City Blue Jay Population Threatened
But as for those pigeons and black birds, good riddance:
Four female Peregrine Falcon chicks have been found atop the Queens tower of the Throgs Neck Bridge, transit officials said yesterday.
Hatched about three weeks ago, the newborns are already feasting on pigeons, black birds, and blue jays about five times a day. Their talons have grown to nearly the size of a grown man’s hand.
An official with the Department of Environmental Protection yesterday climbed the 360-foot tower to tag the chicks.
Peregrine falcons, which are on the endangered list in New York, have made a comeback in recent years. About 32 now live in the city.
The falcons mimic their natural habitat of high cliffs by nesting atop bridges, church steeples, and high-rise buildings, wildlife experts said. The last falcons born on the Throgs Neck bridge hatched in the 1980s.
Location Scout: Throgs Neck Bridge.
Posted: May 24th, 2007 | Filed under: The Natural World