MATCHING THE APLOMADO FALCON’S TENACITY
TPF Complete Conservation™ Pillar
Species to Ecosystem Continuum Restoring the Aplomado Falcon to the Texas coast means restoring the habitat that sustains it, proof that saving a raptor and saving an ecosystem are never two separate goals.
Northern Aplomado Falcons are fierce hunters—agile, bold, and built for powerful flight across the harsh grasslands
Despite heavy rains and flooding, the team documented breeding pairs across barrier islands and Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. On Matagorda Island, where Hurricane Harvey wiped out nearly half of the falcons observed there in 2017, 11 pairs nested this year, a sign of near-full recovery. But the most exciting discovery requires backstory. In 2021, six falcons were experimentally released on North Padre Island, but none stayed to breed. One male moved to Mustang Island and has raised young there since 2024. This past spring, biologists discovered his son had flown back to North Padre Island, found a mate, and successfully produced two offspring—the first documented Aplomado Falcon nest ever recorded on North Padre Island. This kind of work requires decades of dedication. After surviving hurricanes, drought, and predators, these resilient falcons are staging a remarkable comeback on the Texas coast.
of Texas. Yet by the early 1950s, they had disappeared from the American Southwest, victims of overgrazing, fire suppression, expanding agriculture, and the spread of brush into their habitat. The same tenacity that defines these falcons is shared by the people working to bring them back. The Peregrine Fund’s Aplomado Program Director, Brian Mutch, and Vice President of Domestic Conservation, Paul Juergens, bring over 50 years of combined field experience and innovative leadership. Building on the recovery success of the Peregrine Falcon, TPF began breeding Aplomado Falcons in captivity in 1988 and has since released more than 900 young falcons in southern Texas. This year, our team counted 26 breeding pairs in Texas and celebrated banding the 675th wild nestling since recovery began.
Paul Juergens
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