Bald Eagle And Peregrine Falcon Make A Comeback In Pennsylvania and Elsewhere

Bald eagles are making a comeback in Palmyra, Penn. where wildlife watchers have observed a return of the bird during the last year, according to Calvin DuBrock, director of the Bureau of Wildlife Management in the Pennsylvania Game Commission. 

And nor is it alone: the director further informed the public of other new tests in Allegheny, Blair, Bucks, Chester, Indiana, Lancaster, Lawrence, Northumberland, Chester and Schulkill counties.

A survey taken earlier this year documented a total of 101 adult, 65 immature and four bald eagles of undetermined age along 853 miles on 64 survey routes, according to The Patriot News.

Meanwhile, Patti Barber of the Wildlife Diversity Division said the group is finalizing management plans for the peregrine falcon, which is listed as endangered in Pennsylvania.

In all, she said, the bird will not be considered recovered until there are at least 22 nesting pairs, which would only represent half of historical numbers. Currently, they have identified five pairs known to have laid eggs by late March. 

To help reach this goal, she said the commission has encouraged the peregrines to nest on manmade structures like bridges and tall buildings where they are less vulnerable to predators, including the great horned owls.

Still, she said, the situation isn't idea.

"Nesting on manmade structures appears to be an ecological trap," she told The Patriot News. Regardless, Barber feels they are "off to a good start."

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pennsylvania isn't alone in seeing a rise in bald eagles: once in danger of extinction, the bird has made "a remarkable recovery" with an estimated 9,789 nesting pairs currently living in the contiguous United States. In fact, the bird was removed from the list of threatened and endangered species in 2007.

The peregrine falcon has followed a similar success story. Though listed as an endangered species after a sharp decline in the mid-20th century, the birds have rebounded so much since the use of DDT and other chemical pesticides were curtailed some estimate that some parts of the globe may actually boast of more of the birds today than before the decline, according to National Geographic.