Peregrine Falcons Return to Cliff Face Nesting in Hartford County

     The Peregrine Falcon is an endangered species success story. The ban on the pesticide DDT, a captive breeding program and attentive monitoring has brought the falcon back from the brink of extinction.  In fact, success has been so great, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has removed the species from the Federal list of threatened and endangered species in 1999.  

     In Connecticut, the population continues to grow with ten active nesting pairs present in 2010, fledging nineteen chicks (Connecticut Wildlife Magazine; September/October 2010).

     This spring, I had the good fortune of finding a new Peregrine Falcon nest site. The nest is located in the town of Newington, on a cliff at the Balf Quarry. As you can see in the photograph below, the female has chosen a perfect bed of greenery to place her eggs. During this inaugural breeding season, the nest has produced a total of two chicks. 

Photo courtesy of Steve Grant

     Looking back, it is hard to believe that on the first day I discovered the falcons at the quarry, I was trudging about in knee deep snow and freezing temperatures. Today, I stand above the nest, peering down on two downy young and a very proud mom. Through it all, it has been a long and incredible experience.  

     The Newington location represents the second known nest site in Hartford County. The other nest, sits high upon the Travelers Tower in downtown Hartford. Still, the site in Newington represents more than just another nest location, it signifies the return of natural cliff face nesting to Hartford County.

     Exactly one hundred and fifty years ago, the first nesting of Peregrine Falcon in New England was confirmed at Talcott Mt., Hartford, on May 25, 1861. The Talcott Mountain site was deserted in 1942 because of the shooting of both adults and young by a game warden (Connecticut Birds; Zeranski/Baptist 1990). This was the last time a Peregrine Falcon attempted to nest on a natural cliff face in Hartford County.

     Dr. William Wood (1822-1885), a physician and highly regarded ornithologist from East Windsor wrote an article about the 1861 nest for The Hartford Times. Jean H. Klein, author of A Century of Birding in the South Windsor Meadows (2009) recalls the article in her book;

Writing about the Peregrine Falcon, he notes that “they are occasionally shot here (the South Windsor Meadows), within the past five years I have known three killed. There is a pair that breed on an inaccessible cliff on Talcott Mountain; and have occupied the same place for a great number of years.” He first began watching this pair in 1850, and even though it was known that he had offered a “liberal reward,” the nest was not found until 1861. It was 20 feet from the summit. The parent bird was shot and the four young taken. He kept them alive at his home and when Professor Spencer F. Baird, Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian, visited him at East Windsor Hill he gave two of them to him in the fall of 1862. He afterwards learned that they died the next spring. He concludes his article which appeared in The American Naturalist in 1869; “It is now generally accepted that Duck Hawks nest in cliffs, never in trees.

     Despite numbers showing recent success, many Peregrine Falcons still face uncertain futures. People continue to pose the greatest threat to this raptor. Habitat destruction and nest disturbance are today’s two biggest conservation issues. A proposal to develop portions of the Cedar Hill Ridge may very well threaten the Newington nest.

     I would to thank Steve Broker of Cheshire, secretary of the Connecticut Ornithological Association, for providing me with historical information regarding natural cliff face nesting of Peregrine Falcons in Connecticut.  He has even informed me that one of the falcons taken from the 1861 Talcott Mountain nest was just rediscovered during an exhibit renovation at the Smithsonian Institute.