Some super-cute news from the MTA: Six peregrine falcon chicks were born last month at the top of the two bridges. The Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge welcomes three baby birds of prey while the Throgs Neck Bridge also had three!
Falcons love NYC's tall buildings and bridges because it gives them a better view to hunt prey. The MTA said:
This year marks the 30th year of participation by MTA Bridges and Tunnels in the State Department of Environmental Conservation’s nesting program, which began in New York City in 1983. New York City Department of Environmental Protection’s Wildlife Studies Division Specialist Chris Nadareski coordinates the program in the city, climbing high atop various buildings and bridges each year to band and record the falcons.
The newest MTA peregrines include two males and a female at Marine Parkway Bridge and two females and a male at the Throgs Neck Bridge. The Marine Parkway peregrine chicks hatched 215-feet atop the bridge’s Rockaway tower and the Throgs Neck chicks hatched 360-feet on the bridge’s Bronx tower.
“Other than providing the nesting box, our primary goal during mating season and until the chicks leave the nest is to stay out of their way,” said Marine Parkway Maintenance Superintendent Carlton Cyrus. There are no other costs associated with housing the peregrines.
Peregrine falcons, which are on the NY State DEC's endangered birds list (they were nearly wiped out in the 1960s because of pesticides), mate for life.
