Raptors & Condors

Raptors have been monitored at Pinnacles National Monument for 20 years, providing crucial data relied upon by park management to balance resource protection and compatible visitor use. Long-term trends in the numbers of prairie falcons and their nesting success provide a means for assessing the park’s ability to adequately manage climbing use and the overall ecological integrity and sustainability of the rock/cliff ecosystem. Long-term patterns in population size and breeding behavior (e.g. feeding rates of chicks) are compared to long-term climate change, effects of conversion and development of agricultural lands surrounding the monument, and visitor use of the monument. This information will improve the understanding of raptor ecology and the effects of park management decisions. Recent information indicates that prairie falcons have been declining throughout the state and are being considered for petitioning for listing under federal protection. Other data of prairie falcons within PINN have shown that unlike other populations in the western US, falcons inhabiting PINN do not exhibit migratory behavior. Instead, they rely on PINN and surrounding privately-held lands for foraging the entire year and are therefore particularly sensitive to changes in land use surrounding PINN.