This is Bird No.

Rock climbing on Eagle Cliff in New Hampshire's Franconia not State Park requires perfect

focus on the points of contact between climber and mountain and keeping an eye out for

paragrand falcons whipping by.

These granite cliffs are important for paragrands.

In fact, each year popular climbing routes in the area closed temporarily to give nesting

falcons their space.

Historically, paragrands bred throughout New Hampshire's white mountains, but widespread

use of the pesticide DDT caused them to disappear from the state and throughout Eastern

North America by the 1960s.

Biologists released captive raised paragrands hoping to reestablish the species in the

wild.

In 1981, Eagle Cliff hosted a successful paragrand nest, the first on a natural rock

face in the Eastern U.S. since the population crashed.

Since then, state agencies and New Hampshire Audubon have worked with rock climbing groups

to decide when to close cliffs in the summer.

Rock climbing biologists and volunteers have a unique role to play.

They venture up to remote falconess to fit metal ID bands on the legs of paragrand chicks,

helping scientists track the paragrand falcons recovery.

Climbers continue to enjoy the granite cliffs of New Hampshire, and they've helped ensure

they're not alone on the mountain.

For Bird Note, I'm Arianna Remmel.

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