NY / New York - 55 Water Street - 2008-11

[skygirlblue]

2011 NESTING SEASON

Rocky and Jubilee have been confirmed.

Egg #1:  3/14
Egg #2:  3/16
Egg #3:  3/20

[The Peregrine Chick]

Did I miss a photo or an piece in one of the articles?  

Well, in one of the links that kittenface posted in Reply 3, there is a photo of Chris (at least I think it's Chris?) holding a parent in a harness. But he does not appear to be holding her while banding the chicks. Nor does he appear to have taken her indoors. Was just wondering why he was holding onto her at all?  

I assuming he had to remove Mum from the nestbox so he could get to the chicks.  Why was she still there?  She was defending the chicks - most birds will fly away so they can attack from the sky where they have more control.  Some will just tuck down and not give way unless they have to - more dangerous for them though.  It may be that they surprised her and she decided to stand her ground.

As for the harness photo, I suspect it was just the way he was holding her and she got caught up in the harness straps - easy to do when she's fighting you.  The harness has nothing to do with the bird, its purely for the climbers safety - and is legally required on many buildings.

[Kinderchick]

Yes, that was a surprise to me too, bcbird. And I was surprised that he would even attempt to handle her!

[bcbird]

I guess that photo of the Mom being held was shot as she was being removed, and was part of the process rather than a long interval of time.  The surprise to me is that a mother peregrine lets herself be handled at all!

[Kinderchick]

Did I miss a photo or an piece in one of the articles? 

Well, in one of the links that kittenface posted in Reply 3, there is a photo of Chris (at least I think it's Chris?) holding a parent in a harness. But he does not appear to be holding her while banding the chicks. Nor does he appear to have taken her indoors. Was just wondering why he was holding onto her at all?

[The Peregrine Chick]

Did I miss a photo or an piece in one of the articles?  I didn't see the female in any of the actual banding photos ... I did she her in the hand, but not in any of the photos where they are actually banding. Also didn't reading anything about trying to make her trust humans ... did I miss an article?  Am I wrong?

As a biologist and former hack site attendant, the last thing I want is for the birds to trust me, a healthy suspicion of me and all my ilk is desireable.  Don't want them panicked into doing something dangerous (which usually equals tragic) but suspicious and ready to commit grevious bodily harm, yes.  From the photos (just the photos) it looks like when they went out on the roof to retrieve the chicks, she stayed in the box, which for us has meant, remove mom first, then remove chicks while dodging mom's attempts to do damage.  Since other photos show that the guys had to clamber back aways to get back inside, I assumed they removed Mom and either let her go and retrieved chicks or retrieved chicks then let her go before heading off the roof to go inside to band the chicks. Particularly since there are flight shots that look big enough to be the female ...

So did I miss something in the articles or blogs?

[bcbird]

I agree with you Carly, it doesn't seem right that the mother can be handled so easily.

[Alison]

The 55 Water Street falcons have been receiving quite a bit of media coverage. Two more links to articles:

http://www.dnainfo.com/20100514/financial-district-battery-park-city/skys-limit-for-young-peregrine-falcon-siblings-hatched-lower-manhattan

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/something_to_squawk_about_WSqeEY3wwtllH816szZB3J

And more photos:

 

 

[carly]

If I hadn't seen it, I'd still be a doubter.  There he is, holding on to Mama while the banding goes on.  EXCELLENT pictures on that link !

Ditto!  Although I'm not sure I approve, wouldn't' that make the situation even more stressful for her?  And trying to show falcons that humans can be 'trusted' is in my opinion the beginning of the end of any species.  

Not to mention some unscrupulous thief is probably thinking that he can 'grab' one of the falcons he can steal it or the babies...

Can you tell I don't trust hoomans motives 

[Eye-spy]

If I hadn't seen it, I'd still be a doubter.  There he is, holding on to Mama while the banding goes on.  EXCELLENT pictures on that link !

[Kinderchick]

Well kittenface, you are right, Chris does appear to be holding one of the parents in one of the photos! How can that be, TPC?!

