Skyscrapers mimic those natural cliffsides where peregrines historically nested. Reintroduction programs in urban settings played a major role in the return of the peregrine falcon. Indiana's reintroduction project began in 1991. These areas have an abundance of medium-sized birds for food as well as tall buildings for nesting and perching. Peregrine nesting is monitored every year and the young falcons receive leg identification bands.
Peregrines are wanderers until they reach maturity at two years of age.
There is no guarantee that a peregrine released or fledged in the state will nest here as an adult. The leg bands allow the birds to be identified wherever they nest. To learn more about this fascinating state endangered bird from the Peregrine Falcon Life Series . Learn to identify a peregrine falcon and Indiana's other falcon's and hawks. The first peregrine falcons were sighted in the Midwest in 1878.