NEWBURYPORT, MASS. (WHDH) - A special Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) team banded three recently-hatched peregrine falcon chicks in Newburyport, allowing them to be tracked and protected.
The MassDOT Wildlife & Endangered Species Unit works to ensure that projects advanced by the MassDOT Highway Division “protect endangered species, fisheries, and wildlife, and are in compliance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations,” according to their website.
David Paulson, a Supervisor on the MassDOT Wildlife and Endangered Species Unit, said leg banding for identification is a painless, non-invasive way for researchers to track down important information about the animals without needing to recapture them.
“They’re made out of aircraft grade aluminum, so they’re not heavy, and they’re designed to fit their leg for their entire life,” Paulson said. “This can be seen by the naked eye, a camera, binoculars, whatever, and this allows us to track where they go, passively. So how long they live, where they go, where they’re from.”
By 1955, there were no nesting peregrine falcon pairs left in Massachusetts due to the widespread use of harmful pesticides like DDT. In the mid-1980s, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) teams released young falcons into downtown Boston, successfully leading to the first modern nest in Massachusetts on the Boston Custom House tower.
Today, there are nearly 50 territorial pairs of peregrine falcons nesting in the state, with the population continuing to grow.
A crowd of excited birdwatchers gathered Wednesday to witness the banding, and said it’s an experience they will never forget.
“I walk the water every day and I see all the birds. I drive down to Plum Island and just to see them up close in person, it’s just kinda, it’s a little flabbergasting, honestly,” said Mary Fougert, who frequents the area.
Peregrine falcons nest on natural cliffs, but they may also make home on bridges and skyscrapers in urban areas.
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