LANSING - Thirty years after vanishing from the Midwest,
peregrine falcons are thriving in smokestacks, skyscrapers and
cliffs. The numbers not only rebounded, but quadrupled from the
1950s and 1960s when pesticides, mostly DDT, destroyed peregrine
falcon populations. DDT caused thin, easily broken eggs.
"Historically, we didn't have that much habitat or birds in
Michigan," said Ray Rustem, assistant to the chief of marketing
outreach at the Department of Natural Resources. "They were
pretty much only in the Upper Peninsula." A peregrine falcon is
seen in this file photo. Increasing numbers of these birds, once
badly depleted, are being seen in the upper and lower
peninsulas, experts said, thanks in large measure to the birds’
adaptability. (File photo) And while the U.P. population has
bounced back, there are also peregrine falcons in the Lower
Peninsula, Rustem said. The Detroit area alone has about 17
breeding pairs, according to the Environmental Protection
Agency. What's happening in Michigan reflects de