CONCORD, N.H. - Sometime during Mother's Day, peregrine falcon chicks starting hatching in a nest high over the streets of Manchester. It's the first time on record that peregrine falcons have hatched in a city in northern New England, according to Chris Martin, senior biologist with the Audubon Society of New Hampshire. Martin checked the nest this morning (May 14) and found that two chicks had hatched (probably Sunday), another egg was in the process of hatching, and a fourth egg had yet to hatch. The adult peregrine falcons started their nest last month in a specially designed box first installed 10 years ago on the 13th floor of the New Hampshire Tower at 1750 Elm Street.
"If all goes well, these young peregrines will make their first flights during the last week of June," Martin said. "Then they'll stay around the nest for several weeks after that."
The peregrine falcon is currently classified as endangered on the state's list of endangered and threatened wildlife. It was removed from the federal list of endangered and threatened wildlife in August 1999. Widely known for their fast-flying hunting skills, peregrines are now found in many big cities across the country. This particular falcon pair is apparently the first in northern New England to establish a nest on a human-built structure.
It's shaping up to be a banner year for New Hampshire's peregrine falcons. There is now a record level of 13 occupied peregrine falcon sites in the state, 11 of which have eggs that will soon hatch, Martin said. Working with officials from Fish and Game and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Martin coordinates the state's peregrine falcon monitoring effort.
Of the Manchester peregrines, the female is a two-year old bird raised on the Throgs Neck Bridge in New York City in 1999. That bird also spent several weeks at the Manchester nest box last spring, but failed to attract a mate then. The male was hatched just last spring at Cathedral Ledge, near North Conway, New Hampshire.
To see photos of the Manchester peregrine falcons, visit www.wildlife.state.nh.us.
