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to the efforts of the Massachusetts Division of
Fisheries and Wildlife and the Massachusetts Natural
Heritage & Endangered Species Program, the Peregrine
Falcons were brought back from near extinction and
found a habitat in Springfield, MA with a nesting
site at Monarch Place.
of the pesticide DDT contaminated the Peregrines
through their food and deprived them of calcium for
their eggs. This resulted in thin-shelled eggs which
broke during incubation producing no offspring,
leading to the extinction of the species in
Massachusetts in the 1950s; the last unsuccessful
nest in the Pioneer Valley was sighted on Mt. Tom in
1951. By 1966 no nesting Peregrine Falcons were left
in the eastern United States. The use of DDT was
banned in the United States in 1972, allowing
restoration efforts to begin.
are normally cliff nesters but have found that urban
structures can offer suitable nesting sites as well.
This is why the architect of Monarch Place, Yu Sing
Jung, designed a Plexiglas nesting tray which
protects eggs and chicks from falling over the edge
and this tray is permanently bolted to a windowsill
on the 21st floor. Peregrines mate for life and will
often return to the same nest, year after year.
named after Amelia Earhardt, was the original
Monarch Place Falcon. She was born in captivity in
1985 and released as a seven week youngster in
Toronto, Ontario. When she nested here at Monarch
Place in 1989, it was the first time in nearly 40
years that the Peregrine had nested in Western Mass.
Amelia died in February of 1995 at the age of ten
when she struck a large glass window while hunting.
Amelia, with her mate Andy, bred here at Monarch
Place for her last six years, producing 21 eggs of
which 13 hatched and were successfully fledged. It
was feared that the sudden loss of Amelia during the
breeding season may interfere with the existence of
the Peregrine here in Springfield. But after six
days, her mate Andy appeared with a female that had
been born in the wild in a nest on the Verrazano
Narrows Bridge which connects Brooklyn to Staten
Island, NY, thus keeping the population here alive
and well since 1989.
Peregrine Falcons that make Springfield their home
have not nested here on the 21st floor of Monarch
Place since 2007 and we are happy to have them back!
Mating season occurs in March and the female lays
three to four eggs over a period of approximately
seven days in late March or early April. Hatching
beings in early May and flight begins at
approximately 42 days for the males and 45 days for
the females. It will take a lot of practice by these
youngsters to perfect their hunting stoop; a high
speed dive reaching over 200 mph, making the
Peregrine Falcon the fastest member of the Animal
Kingdom! Keep an eye out for them from your office
window; you never know when you will see one
Springfield’s amazing mascots speed by.