Dunn Memorial Bridge Falcon Nest
The nesting season has concluded and the Peregrine Falcon webcam has been turned off until next season.
2008 Summary
2008 was the fourth year in a row that a clutch of five eggs was produced, and egg laying began a couple of weeks earlier than has been typical at this nest site. Three of the eggs hatched on April 28th, and a fourth egg hatched on May 1st. On May 21st, four female chicks were fitted with metal leg bands and the single unhatched egg was removed from the nest box along with prey remains. During the fledging period in mid May, one of the four chicks was found swimming in the Hudson River by a tugboat crew. They removed the bird from the water, and Wildlife staff who found the bird to be well fed and without apparent injury, took it to the Rensselaer Riverfront Park to dry off and continue the fledging process. Although we do not know for certain, it is believed that the four chicks ultimately fledged from the bridge successfully.
2007 Summary
This year a clutch of five eggs was laid between March 26th and April 4th. Three of the five eggs hatched on May 7th and 8th. On May 29th three female chicks were fitted with leg bands and two unhatched eggs and prey remains were collected from the nest box. One of the chicks was lost between the time that the chicks began moving back and forth between the nest box and the top of the concrete pier and the time that the chicks were expected to fledge. It is likely that an accidental fall from the bridge caused the death of this chick. On June 15th one of two juveniles was observed flying to the bridge, and the other appeared ready to fly. We believe that two of the three chicks successfully fledged this year.
