The Danish Peregrine Falcon population:Reestablishment and eggshell thinning

• Published in: Ornis Hungarica
• Main Authors: Andreasen, Niels Peter, Falk, Knud, Møller, Søren
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: Denmark; recovery; Peregrine Falcon; Productivity; dispersal; monitoring; eggshell thinning; Citizen science; Falco peregrinus; peregrine falcon
• Online Access: https://forskning.ruc.dk/da/publications/eaaf3754-5d92-4908-a7a3-ecc39a4746ac; https://doi.org/10.1515/orhu-2018-0024; https://hdl.handle.net/1800/eaaf3754-5d92-4908-a7a3-ecc39a4746ac; https://rucforsk.ruc.dk/ws/files/64487010/The_Danish_Peregrine_Falcon_population_Reestablishment_and_eggshell_thinning.pdf

Denmark being a country with only a few suitable steep nesting cliffs has only harboured a small population of Peregrine Falcons in historic time. In the previous century the population gradually declined due to persecution, egg and young collection, and pollution. The last breeding attempt in the 20’th century occurred in 1972 in southeastern Denmark. No new breeding attempts were recorded in Denmark until 2001 but since then the population has gradually increased – most rapidly since 2012 - to a peak of 19 territorial pairs in 2016; some of them breeding on man-made structures (nest boxes at bridges and power plants). Here we update the information on the reestablishment of the Peregrine Falcon in Denmark, including origin and dispersal, reproduction, and eggshell thinning. Denmark being a country with only a few suitable steep nesting cliffs has only harboured a small population of Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus) in historic time. In the previous century, the population gradually declined due to persecution, egg and young collection, and pollution. The last breeding attempt in the 20th century occurred in 1972 in southeastern Denmark. No new breeding attempts were recorded in Denmark until 2001 but since then the population has gradually increased – most rapidly since 2012 – to a peak of 19 territorial pairs in 2016; some of them breeding on man-made structures (nest boxes at bridges and power plants). Here we update the information on the reestablishment of the Peregrine Falcon in Denmark, including origin and dispersal, reproduction, and eggshell thinning.