the summer by herself and the Brandon pair did not returned to nest.
2004: Both the Radisson and Brandon nestsites had new resident females. The Radisson female was a 2002 wild-hatch from Minneapolis, Minnesota and the Brandon female is a 2003 wild-hatch from Fargo, North Dakota.
2005: Marked the 25th anniversary of the Peregrine Falcon Recovery Project in Manitoba and the release of over 170 young peregrines into the wild. As an added bonus, another grand-daughter of the original Delta pair was successfully raised a single chick on the State Capitol Building in Lincoln, Nebraska. She was a 2004 wild-hatch from the Radisson Hotel in downtown Winnipeg.
2006: The CBC Manitoba/Shaw Falcon Cam went live and allowed thousands of viewers from around the world watch the peregrines live on the internet.
2007: Brandon had a new male when the old male took a one-year sabbatical. The new male was an old-timer, a 1997 wild-hatch from Brandon! Also a 2005 Radisson male tried unsuccessfully to nest in West Winnipeg.
2008: During a very heavy rainstorm, the three chicks at the Radisson site died due to exposure despite a valiant rescue attempt by the Winnipeg Fire-Paramedic Service. Three Manitoba females were identified nesting outside the province: a 2005 Brandon female in Saskatoon,Saskatchewan; a 2006 Brandon female in Grand Forks, North Dakota; and a 2006 Radisson female in Edmonton, Alberta.
2009: Brandon had a new resident female, a 2007 Radisson and a 2007 Brandon male hung out in western Manitoba for the summer. Our West Winnipeg male found a new mate but we were unable to get information on her origins. The inexperienced parents tried to nest but were unsuccessful.
2010: For the Project's 30th anniversary we had three nests in the province for the first time since 1997. Both our long-time resident males at the Radisson and in Brandon failed to return this year. They were both replaced by a son of theirs and both nested successfully. The West Winnipeg female found a new mate, a captive-bred male released in Manitoba in 2007 and successfully raised three chicks. In the fall, two Manitoba chicks visited Winnipeg on their migration south - a 2009 Brandon female and a 2009 Radisson male.

Current Legal Protection for the Peregrines

Manitoba's peregrine falcons are legally protected as a species-at-risk at three levels - Manitoba's Endangered Species Act, the federal Species At Risk Act (SARA) and internationally by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

In Canada and the United States it is illegal to kill or disturb peregrine falcons or their nesting areas.

Want More Information?

Contact the Project Coordinator at:

Peregrine Falcon Recovery Project (Manitoba) Ste 69005, 110-2025 Corydon Avenue Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3P 2G9 Hone: (204) 931-1618 Email: peregrine@species-at-risk.mb.ca Website: www.species-at-risk.mb.ca/pefa