Ready To Leave
The surviving eyass looks like it may soon be a fledgling. I can’t wait!
Broadway Bridge
I visited the scrape on Saturday afternoon. The eyasses have matured a great deal since I last saw them. They look like they should be ready to fledge by next weekend.
I’ve included some photographs of the bridge and the Harlem River. I realized in my excitement over finding this year’s scrape, I forgot to document the area. Below the bridge are the Metro North Hudson River Line tracks and the Harlem River. The bridge has two levels, an upper deck for the 1 subway train, and a lower deck for car traffic.
More Broadway Bridge
I’ve become fascinated with the Broadway Bridge scrape. It’s the first time I’ve been able to watch young Peregrine Falcons in person. It’s a lot different than watching the 55 Water Street video feed.
Tonight there was a feeding by one of the parents, although it looks like the eyasses can pick at food by themselves. I’m looking forward to watching this pair grow up and fledge.
St. John On Sunday
Here’s a brief video of the surviving eyass, who appears healthy. Let’s hope it survives and fledges sometime in the next ten days.
Three, Two, Then One
An eyass died over the last few days at St. John the Divine, and it looks like we have only a single surviving eyass. The remains of the second eyass are visible at the front of the nest. The parents will remove the eyass after a few days.
Some hawk watchers have suggested removing the eyass to have it tested. However, with two healthy parents and a difficult location, this seems to be impractical. There is the danger that the healthy eyass might prematurely fledge and be injured if the nest is approached. This is also the possibility that anyone who attempts to remove the dead eyass will be attacked by the parents. Either the rehabber or the parents could be injured if this happens! Furthermore, unless the cause of death was obviously frounce (a disease caught from pigeons), any test results would take too long to aid in the treatment of the surviving eyass.
So, the best course of action in this case, seems to be no action.
Broadway Bridge Peregrine Falcons
New York City has a large population of Peregrine Falcons. My favorite pair has a scrape on Broadway Bridge, easily accessible by the 1 subway train. It’s the Marble Hill-225th Street stop. The bridge is a drawbridge over the Harlem River and allows you some of the closest views of Peregrine Falcons in the city. This year, their scrape is situated so that you can see the eyasses being fed.
