The Port Authority and NYC Department of Environmental Protection have announced that three female peregrine falcon chicks hatched in early May near the Bayonne Bridge. The chicks–Martha, Rosie, and Juno–were tagged on May 29 and appear to be about 21 days old, and made their first flights around June 19. The chicks were named after World War II heroes and the 75th anniversary of D-Day celebrated earlier this month, according to Port Authority. They are just three of 46 peregrine falcons that have hatched from Bayonne since 1992.
“Martha was the first name of one of the first female war correspondents. Rosie the Riveter is a cultural icon who represents the women who worked in factories and shipyards during the war,” said Olga Krueger, the Staten Island Bridges General Manager. “And Juno is the name of one of the beaches used as a landing area during the invasion.”
The Port Authority described how Chris Nadareski–who has banded 43 of the 46 birds that have hatched from the bridge in the last27 years–tagged Martha, Rosie, and Juno.
“Rich Kerney, a SIB maintenance unit supervisor, and Chris Nadareski, a research scientist with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), climbed up a 40-foot nesting tower in the Arthur Kill near the Bayonne Bridge,” reads a statement.
The DEP, Port Authority, and NY State Department of Environmental Conservation have been working together to keep the falcon population thriving in New York, which is considered a bird of prey’s paradise. Peregrine falcons are listed as endangered in New York State, and were eliminated as a nesting species in the early 1960s due to pesticide residues in their prey. However, the release of captive bred birds from 1974-1988 helped restore the population. Peregrines first returned to nest on two bridges in the city in 1983 and two years later were nesting again in the Adirondacks. Martha, Rosie, and Juno represent the next population of peregrines to make their mark on the city’s skies.
Main Image: Martha, Rosie, and Juno look a lot like this little guy, but will grow to be majestic predators.
