[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 124 (Friday, July 28, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S10860]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           BABY PEREGRINE FALCON AT THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

  Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, a week ago last Tuesday, July 18, the 
Washington Post had a very exciting article about the return of the 
peregrine falcons to the Washington area and the birth of a male 
peregrine falcon baby chick at 75 feet high on a window ledge of the 
National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Northeast Washington.
  This is exciting news for those of us interested in the Endangered 
Species Act and the return of some of these species that have been so 
endangered in our society.
  As a matter of fact, one of the things that led to the near demise of 
the peregrine falcon was the use of DDT and other pesticides which have 
now been banned. Because of the prevalence of those pesticides, 
particularly DDT, there were only 100 known pairs of peregrine falcons 
left east of the Mississippi, but they are making their comeback. I 
wish to pay tribute not only to the Endangered Species Act, not only to 
our action in banning DDT, but the work of other areas such as the 
World Center for Birds of Prey which is located in Boise, ID, where 
raptors such as the peregrine falcon are brought together and the 
breeding takes place, and then they are put out in various parts of our 
country to live in the natural environment.
  So this is exciting news. There are plenty of people who trash the 
Endangered Species Act, but I think it is important to bring to the 
attention of the public where that act has been successful as in this 
instance of the return of the peregrine falcon.
  I thank the Chair. I thank my friend from Missouri for permitting me 
to go ahead.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that an article from the 
Washington Post entitled ``And Baby Falcon Makes Three'' be printed in 
the Record.
  There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

               [From the Washington Post, July 18, 1995]

 And Baby Falcon Makes Three--Finding D.C. to Their Liking, Peregrine 
                      Pair Produce a Rare Addition

                            (By D'Vera Cohn)

       Washington may have no skyscrapers, but now it's got 
     something else that is a symbol of a big city: A rare 
     peregrine falcon hatched here this year, the first in memory.
  It's a boy!
       Few creatures inspire the awe that peregrines do. They are 
     the world's fastest birds, zooming for prey at speeds up to 
     200 miles an hour. Kings used the hooded falcons for hunting. 
     And they are still so scarce, after pesticides nearly wiped 
     them out, that only 100 known pairs live east of the 
     Mississippi River.
       Peregrines are making a comeback in some cities, but they'd 
     never been known to produce young in the District. They love 
     heights--in the wild they nest on cliffs. Could it be that 
     Washington's stubby skyline didn't present the right 
     circumstances for romance?
       Now, it seems, height isn't everything.
       A pair of peregrines took up residence this spring on the 
     ledge of a small round window about 75 feet up the National 
     Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, at Fourth Street and 
     Michigan Avenue NE. In April, church workers spotted a white 
     downy chick.
       ``The baby in the nest would come to the edge and squawk,'' 
     said Jan Bloom, secretary to the rector. One of the parents 
     ``would get breakfast and come back. . . . We'd see them on 
     the roof pecking at what they'd caught.''
       Peregrines, the size of large crows, are killing machines. 
     They knock down smaller birds with their strong claws, then 
     finish them off with a bite to the nape.
       The people at the shrine didn't give away their secret. But 
     Washington's birding world had an inkling something was going 
     on, somewhere.
       For the last two winters, a pair of peregrines had been 
     seen killing pigeons at a church on Thomas Circle in 
     Northwest Washington. This year, one began giving food to the 
     other, the avian equivalent of a bachelor offering a diamond 
     engagement ring. Then, as spring arrived, they vanished.
       Every rumor about where they'd gone triggered a search. A 
     brood seen atop a downtown building turned out to be 
     kestrels. Birders checked Washington National Cathedral, 
     assuming they must be in a tall place nearby. Nothing.
       Then, one day in June, Deborah Ozga spotted three birds 
     flying around the National Shrine. She heard the pulsing 
     scream of a bird of prey. Thinking the three were hawks, she 
     returned with binoculars and a bird book.
       Ozga, who heads the chemistry and physics libraries at 
     Catholic University next to the church, was stunned when she 
     realized what had flown into the neighborhood.
       ``I knew that to see them was something pretty special,'' 
     she said. ``This book I was reading said they can see a mouse 
     from a mile and a half away.''
       She reached Erika Wilson, who tapes the weekly ``Voice of 
     the Naturalist'' phone report that local birders rely on for 
     good sightings.
       ``As soon as she convinced me she had peregrines, I jumped 
     in my car and went out there,'' Wilson said. ``I think this 
     is so neat!''
       One reason for her joy is that Washington seemed the 
     exception among big cities in not having baby peregrine.
       Thanks to a captive breeding program that began two decades 
     ago, the species is recovering so well that federal officials 
     began the process this month of removing the peregrine falcon 
     from the endangered list.
       There's been a breeding pair in Baltimore since the late 
     1970s, nesting on a skyscraper. New York City has more than a 
     half-dozen pairs. Even some smaller cities such as Roanoke 
     have them.
       The Chesapeake region--from the Blue Ridge to the bay--has 
     more than two dozen peregrine pairs, according to Craig 
     Koppie, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
     in Annapolis.
       When he went out to see the birds at the National Shrine 
     last week, Koppie spotted the young falcon catching insects. 
     Then he watched it dive across Michigan Avenue--swooping 
     through morning rush-hour traffic--going after a smaller 
     bird. (Best viewing is in the morning, especially in hot 
     weather.)
       All the evidence isn't in, but Koppie believes that the 
     parents are the Thomas Circle peregrines. Despite their name, 
     which means ``wanderer,'' peregrines that live in this region 
     often stay in a territory encompassing a few miles.
       Saturday, Koppie used a pigeon lure to trap the young 
     falcon in a net. He banded it for identification, so 
     scientists can monitor how it's doing. He checked it for 
     parasites and pronounced it in good health.
       Then, as mother falcon watched, he released the young bird 
     into the air.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri.
  Mr. ASHCROFT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be able 
to speak in morning business for up to 15 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. ASHCROFT. I thank the Chair.

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