Recovering Peregrines with Mary

"The city is just a pseudo-cliff," says Mary Hennen, explaining a Peregrine falcon's perspective on Chicago's landscape.  The narrow ledges of Chicago's skyscrapers make ideal nesting sites for Illinois's wild Peregrine falcons, a species that might not be absent from the state in the first place if not for the Chicago Peregrine Program (CPP). Mary Hennen is the Collections Assistant in the Field Museum's Bird Division in addition to being the CPP's Director. She attributes much of the program's success to hard-working researchers and volunteers. Read more about the Chicago Peregrine Program.

Another Field museum research assistant and CPP volunteer, Stephanie Ware, has been photographing Chicago's falcons since 2006, and manages the Midwest Peregrine Falcons photography group.