The Fall and Rise of the Peregrine Falcon

Even people who know very little about birds will surely recognise the name Peregrine Falcon. The fastest bird (and animal) in the world, reaching speeds of over 200 mph when diving for prey, is well loved among birders. Its difficult history, from persecution to poisoning and at one point even facing extinction, makes its story even more compelling and cements its legacy as one of the world’s most iconic birds.    

The Peregrine Falcon faced a severe drop in population during the Second World War. As they posed a threat to carrier pigeons, large numbers were shot and killed. Happily however, after the war the population slowly started to recover.

Sadly, in the mid 1900s a new chemical pesticide was introduced and sprayed on farm crops in a bid to keep insects at bay. This had a devastating effect on wildlife which people did not see coming. The chemical, known as DDT, accumulated in the bodies of insects and those of the smaller birds which ate them. As the peregrines then ate the smaller birds, the pesticide worked its way up the food chain and accumulated in their bodies at an even higher rate than that of the small birds. The effects of this were disastrous - many peregrines were poisoned and the females lost the ability to lay healthy eggs. In 1956 there were 650 breeding pairs in the British Isles, in 1962 there were just 68. The peregrine falcon faced extinction.

It was not long before the dramatic decline in peregrine populations was observed and efforts were made to stunt the fall. By carrying out years of conservation tactics including breeding the birds in captivity and then releasing them into the wild, as well as lobbying governments to ban the use of harmful pesticides such as DDT, the population started to recover again. It is now a criminal offence to disturb peregrine falcons and there are now estimated to be around 1750 breeding pairs in the UK.

The recovery of the population of peregrine falcons is widely regarded as one of the most successful conservation efforts in history and the story of the peregrine falcon shows that it is possible to save these birds, conservation efforts are working and there is still hope.