“The good news for the peregrines,” he says, “they habituated. There was no difference in productivity, their activity, their feeding, or incubating. The Air Force probably liked it. The Air Force didn’t want to do it at first. This was their symbol. So good for the peregrines, but they’re mostly visual. I don’t think other species are necessarily that way. Species like owls that hunt in total darkness and depend on hearing, they’re going to be more affected. Birds need quiet to find mates, defend territories. At some point, the noises do overtake an animal’s ability to communicate and catch prey, but it can be very difficult to prove.”

Gordon Hempton, John Grossmann, One Square Inch of Silence-…, loc. 691