[kittenface]

Here is another article for you  about the 2 males/females:
http://gothamist.com/2010/05/13/water_street_falcons_get_tagged.php?gallery0Pic=14#gallery

Alot of really cool pictures and there is a couple pics of one of the parents being held on the blog the blog address is:
http://palemaleirregulars.blogspot.com/2010/05/water-street-peregrines-rock-river-bald.html

[The Peregrine Chick]

Think the newspaper probably missed a bit of text saying exactly where Mom flew to.  Pretty sure not even Chris could have a protective mama on one hand while removing chicks with the other ! 

[Kinderchick]

City welcomes four new peregrine falcon chicks to urban flock

Jubilee spread her wings and glared at the man reaching for her nest.
The mother Peregrine falcon wasn't going to give up her babies easily - even if it was just for a few minutes.
Chris Nadareski let her squawk and extended his hand.
She flew to it and stayed there as he carefully lifted the four fluffy white chicks and placed them into baskets.

Does this mean that she actually landed on his hand?!

[Alison]

2010 NESTING SEASON

City welcomes four new peregrine falcon chicks to urban flock

Jubilee spread her wings and glared at the man reaching for her nest.

The mother Peregrine falcon wasn't going to give up her babies easily - even if it was just for a few minutes.  Chris Nadareski let her squawk and extended his hand. She flew to it and stayed there as he carefully lifted the four fluffy white chicks and placed them into baskets.  ednesday's brief stand-off is an annual ritual for the wildlife biologist and the falcons at 55 Water Street.

Each year, he climbs out on a ledge 14 stories above lower Manhattan to check on the new chicks and band them with small metal i.d. bracelets. These chicks hatched less than a month ago.

"This is a very healthy brood," said Nadareski, a wildlife biologist with the city's Department of Environmental Protection, after examining Brianne, Ramona, Matthew and Stephen. "They look well-fed."

The pair that call 55 Water Street home is one of 15 active falcon nests across the five boroughs, Nadareski said. That's a far cry from 1983 when just two nests existed on the Verrazano and Throgs Necks bridges.  The majestic birds had been virtually wiped out by the early 1960s due to pesticide residue in their prey. Peregrine falcons are still an endangered species and are closely guarded by the environment officials.

Nadareski, chief of the DEP's wildlife studies section, works with the state Department of Environmental Conservation to monitor some of the local falcons on bridges and rooftops around the city.  He examined their nest box and discovered the Water Street pair, named Rocky and Jubilee, have been feasting on local pigeons, mourning doves, woodpeckers and blue jays.

"The bands allow us to follow them and identify them," he said. "Things happen when they are taking their first flight and good Samaritans often pick them up."

The chicks have an extended family at 55 Water Street, where their every movement is monitored by workers in the building and an Internet birdcam at http://www.falcons.55water.com/. Falcon pairs have called the ledge home for over 10 years.  Engineers Eddie Gamble and Richard Nicosia proudly showed visitors a photo album of the falcons as if it were their own children.

"It's unique," said Frank Magnani, vice president at the New Water Street Corporation which owns the property. "They are real New Yorkers."

http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/pets/2010/05/12/2010-05-12_city_welcomes_four_new_peregrine_falcon_chicks_to_urban_flock.html

[Enraptured]

Following the link to the New York Times is well worth it! Very cute picture and lovely story!

[Liz]

I sure get the idea of wanting to put out a net!  

[winnipeg_gal]

I can't agree more.  A great picture and a wonderful story.  I find it especially heartening to hear of a nest that had a "banner year" this year.  Thanks TPC for posting this story.

[Liz]

What a wonderful story and fabulous photo!  Thanks, TPC.  

[eagle63_1999]

Ohhhhhhhh what a beautiful picture of those four kids.  Thank-you for including the link

[The Peregrine Chick]

2008 NESTING SEASON

55 Water Street
New York City, New York


Photograph by Robert Wilenker

Television monitors rarely make New Yorkers pause, but in the marbled lobby of 55 Water Street, an insurance company worker named Katherine Stronk was transfixed recently by the image on the screen of four peregrine falcons in their nest on the building’s 14th floor.

