Aplomado Falcon is back after nearly 60 years of disappearance

By 1952, the aplomado falcon had vanished. The gray bird that once glided over South Texas ranches became a victim of illegal hunters and developers. It seemed that the falcon disappeared without the hope of returning.

But nearly 60 years later, the falcon is back, thanks to a cooperative effort between environmentalists and South Texas landowners.

Beginning in 1984, hundreds of infant aplomado falcons were taken from Mexico and released from Corpus Christi to Brownsville. The conservation program was started thanks in part to the encouragement of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which facilitated the program with a federal grant.

Many of the falcons died in infancy - a natural phenomenon for the species, leaving 40 aplomados in South Texas. The falcon is still on the endangered species list, but environmentalists say their efforts have been successful.

"We're confident that we now have a self-sustaining population," said Bill Heinrich, species restoration manager for the Peregrine Fund in Boise, Idaho.

That population is a part of the reason why thousands of bird watchers travel to South Texas every year, Heinrich said. There are few other regions in the United States populated by aplomados. More than 60 percent of the species' population in the United States is in South Texas.

"It's at the top of birders' lists for two reasons, because the population was once so low ... and because the bird is rarely seen north of South Texas," said Katherine Miller, a natural resources specialist at Resaca de la Palma State Park.

Because 97 percent of land in Texas is privately owned, environmentalists relied on landowners and ranchers to allow access to the properties. The aplomado falcons were strategically released on land that could provide a suitable habitat for the population, including property owned by Brownsville rancher Frank Yturria, who owns 12,000 acres in South Texas.

Yturria was not available Tuesday for comment.

With his permission, the Peregrine Fund constructed platforms on Yturria's property for the birds to build their nests.

"We just needed the access," Heinrich said. "Now the numbers are looking a lot better."