I had the recent pleasure of being invited aboard a boat that was heading down the coast of Lake Superior from Wawa, Ontario.  The purpose of the day’s journey was to travel southward along the coast into Lake Superior Provincial Park to search out territorial pairs of Peregrine Falcons, with hopes to locate some of their nests.  Peregrine Falcons occupy a space on the province’s species-at-risk list and have been ‘fast-tracked,’ along with 10 other species, for the drafting of habitat regulations under the province’s year-old Endangered Species Act (ESA).

The habitat regulation for Peregrine Falcons, as drafted, requires that any currently occupied nest receives protection.  The Peregrine Falcon, which suffered from the use of DDT along with many of the other large raptor birds in North America, has begun to recover in the province but loss of habitat has also slowed its recovery. 

 Luckily our trip along the shore of Superior proved successful and we were privileged to see several pairs and one nest.  We waited quietly along the shore once we had spotted one of the male birds perched high up on one of the park’s cliff faces overlooking the calm waters of Lake Superior.  After a couple of hours, the action began with a falcon swooping low and flying over our heads in an attempt to nab one of the birds that sat floating in the water below.  Its attack proved futile but encouraged the movement of another Peregrine that headed along the coast to the rocky shoreline in search of prey.  We surveyed the Cliffside in search of a nest but to no avail.  Finally we moved along down the shoreline to other previously confirmed nest sites and spied a breeding pair and their young. 

 Since our trip, another nest with young falcons has been discovered and teams continue to monitor other territorial pairs in search of more nests.  Currently there are seven known nest sites within the park.  Lucky are the Peregrines that find themselves nesting in Lake Superior Provincial Park, a safe haven in our province where around only 50 breeding pairs of Peregrine Falcons remain.  Many of the birds have adapted to survive on the sheer walls of sky-rises in cities or along the artificial cliffs created by mining activities.  Unfortunately, these ‘artificial’ nest sites do not benefit from the same protection as their ‘natural’ counterparts in Lake Superior Provincial Park, for example.  As the draft habitat regulation for Peregrine Falcons currently sits, nests in ‘artificial’ sites are protected but the areas surrounding those nests are not; a counter-intuitive approach and a critical oversight that needs to be remedied.  Earthroots submitted extensive comments on the draft habitat regulation, pushing for protection of all currently occupied nests and the surrounding area no matter their location; we are waiting to hear whether or not our comments have been included in the revisions to the draft.

I feel extremely grateful to have seen these rare and spectacular birds in action.  I hope that the Province’s regulation will achieve its stated goal of protecting and recovering the birds’ population to historical levels and that one day, the sighting of Peregrine Falcons will become commonplace whether it is along the remote, rugged shore of Lake Superior or the bustling streets of one of our metropolises. 

Carly Armstrong, Earthroots Northern Ontario Campaigner