Aplomado Falcon Restoration--Conservation Projects
12 Jun 08
Goal:
Establish a self sustaining population of Aplomado Falcons in the southwestern United States and Northern Mexico through captive propagation, release, and management with the ultimate goal of removing the species from the Endangered Species List.
The northern Aplomado Falcon (Falco femoralis septentrionalis) is fast and nimble, and quite equal to the aerial excellence of its famous cousins, the Peregrine and Merlin. The Aplomado diet consists of small- to medium-sized grassland birds like sparrows and doves, the falcons pursuing them from a standing start atop yuccas and other savanna perches, or chasing them high in the air and from great distances. The thrill of these chases and that of watching nesting pairs of Aplomados drive away larger intruding raptors has given the Aplomado a superstar reputation.
Aplomados were once widespread in the American Southwest, from southern Texas to eastern Arizona, but by mid-century, their known northern range was restricted to eastern coastal Mexico and a few other areas in that country, including a small portion of eastern Chihuahua. Biologists have offered a long list of possible reasons for the decline, but all agree that the vegetational transformations that followed the Spanish invasion and the grazing excesses of the late 1800s played important roles. Full-scale restoration began in the 1990s when The Peregrine Fund began breeding Aplomados in captivity and releasing them in southern Texas. By the early 2000s, a wild-breeding population of about 40 territorial pairs had arisen from these efforts. The organization has more recently begun a program to reestablish the species in western Texas and southern New Mexico. Now, the birds are again occupying their important niche in the ecosystem—nesting in yuccas and preying on small birds and insects—and helping maintain biodiversity.
2008 Results--
With more than 40 wild pairs of Aplomado Falcons nesting in Texas in 2008, we are growing closer to the time when the bird can be removed from the Endangered Species List. Eliminated from their native landscape more than a half-century ago, a self-sustaining population appears to be established in South Texas. We have now released more than 1,500 Aplomado Falcons to the wild. In 2008, our captive flock produced 155 juvenile falcons for continued release in West Texas and New Mexico.
Private landowners are essential partners in this effort, proving that endangered species can co-exist with humans. We also rely on federal and state land managers who participate in the recovery program.
In 2008, we helped enroll more than 10,000 acres of suitable Aplomado Falcon habitat in the Safe Harbor Program, bringing the total to 2.1 million acres in Texas, a state that is almost entirely privately owned. The program is essential to recovery of the Aplomado Falcon, which requires grasslands teeming with bird life to survive. The Safe Harbor was developed with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a “hold harmless” agreement to reduce private land-owner concerns over endangered species and provide access to critical habitat for the falcon.
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