New York City Audubon Ecotour

By D. Bruce YoltonEagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey

New York City Audubon hosted an Ecotour of the East River on Tuesday.  Before the boat ride, I stopped by the Brooklyn Bridge.

On the bridge, you could hear chicks begging for food.  I waited for about twenty minutes and a parent poked its head out.
An Adult Peregrine Falcon.
The band reads 04, then 2 below.  I haven’t seen this type of band before.   Update: I received some emails about this band type.  It is used to supplement a Federal band, since it much easier to read. It is usually two digits and a letter, so it is most likely 04Z and not 042.
Then it was off on a NYC Water Taxi for a tour of the East River.
On a small island east of the U.N. is a Double-crested Cormorant nesting spot.
The Pepsi sign is in the background.
Peregrine Falcons also nest on New York Hospital.  The best view of them is from the river.  It was dark and I was on a moving boat, so the pictures aren’t the best.  Young ones are inside the nesting box.
Here you can see two on the left.  What I can’t make out is if there is a bird next to the nest box on the right.
A gull chick.
Brant, a small goose, which shouldn’t be hanging around New York in June.
Another Brant shot.
Below the gulls, is an American Oyster-Catcher.  A new bird for my life list.
One the way back, we made a detour to the Statue of Liberty.
Lower Manhattan.  Who would think there would be so much nature amid all your concrete and steel?