**Nature Nuggets**

Peregrine Falcons are living among us here on the coast , and they are a wonder to behold. With flight speeds that can reach over 200 mph, they are one of the fastest animals on earth. In 1971, the peregrine falcons were some of the first birds to be placed on California’s Endangered Species List, in addition to being listed under the federal Endangered Species Act in 1970. At that time in California the population was listed at just five pairs. The greatest cause of this decline was due to their ingestion of prey contaminated with DDT (an insecticide that has since been banned).

Thanks to the combined efforts of several non-profit groups (including the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group) and the work of state and federal agencies, these raptors were federally delisted in 1999 and delisted in California in 2009. There are now well over 300 active breeding sites in California.

As predators of several of our shorebirds, some peregrine falcons have made their homes here on the Coastside. Many locals have viewed the Devil’s Slide cliffs, where these falcons have nested since the mid-1980s, even as that stretch of highway was re-established as a trail and the tunnel was built. Check out these nest cams in San Francisco and San Jose to view a couple of Bay Area peregrine falcon nests for yourself! Watch how they court, pair bond, and share in the incubation and care for their young: https://pbrg.pbsci.ucsc.edu/NestCams.html#header6-21, Enjoy this virtual “birds-eye-view” provided by the Institute of Marine Sciences from the University of California, Santa Cruz.