To me, the best part of a summer concert at Chicago's Millennium Park is the the sky show put on by Peregrine Falcons. These lightning fast birds of prey have been tracked at sky-diving speeds over 200 mph. Last night, one falcon in particular perched on top of the shell of the beautiful Pritzker Pavilion to enjoy the concert led by Maestro Krzysztof Penderecki conducting his Concerto Grosso No. 1 and Beethoven's Symphony No. 3. The falcon stayed in place for much of the concert. But occasionally it would take off and zoom through the air with another PEFA.
With 20 pairs in Illinois today, PEFAs are listed as an Illinois threatened species. But 60 years ago there were none. Due to the chemical DDT, they were entirely wiped out of their territory east of the Rocky Mountains. Historically in Illinois, Peregrines were found along the Mississippi River between the cities of Alton and Grafton, as well as near the Illinois and Wabash Rivers in Jackson County. As a result of a reintroduction program that began in 1986, the urban landscape along Lake Michigan is now the best place to see PEFAs.
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| Pritzker Pavilion |
For more information about the ongoing Peregrine Falcon reintroduction in Illinois, click this link to the
Field Museum's Chicago Peregrine Program.
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