NEWBURYPORT, Mass. – Crews from the MassWildlife and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation joined forces Wednesday for an important process in the state’s efforts to save the peregrine falcon, tagging newborn chicks with a small leg band to better understand and monitor the population.

On the Gillis Bridge in Newburyport, David Paulson descended a ladder leading to a nest, and his team put three peregrine falcon chicks into bags. They were then brought to a nearby site where dozens of people eagerly awaited a glimpse.

Paulson is MassDOT’s wildlife and endangered species unit supervisor.

“Once you get there, you work as a team,” Paulson said. “You can safely secure the nest box and then gather them from the nest site. That particular box has a door in the back, which allows us to access them safely and then put them into bags… It's kind of like an adventure every single time.”

Known as the fastest bird on earth, the peregrine falcon can reach speeds up to 240 miles per hour. Its population was once on the brink of extinction, but for 38 years, MassWildlife has made steady progress in restoring it.

Andrew Yitz, MassWildlife’s state ornithologist, said with just a bit of help, the peregrine falcon has done the rest on its own.

“Historically, they've always been kind of a rare bird here in Massachusetts,” Yitz said. “They’re a cliff-nesting bird by nature, and Massachusetts doesn't have the amount of cliff sites that other states in Northern New England might have… It’s been stable for the last five or 10 years.”

The pesticide DDT was largely responsible for the peregrine falcon nearly becoming extinct, and a few years after it was banned in 1972, Tom French helped lead the early effort to save the state’s population as assistant director of Masswildlife’s endangered species program.

“As a result of our efforts to restore them, we had our first pair in modern times in Boston in about 1986,” French said. “And now, we continually increase. We are up to 45 or 50 pairs of peregrine falcons. It’s hard to keep track of them all now.”

French is now retired, and joined the dozens of spectators below the bridge who waited to get a glimpse of the chicks.

Between MassWildlife, MassDOT and eager locals like MaryMargaret Halsey, the peregrine falcon population is in good hands these days.

“I found one of the young ones a year or so ago that needed some help, and we were able to rescue it and get it out to Tufts and take care of it,” Halsey said. “It’s fun to be involved it, and support the people who are doing it.”

Peregrine falcons can now be seen statewide, from the rocky cliffs of Mount Tom to tall buildings in Worcester and Boston. In 2023, MassWildlife biologists estimated there were more than 44 nesting pairs in the state. More than 1,077 wild-hatched chicks have fledged from nests in the state since restoration efforts began. 

You can also check in on six different nests via webcam on the state’s website, including Gillis Bridge in Newburyport.