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Description
Over much of its former nesting range, however, the bird is gone now, the victim of a chemical, DDT. Shortly after World War II the insecticide was widely applied to crops and mosquito-infested areas. Carried up the food chain to peregrines and other birds of prey, the poison caused eggshells to thin. Some eggs crushed under the weight of incubating birds; others failed to hatch. By the mid-1960's no peregrines were breeding east of Mississippi River, and they were in severe decline throughout much of the West.
Now, thanks to captive breeding programs, the peregrine population is slowly recovering. Reintroduced into the wild, captive bred falcons show signs of successful reproduction. Though many of their ancestral ledge top aeries are still empty, perhaps in time the cliffs will once again echo with the cries of the peregrine falcon.

•Date: February 12th, 2020 4:00 P.M.
•Size: 3.94 MB
•Resolution: 3024 x 3780

Description
Over much of its former nesting range, however, the bird is gone now, the victim of a chemical, DDT. Shortly after World War II the insecticide was widely applied to crops and mosquito-infested areas. Carried up the food chain to peregrines and other birds of prey, the poison caused eggshells to thin. Some eggs crushed under the weight of incubating birds; others failed to hatch. By the mid-1960's no peregrines were breeding east of Mississippi River, and they were in severe decline throughout much of the West.
Now, thanks to captive breeding programs, the peregrine population is slowly recovering. Reintroduced into the wild, captive bred falcons show signs of successful reproduction. Though many of their ancestral ledge top aeries are still empty, perhaps in time the cliffs will once again echo with the cries of the peregrine falcon.

•Date: February 12th, 2020 4:00 P.M.
•Size: 3.94 MB
•Resolution: 3024 x 3780