For Immediate Release Contact: Greg Borzo (312) 665-7100 gborzo@fieldmuseum.org Peregrine falcons taken off endangered list Field Museum launches on-line expedition to study falcons, including a live Web-cam of an active nesting site CHICAGO—Illinois state officials recently decided to take the peregrine falcon, Chicago’s official bird, off the state’s Endangered Species List where it has been since 1973.This impressive, graceful raptor will be reclassified as “threatened,” a less risky category than “endangered.” Illinois, which had an endangered species program before the federal government did, is the first Midwestern state to reclassify the peregrine, said Dan Gooch, chair of the Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board. In order for the peregrine to be reclassified from endangered to threatened, there had to be a minimum of six breeding pairs in Illinois, producing at least nine young for at least three years in a row. A more stringent level of breeders and young is needed for complete delisting. As recently as 1990, there was only one breeding pair in Illinois, and it produced no young, but peregrines have made great progress since then. In each of the past three years, 10 pairs of peregrines produced a total of 21-23 young. This data was provided by The Field Museum, which for years has been monitoring the peregrines in Illinois. “The peregrines are a conservation success story,” said Mary Hennen, head of the Field Museum’s Chicago Peregrine Program. “While this is wonderful news, it is still important for us to continue monitoring the population viability of the species.” Although the board decided in February to reclassify the peregrines, its action will not become official for at least several weeks until the administrative process is finalized, according to James Herkert, a member of the board. “We were surprised to see the peregrine falcon had met the reclassification goals for a change to threatened status,” Herkert said. “This is very encouraging after such a long period of low and relatively stable numbers going up to about three or four years ago. Reintroduction efforts got the peregrine through that population bottleneck and helped them establish a foothold in the state. “While the population still seems relatively small, a quantitative analysis of the recent numbers indicate that the falcon is definitely on the road to recovery,” he added. Ironically, all known nesting in the state occurs in urban areas, primarily in the Chicago region, Gooch said. “Peregrines are still not doing well in their traditional cliff dwellings, but they are nesting in buildings, bridges, smokestacks and skyscrapers. We hope that as peregrines repopulate the state, they will push back into more native areas.” Continue