Morro's Peregrine Falcon

I had the pleasure of learning about this bird from the folks at Pacific Wildlife Care during the Morro Bay Winter Bird Festival.  The peregrine falcon was in the endangered species list from 1973 to 1998.  DDT, a pesticide that thinned the egg shells, was the culprit.  By 1972, the year I was born, this species was gone from the East Coast and there were only two pairs left in California. One  of the pairs was in Morro Rock which was instrumental in the recovery of this bird.  The eggs from this pair were incubated and used for captive breeding by biologists.  Now, they're fully recovered.  It truly is amazing how close the peregrine falcon was to extinction.  This painting is titled "Watching over Morro", watercolor 10"x14".