ACADIA NATIONAL PARK – A pair of nesting peregrine falcons has prompted officials to close one of the most popular hiking trails in Acadia National Park.

The Precipice Trail has been closed to protect the rare birds and likely will remain closed for several more weeks.

Signs about the closure have been posted, but that hasn’t stopped a few hikers who have taken to the trail anyway, Ranger Richard Rechholtz said Sunday.

In the past week, rangers have given citations to five hikers for being in the off-limits section of the park. The violation carries a fine of $500.

Closing the trail and other sections of the park has become an annual undertaking at Acadia, as peregrine falcons have returned to the same cliffs each year for more than a decade.

With a vertical climb of 1,000 feet, Precipice is one of the most challenging and well-known trails in the park. It leads up the east side of Champlain Mountain on the eastern side of Mount Desert Island.

“A lot of people come here just to do this trail,” Rechholtz said.

Roughly the size of crows, peregrine falcons are fast and powerful birds. They dive after prey at speeds of more than 100 mph. They have been known to nest on cliffs, under suspension bridges and on top of tall buildings. They are also protected under Maine’s Endangered Species Act.

Visitors can still get a glimpse of the birds. During the day, a park naturalist will be at the Precipice parking area to let people look at the falcons through a telescope, Rechholtz said.