photo courtesy Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department
A peregrine falcon in its nest.
MONTPELIER — The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department announced this week the closure of hiking trails near peregrine falcon nesting sites in an effort to protect the birds.
As happens annually, the department listed 13 trails that will be closed during the nesting season, which lasts until August. However, the length and number of trail closures may be adjusted as needed to protect the birds, according to a press release from the department.
Cliffsides are the most common nesting sites, and the birds are sensitive to activity near those locations, according to Jillian Kilborn, the state’s nongame bird project leader.
“So it’s not necessarily that people are getting super close to the nest itself,” Kilborn said. “It’s just that the activity around that cliff face brings the bird off the nest. It causes them to do a bunch of flights, creates disturbance to the point where if there’s enough disturbance, they can actually abandon the nest site.”
Cliff access trails are closed in Bolton Notch, Dear Leap in Bristol, Dummerston Quarry, Eagle Ledge in Vershire, the Fairlee Palisades, Mount Horrid in Rochester, Nichols Ledge in Woodbury, Prospect Rock in Johnson, Red Rocks Park in South Burlington, Rattlesnake Point in Salisbury and Snake Mountain in Addison. Rock climbing access is also closed in many of those areas, as well as on portions of Bone Mountain in Bolton and Marshfield Mountain, according to the release.
The current list of trail closures are only a small subset of the many peregrine falcon nesting sites that are scattered throughout the state. The majority are not at risk of significant human disturbance due to their remote nature, lack of nearby trail or subpar rock climbing conditions, according to Margaret Fowle, a senior conservation biologist with Audubon Vermont, a bird conservation nonprofit.
“In many cases the lower portions of the trails remain open, and we encourage people to enjoy watching peregrine falcons from a distance that requires using binoculars or a spotting scope,” Fowle said in the release.
Due to earlier spring weather, the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department announced trail closures sooner than they have in the past.
“As we get those warmer temperatures and spring kind of conditions where there’s no snow, and water bodies are open and food sources are available, it just kind of kicks those birds into…breeding mode,” Kilborn said.
Although today the state is home to a thriving peregrine population, this was not always the case. In 1972, the species was deemed endangered by Vermont as the northeast population had been decimated due to exposure to DDT, an insecticide used in agriculture.
Northeast reintroduction efforts began in the late ’70s, and by 2005, the peregrines achieved a healthy enough population to be removed from the state’s endangered species list.
“My main message is to respect their needs for space,” Fowle said.
“Thanks to people generally doing that, they’re thriving in Vermont,
and we want to keep it that way.”
