precipice-trail Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Acadia National Park on My Mind

A biologist with Acadia National Park said it was “a great year” for nesting peregrine falcons at the park.

Park wildlife biologist, Bruce Connery, holds a peregrine chick that has just been lowered from its scrape, or nest, for banding. Acadia National Park photo and caption.

Bruce Connery said peregrine falcons raised chicks that fledged at four sites including Jordan Cliffs, the precipice on the east face of Champlain Mountain, Valley Cove cliffs above Somes Sound and privately-owned Ironbound Island in Frenchman Bay, an island where the park holds a conservation easement.

“It’s great to have that kind of recruitment into the overall Maine population,” Connery said. “We had a great year. We have to be thankful for that.”

Connery attributed the success to a spring with low amounts of rain or snow. Damp or wet springs can be a problem for the eggs of birds that nest early including falcons and eagles, he said.

It might be the first time that particular combination of four sites was home to peregrine fledglings, he added.

“It seems to vary year by year,” he said. Continue reading →

MOUNT DESERT ISLAND — For the first time, Acadia National Park this year could be home to four sites where the chicks of four pairs of peregrine falcons successfully fledge.

During “peregrine watch” at Acadia National Park, Patrick Kark, right, with hat, helps a visitor spot a nesting falcon on the cliffs on the east face of Champlain Mountain.

The chicks of peregrine falcons have successfully fledged, or flown, at three sites in the past but never four, according to officials at the park.

The falcons have nested at four sites in the past.

Nest sites this year have been confirmed on the precipice on the east face of Champlain Mountain, at Jordan Cliffs above Jordan Pond and at the Valley Cove Cliffs above Somes Sound. Continue reading →