Good news from the Channel Islands! According to a Ventura County Sun Star article, researchers counted 48 pairs of nesting Peregrine Falcons. This is the most to nest there in decades. In the 1950s the bird completely vanished from the islands and it has been struggling to make a comeback ever since. From the article:

Bald eagles, peregrine falcons and brown pelicans suffered die-offs because DDT weakened their egg shells so much that they would break during incubation.

Without the birth of new birds, the species was pushed to the brink of extinction.

By 1955, the peregrines were gone from the Channel Islands.

DDT was banned, and recovery efforts began. Starting in the early 1980s, the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group released peregrines on the islands.

The first pair of peregrines was spotted on San Miguel Island in 1997. Young peregrines were first seen two years later on Anacapa Island.

This year, 48 pairs of peregrine falcons hold territories on eight of the islands. Researchers counted 73 chicks that hatched in the nests.

Read the entire story at the Ventura County Sun Star website.

Photo of Peregrine Falcon chicks by WSDOT