Pennsylvania seeks tips after protected peregrine falcon is shot in Luzerne County

Pennsylvania Game Commission officers are asking for help after a protected peregrine falcon was illegally shot in Luzerne County, and the bird later died from wounds so severe that it had to be euthanized. Investigators said the falcon was found the evening of June 14 near Chase Road in Jackson Township, also known as Shavertown, with a badly injured wing.

Wildlife officers believe the bird was shot near the American Asphalt Paving Company quarry in Shavertown, where it was found. The falcon was taken to the Carbon County Environmental Center for treatment, but the injuries could not be overcome. The commission is still investigating and wants the public to use the Northeast Region hotline, the Operation Game Thief hotline, or its online tip system with any information that could identify who fired the shot.

For falconers and raptor supporters, the case is a blunt reminder of how much legal protection peregrines still carry in Pennsylvania. The Game Commission says the species is protected under the Game and Wildlife Code and the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. Peregrines also remain a state threatened species, even after one of the most dramatic recoveries in North American wildlife management.

That recovery is part of what makes the Luzerne County shooting so troubling. The Game Commission says peregrines disappeared from Pennsylvania around 1960 because of DDT and other pressures. The bird was listed as federally endangered in 1970, placed on Pennsylvania’s first endangered species list in 1978, and later removed from the federal endangered and threatened species lists in 1999. Pennsylvania’s breeding base now includes about a dozen pairs, while more than 1,700 breeding pairs are found across the United States and Canada.

The birds are built for speed, able to dive at more than 200 miles per hour, and they often nest on cliffs as well as skyscrapers, towers, and bridges. The commission bands peregrine chicks and uses satellite telemetry after fledging to track where they go and how they fare. Peregrine clutches average four eggs in spring, and the species’ comeback is widely regarded as one of the most successful conservation efforts in history. A single illegal shooting in Luzerne County cuts directly against that stewardship, and investigators are now counting on the public to help close the case.