The Northern Aplomado Falcon (Falco femoralis septentrionalis), a colorful mid-sized falcon, once ranged from northern Guatemala to the southern United States but vanished in the U.S. by the early 1950s. While there is no definitive explanation for their disappearance, many attribute it to a combination of habitat loss and contaminants. Following the listing of the Aplomado Falcon in 1986, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service invited The Peregrine Fund to lead the recovery efforts, a project we have been pursuing since 1987. 

Our team recently banded the 600th wild Aplomado Falcon and observed 26 pairs during monitoring activity in South Texas. It has taken over 30 years of adaptive management to reach this point, and we still have a ways to go until the Aplomado Falcon will be considered stable again in the United States and northern Mexico.

Our Solutions

Aplomado Falcon egg being picked up by human hand

Captive Breeding

From 1993 to 2013, The Peregrine Fund released 936 captive-bred Aplomado Falcons throughout South Texas.

Two people band an Aplomado Falcon nestling

Population Monitoring

Our team has surveyed sites in South Texas every year since the start of reintroductions to track the population.

Biologist Brian Mutch looking through a scope

Threat Assessments

Continually assessing threats to the wild population is an important part of adaptive management and the ongoing success of the species. 

Large orange tractor removes weedy shrubs

Habitat Restoration

Protecting and restoring the threatened Texas Gulf Coast grasslands that Aplomado Falcons rely on is a top priority.

Two Aplomado Falcons with nesting structure in grassland

Nesting Structures

With the loss of natural nests and increased predators, artificial nesting structures provide a safe space for the falcons to nest. 

Nesting Structure on ground

Hurricane Harvey

Hurricane Harvey wiped out 30% of the Aplomado Falcon population in 2017 and the population is still recovering.

Aplomado Falcon in flight with legs outstretched

Cal Sandfort

Restoring a vanished species

Our Impact

  • Over 35 years of adaptive management

  • 65 nesting structures maintained annually

  • 60 known falcon territories

  • 25 established falcon pairs 

  • Over 600 wild falcon nestlings banded

  • Over 12,000 acres of habitat improved through woody plant removal

  • More than 2 million acres of private lands with suitable habitat enrolled under the Safe Harbor permit

Learn More

Paul Juergens and Brian Mutch stand under installed nesting structure

Meet our Team

Our Aplomado Falcon Recovery team may be small, but they have a combined six decades of experience.

USFWS employee holds Aplomado Falcon nestling

Meet our Partners

Collaborations with federal, state, non-governmental, and private entities have been instrumental in the program’s success.

Crested Caracara standing on ground

Meet the Raptors

Learn about the other raptor species that benefit from the program’s conservation efforts.