Smooth Operator

Details on closure below:
During the nesting season, peregrine falcons are very sensitive to human disturbance leading to nest failure and abandonment. Additionally, peregrines fiercely defend their nest sites from all intruders, and can be dangerous to anyone disturbing them. We ask your cooperation in allowing these magnificent birds, the fastest animals on earth, to nest at this cliff. This is a collaborative effort between all of us that value wild places, climbers, wildlife watchers and conservationists together protecting the outdoors and the wildlife we share it with.

Peregrine falcons are recovering but remain rare in Pennsylvania, after completely disappearing from eastern North America due to DDT effects. Cliff nesting is crucial to their continued recovery. When they nest on human-made structures (bridges and buildings), many of the young die by falling into the river and drowning, getting hit by cars, flying into glass, and other hazards of the urban environment. Cliff sites are much more secure, and before DDT, peregrines nested almost exclusively on cliffs.

There are less than 50 pairs of peregrines nesting in the state and only 9 are nesting on cliffs. Three of those cliffs are used by climbers, meaning that only 3 cliffs need to be avoided for the nesting season, February 15 to August 15. Once the young have fledged, the cliff can be opened to climbing again.