HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the state Game Commission teamed up Thursday to place tracking bands on the peregrine falcon hatchlings currently nesting at the Rachel Carson State Office Building in Harrisburg.
Three of the four fledgling falcons received their bands on Thursday, according to DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell, who spoke during a Facebook Live stream of the event Thursday afternoon.
The fourth falcon was diagnosed with trichomoniasis, a viral disease that can be transferred to falcons when they eat a certain variety of pigeon or other non-native prey. The bird was transported to the Red Creek Wildlife Center in Schuylkill County for treatment, McDonnell said.
“The falcons that have nested on the Rachel Carson State Office Building continue to be an environmental success story,” said McDonnell. “Without the improvements to Pennsylvania’s environment, these birds would not have the track record that they do here on the Rachel Carson Building.”
Game Commission biologist Patti Barber led a team in bringing the nestlings in from the 15th floor ledge. Barber weighed the birds, inspected their health, and banded them.
Banding the falcons allows biologists and birdwatchers from all over the continent to track the birds and help us learn more about where they travel, how long they’ve lived, and whether they'll establish new nests in other places.
Falcons born on the ledge at the Rachel Carson building have been tracked to locations from Florida all the way to Canada, the Game Commission said.
The peregrine falcon was removed from the federal Endangered Species List in 1999 and the Pennsylvania Threatened List in 2021 but remains federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the state Game and Wildlife Code.
Since the falcons first began nesting in Harrisburg in 2000, a total of 83 peregrine falcons have hatched. This makes the Rachel Carson State Office Building nest site the most prolific in the commonwealth.
