Spring is here and once again the New NY Bridge provides a home for the fastest member of the animal kingdom, a pair of peregrine falcons! Hundreds of feet above the Hudson River, a man-made nest box was installed on top of the Tappan Zee Bridge.
Currently, the adult pair nested in this box and laid several peregrine eggs. The falcons are now incubating their eggs, which are expected to hatch in mid-April. The eggs will hatch with chicks, called eyases (“EYE-a-sez”, singular “EYE-us”).
2017 is the Third Annual Falcon Naming Contest, the New NY Bridge project is asking students to help name the Tappan Zee falcon eyases!
We need to act quickly, entries for the baby eyases names need to be submitted by Friday, April 28th! Please submit your entry to the jar on the library circulation desk by Friday, April 21st! No Exceptions! The final vote will be taken Wednesday, April 26th in order to be submitted on time to the NewNYBridge team.
Learn more about the Peregrine Falcon at the following resources:
- The New NY Bridge Project has a webcam which provides an unfiltered window on the day-to-day lives of the peregrine falcons. You may see the adult birds eating, incubating eggs, feeding their young, defending their nest and more. Remember, these are wild birds and their behaviors reflect what really happens in nature. Some of their actions may be unpleasant to watch and it is possible that some of the fledglings may not survive into adulthood.
- Peregrine Falcon Fact Sheet- NYSDEC
- Annual reports from NYSDEC on the status of falcons in NYS
- North American Falconry Association