Other Peregrine Projects > USA Peregrines

NJ / Jersey City - 2008-21

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Alison:
I am horrified by what happened here. I hope these people will face a long list of charges, and that this will go to court and result in a conviction.

The resident female at this nest was officially named Juliette at banding.  Her unbanded mate is known to some as Romeo.

Their three chicks (all girls) are banded BM/13, BM/17 and BM/18.

BM/13 is the one who is missing. BM/17 is in care at The Raptor Trust.

BM/18  is currently back in the nest.

From Ben Wurst two hours ago:

Hey all, Kathy Clark/NJDFW put BM/18 back on the roof. She was the only bird who didn't fledge early on Sunday. 17 is still at the Raptor Trust and now in a flight cage. 13 is still missing. Not much has changed. Sorry for any confusion!

Screen capture of the three beautiful girls from a week ago, by ospreychick. The one in the middle is the missing chick, BM/13.



One on the ledge yesterday, by Mason Najima.



BM/18 is currently fast asleep in the nest:



The best link for information and photos:

http://www.conservewildlifenj.org/education/falconcam/interact/

Jazzerkins:
I hope that the window washers are charged and convicted of this horrible act.  I also hope that the lost one is found safe (but know that is unlikely) and that the injured one makes it.

The Peregrine Chick:
NJ investigating if window washers intentionally sprayed peregrine falcons off skyscraper
Scott Fallon / New Jersey Record / 19 June 2019

State wildlife authorities are investigating why window washers on Sunday sprayed a nest of endangered peregrine falcons living on a Jersey City skyscraper, causing several young falcons to fall from the roof of the 41-story building.  One young falcon remains missing and another that glided to the ground is being evaluated for injuries at a Morris County bird rehabilitation center, according to Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey. The birds, hatched in May, were about a week away from being able to fly, experts said.  "Everybody is shocked that this happened," said Cathy Malok, rehabilitation director for the Raptor Trust in Millington, where the stunned falcon was taken on Monday. "Even if you don't know that these birds are endangered, it's still a really lousy thing to do."  The state Division of Fish and Wildlife is investigating the incident, a spokesman said Wednesday.


Peregrine falcons have nested atop a Jersey City high-rise since 2000. This photo was taken before Sunday's incident. (Photo: Courtesy of Conserve Wildlife Foundation)
Note from TPC - this photo is not of a fledge-age chick, this chick probably about 10-12 days old, so this photo was taken well before Sunday's incident.

Falcons have called the roof of 101 Hudson St. home for nearly two decades, and they have a worldwide following due to a long-running webcam chronicling their activities.  The incident, which was partially recorded by the webcam, began around 8:45 a.m. Sunday when window washers entered the roof near the falcons' nest box.  Three young falcons that hatched in the box in May were close to being able to fly.  When the workers entered the area, adult falcons began "dive bombing" the men to defend their nest and young. Webcam footage shows water being sprayed on the nest and near a young falcon standing on the ledge. At least two young falcons jumped from the ledge.  "It clearly shows that the window washers were aware that these state endangered birds were present and were actively trying to remove them from the area so they could do their job," Conserve Wildlife Foundation wrote on its Facebook page.

A volunteer nest watcher visited the building Sunday and saw one of the young falcons on a lower ledge around the 36th floor. On Monday, a state conservation officer investigating the incident found another on the ground near a construction site. It was captured and transported to the Raptor Trust. One remains missing.   "They were about a week away from being able to fly," said Ben Wurst, habitat program manager for Conserve Wildlife. "It's a very sensitive time for them, so we try to make sure any interaction with people is extremely limited."

Peregrine falcons have had a resurgence in New Jersey.  In 2018, state researchers and wildlife advocates documented a record 40 nesting pairs after the species had been wiped out in New Jersey beginning in the 1960s. Twenty-eight pairs produced at least 75 chicks last year. Despite the progress, peregrine falcons are still listed as an endangered species in New Jersey  Falcons have lived on the roof of the 41-story office tower at 101 Hudson St. in Jersey City, now known as the Merrill Lynch Building, since 2000.