“I check in on them every day,” Ms. Stronk said, barely taking her eyes off the monitor, which sits between a cafe and a magazine stand. “They were like cotton balls when they were born.”

Some 17 breeding pairs of peregrine falcons live in the city, their nests perched on skyscrapers and bridges. In a long-term joint effort, city and state biologists are identifying, monitoring and studying the falcons, which nearly faced extinction in the 1960s from the pesticide DDT. But Ms. Stronk and other falcon aficionados have a nonscientist to thank for the Webcam in the lobby. His name is Frank Magnani, and he is the building manager of 55 Water Street.  The story of the Water Street falcons began on a sunny day in 1997, when Barbara Saunders, an information technology analyst, stepped out of her nearby office to eat lunch on a promenade that overlooks the East River. “I saw something dive,” she said, “and I thought: ‘Oh, my God! What was that? That ain’t no seagull.’ ”

Ms. Saunders saw the bird fly to 55 Water Street and reported the sighting to Mr. Magnani. He in turn notified a city biologist, who helped him install a nest box to support the peregrines’ breeding efforts.  Two years later, Mr. Magnani installed the first camera, which projected a small black-and-white image into the lobby. “We got so much interest from the public,” he said, “you’d have a couple hundred people standing down there.”

Much has changed at 55 Water Street since the early years. Among other things, the original breeding pair, Jack and Jaie, have left, and their nest was adopted by a new pair of birds, named Jasper and Jubilee. But the rhythms of nature have stayed the same, which means spring is still the breeding season, and its climax is the chicks’ effort to fly from the nest, high above the F.D.R. Drive and the East River. Many years, on that inaugural journey, some fledglings from 55 Water Street are unable to mimic their parents’ effortless loops around the sky and through the canyons of the Financial District. Fighting gusty winds and learning how their wings work, some end up hit by cars or in the choppy water of the river. More than half of the birds won’t make it through their first year.

In late May, the four chicks at 55 Water Street became more active and started to explore the far reaches of their nest. On that day in the lobby, Ms. Stronk saw three of the young birds standing on the balcony’s edge while the fourth bent over the remains of a pigeon, ripping off pieces of flesh with its beak. On the last day of May, a quiet Saturday when the office building was nearly empty, the first fledgling flew. And fell. Bill DeMauro, the security supervisor on duty, learned that the bird had landed in the middle of a film set on South Street. Carefully, he scooped up the frightened but uninjured fledgling and returned it to the nest.

The birds’ fortunes are endlessly fascinating to those who live and work in the neighborhood.

“Everyone asks about the birds — we call them the 55 Water Street mascots,” said Orlando Burgos, whose station is the front desk. “There’s something good going on here. But it’s heartbreaking, too. Every year, we watch them grow up, and then half of them end up on the road. You just want to put a big net up over the F.D.R. to catch them.”

Two days later, just after sunrise, another bird was found on South Street, facing off a fire truck emerging from the station. The firefighters managed to get the creature into a milk crate, and it too was returned to the nest. Ms. Saunders, the technology analyst who first saw the nest back in 1997, was staked out on the promenade the first week of June, and on Wednesday, June 4, she witnessed the first chick’s successful flight. The next day, two more followed. THAT left just one bird in the nest; it was the runt of the brood, but it was growing stronger each day. Ms. Saunders was checking the monitor on Friday morning when she and other passers-by saw the chick hop-fly across the nest.

“I’m so happy she’s flapping!” said one of the watchers.

The next day, that falcon, too, flew. That achievement meant it was a banner year for the birds, with all four chicks successfully entering the life of an urban falcon. Many more dangers await them, of course, but at 55 Water Street, it was smiles all around.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/nyregion/thecity/15falc.html?em&ex=1213675200&en=d968a1ac2672d991&ei=5087%0A