Spring is nearly here, and so is the chance to observe the circle of life for majestic peregrine falcons in the Big Apple.
A livestream of a peregrine falcon nesting tower near the Bayonne Bridge will launch at 8 a.m. Friday, showing the birds as they care for their young along the Kill Van Kull tidal strait between Staten Island’s North Shore and New Jersey, according to the Port Authority. The agency says the falcons’ nesting season runs throughout the spring and summer, and the livestream of the wooden nest box is part of a partnership with technology company EarthCam.
Peregrines and their offspring have long nested in locations across the city, including bridges and towers owned by the Port Authority. In the past few years, they’ve hatched and flown from the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge between Brooklyn and Staten Island and the Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge between Brooklyn and Queens. The structures provide perches from which the birds can hunt for prey, such as pigeons, blue jays and starlings, in midair.
“The nesting site allows the birds to raise their babies, called eyas, safely without stressful human interference while still using the nearby Bayonne Bridge to hunt,” the Port Authority says on its website. “Like all wild animals, these falcons live in nature’s unpredictable world. It is not uncommon that one or more of the young birds will not reach adulthood.”
The species became endangered a few decades ago, largely due to pesticide use, but conservation efforts have brought its population back to healthier levels, according to the National Park Service. It is still considered endangered in New York, and experts view the birds as a bellwether for the overall environment, the state Department of Environmental Conservation says.
Dustin Partridge, director of conservation and science at the nonprofit NYC Bird Alliance, said the falcon's recovery shows the importance of conservation.
"Peregrines were on the brink of extinction, and our communal conservation actions — to clean up our water supply, ban [the pesticide] DDT, and aid these birds in reclaiming their former territories — saved them," he said in statement. "Now, every New Yorker has the opportunity to walk outside and see the fastest bird on the planet soaring across the city’s skies."
New York City has one of largest urban populations of peregrines anywhere, and the birds returned to nest on local bridges in 1983, according to the agency. Conservationists and environmental officials put bands on the falcons’ legs when the birds are about three weeks old so they can be tracked and studied over time.
The Port Authority says peregrines are the fastest animal on Earth, with the ability to dive at more than 200 mph. Adults typically live about 10 years, and the species' average nest holds up to four eggs, which incubate for about a month before hatching. It takes more than another month for the nestlings to fly.
This story has been updated with additional information.