It is not known what company employs the window washers.  "I know the folks at the building are beside themselves," Wurst said. "These birds have been there for 20 years. Everybody at the building loves them, so it's very strange that this happened. It's not like no one knew they were there."  A spokeswoman for the building's owner, Mack-Cali, said the company is "saddened and dismayed" over the incident.  "Any time we employ a contractor to do work on or near the building’s roof, we are explicit in communicating the need to protect the falcons’ well-being and remain clear of the nest," Deidre Crockett, a company spokeswoman, said in a statement.

The falcon at the Raptor Trust is still in the center's critical care wing but is doing well, Malok said. It will be X-rayed to see if it has any broken bones.  As for the missing one, Malok hopes that it survived. "If you're a bird that can't fly, you don't want to be on the ground, especially in a busy place like Jersey City," she said.

There are more photos & a video from the banding
source: https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/environment/2019/06/19/nj-investigating-if-window-washers-sprayed-endangered-peregrine-falcons-off-skyscraper-jersey-city/1498850001/

The Peregrine Chick:
From the Jersey City Falcon Cam Nestbox News

June 20

As viewers can tell you, a lot has happened since our last update. On June 3, Kathy Clark, Supervisory Zoologist/NJ Fish & Wildlife and CWF visited 101 Hudson St. to band the three 3 week old eyases. All three are females. This is the first successful brood for 41/AX, the nesting female, who has been here since 2015. She is now seven years old and a productive falcon! The three female eyases have been very well cared for since hatching. They have been well fed and brooded closely until they were large enough to keep warm on their own. All three were banded for future tracking: BM/13:1947-31877; BM/17:1947-31881; and BM/18:1947-31882.

All was going very well as they were able to leave and enter the Nestbox to explore the rooftop and building ledge. They could be seen flapping and jumping, all to help strengthen their flight muscles for their first flight when they fledge from the nest. Unfortunately, on Sunday, June 16, starting at approximately 8:45am, window washers entered the rooftop area (41st floor) where the falcon nestbox is located. The eyases (young falcons) were 5-6 weeks old and very close to fledging, so this is a very dangerous time for them to be disturbed. Pushing (by disturbing them) the birds to fledge early can be disastrous. Since they are unable to fly on their own and without much skill, they often land below or another ledge or end up on the streets below.

As soon as the workers entered the area, the adults could be heard calling and dive bombing them, to defend their eyrie (nest) and young. From the human disturbance, two eyases (BM/13 & BM/17) left the ledge on the 41st floor and one remained. At one point viewers noticed the remaining eyas was being sprayed with water from above, which may have been an attempt to drive or push that bird off the ledge, which luckily failed. Either way, it clearly shows that the window washers were aware that these state endangered birds were present and were actively trying to remove them from the area so they could do their job. The workers remained in that area for the majority of the day until we were able to reach engineers for the building to escort them from the area.

Later that day a volunteer nest watcher visited the area and saw one eyas on a lower ledge. On June 18, BM/17 was found on the ground and was captured and transported to The Raptor Trust. Currently the one eyas (BM/18) remains near the nestbox/ledge and the other (BM/13) has not been located.

This is now a law enforcement issue which is being investigated by NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife. We are deeply saddened by this and will keep you all updated on the status of these majestic birds.

The Peregrine Chick:
From the Jersey City Falcon Cam Nestbox News

May 21


The three eyases on Saturday, May 18 while being treated for trichomoniasis, a disease that is common in pigeons. Photo by Kathy Clark/ENSP.

I apologize for the delay in updates here! As you can all see, we have three healthy eyases!! This marks the first year that 41/AX has produced her own healthy brood of three young. The first hatched on 5/9 and then the remaining two hatched over the next 48 hours. As they have grown and demanded more attention, the remaining egg did not hatch. All young seem to have been getting plenty of care and have been well fed by both adults.

On Saturday, May 18 Kathy Clark, Supervisory Zoologist with the Endangered and Nongame Species Program visited 101 Hudson St. to medicate all three young for trichomoniasis, a disease that's common in pigeons. If left untreated, it can kill young falcons. They are treated with antibotics and will get a second dose when we visit 10 Hudson St. on June 3rd to band the young for future tracking. We'll be sure to keep you all updated on when the banding will occur and will be recording video of the banding to share afterwards.

When at 101 Hudson, we are hoping to adjust the angle of the IR light and stength of the illumination, since at night it is quite dim. Formerly lights on the roof helped to cast indirect light into the nestbox and now those lights are off, so we have less light and will try to turn up the intensity of the IR light to compensate. BW

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