ALBUQUERQUE — The last place the rare northern aplomado falcon was known to nest before disappearing from the United States more than a half-century ago was a grassy plain in far southwestern New Mexico.
Through an intensive reintroduction program, the falcon — an endangered species that was once found throughout the Southwest and northern Mexico — is returning to the grasslands near Deming, N.M.
Biologists on Friday placed four captive-bred falcons inside a large wooden box several feet above the desert floor so they would be protected from predators while they get acclimated to their new home.
In a few days, the door on the box will be opened and the 35-day-old falcons will get to stretch their wings.
The release is the first of many planned this year by The Peregrine Fund, which has been working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other state and federal agencies over the past decade to reintroduce the falcon in Texas and New Mexico.
For Angel Montoya, a biologist with The Peregrine Fund, this release is special.
“Bringing the birds back to my hometown, it’s a highlight of a my career,” he said. “I’ve been working on this bird for 19 years and getting them back to my hometown, that’s significant for me, and that makes me feel really good.”
The northern aplomado falcon, identified by the white stripe above the eye and a brown vest, was listed as endangered in 1986.
Its range once covered much of the Southwest but its numbers dwindled due to pesticides, human activity and changes in the rangeland brought on mostly by grazing.
After successful reintroduction efforts in South Texas, The Peregrine Fund shifted its focus to West Texas in 2002 and to New Mexico in 2006.
Over the past three years, 120 captive-bred falcons have been released in New Mexico.
Aside from the four young birds being released in the Deming area, Montoya said another 100 birds will be released at sites in southern New Mexico and Texas later this summer.
The birds were born at The Peregrine Fund’s breeding facility in Boise, Idaho. They fall under a special provision of the Endangered Species Act.
Under the rule, the Fish and Wildlife Service classifies the birds released through the reintroduction program as a nonessential, experimental population. That means the birds are not considered endangered but they continue to have some protections.
For example, it’s still illegal to shoot or harass the birds or to take their eggs.
Environmental groups have criticized the release of the captive-bred birds, saying their special designation strips them of needed protections under the Endangered Species Act.
Patricia Zenone, a biologist with the Fish and Wildlife Service, said land managers and ranchers would have been reluctant to participate had it not been for the special designation.
“We have a lot of support and a lot of good positive feedback from releasing these birds that I’m not sure would have been there if they had been fully endangered,” she said.
Zenone said officials are developing a network of biologists in New Mexico who can accurately report sightings of northern aplomado falcons so the agency can get a better handle on how many birds are out there and where they are making nests.
Montoya said the program has about a 70 percent rate of success for seeing the birds reach the fledging stage. However, there is a high attrition rate that naturally occurs in raptor populations and it’s unknown exactly how many adult falcons are in New Mexico.
“The important thing is that pairs are becoming established and recovery appears to be progressing,” Montoya said.
Four pairs have been spotted in New Mexico, including two on media mogul Ted Turner’s Armendaris Ranch. The southern New Mexico ranch was used in previous years as a release site for the falcon.
Friday’s release was on the Delk Ranch west of Deming, perfect habitat for the falcon with its tall yuccas and unimpeded grasslands. Suanne Delk said she heard about the falcon’s plight at a meeting and was more than glad to help. Part of the ranch includes land leased from the Bureau of Land Management and the State Land Office.
The ranch already has its share of antelope, rattlesnakes, javelina and coyotes, but Delk said she likes to watch birds.
“That’s one of the things you do, you look primarily for the cattle and check on them but you also see everything else that’s out there,” she said.
As for the falcons Delk will soon see through her binoculars, she said: “We know they’ve been in this area before. It’s just their native land.”
