Peregrine Falcon, OOL-2192

The peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) has had a dramatic existence over the past five decades. Pesticides such as DDT contributed to a steep decline in regional populations, and by the 1960s peregrines were extirpated from Illinois. Specimens such as the one shown here provided scientific evidence that DDT was interfering with the birds' reproductive systems in multiple ways, including by making the eggshells too weak to protect the developing embryos. After the federal goverment banned DDT in 1972, peregrines in the Midwest had a long road to recovery. Today, however, we are up to 12 breeding pairs in Illinois!