Author: Web Site Administrator

On Tuesday morning, June 11, 2024 those watching the Union County Falcon Cam saw the hatch on the roof open and a young falcon was put out on the roof with food.  An effort to foster a fledgling falcon from another nest was attempted. The young falcon fledged from a nest under I-295 and was recovered from the river beneath. After spending a few days in rehab, the decision to foster here was made, as going back to their bridge nest site would have been much more risky, with lots of fast moving vehicles and a river below.

Fostering is a technique that has been successful in many prior, similar situations. It is important for fledgling falcons, who still rely on adults for food, to be a part of a falcon family.

This time the adults reacted badly, acting like the juvenile falcon was a competitor. It may be that the timing was just not close enough in terms of the fledging stage their own four chicks were at, even though they were all still close to the building/roof and clearly dependent on the adults.

We re-activated the live streams and have not seen BN/55. We will be watching for sightings of her here and elsewhere. We’re thankful for the support of our faithful UC Falcon Cam viewers, wildlife rehabilitators, and volunteers who helped with this mission.

Anyone who finds a grounded or injured falcon or hawk should call the nearest licensed wildlife rehabilitator or the city/municipal Animal Control office for assistance. 

The male chicks are itching to fledge! They all easily make their way around the roof and onto railings to perch, which is called branching. This is an important time for them to hone their flight skills, especially landing and taking off.  Males can fledge as early as six weeks old. Once they do fledge, the adults will continue to provide food for them. Sometimes, they will transfer prey mid-air, which will also help the young develop hunting skills that they will use for the rest of their lives.

It has been said before, time flies! This brood of four healthy eyases are now almost four weeks old and have been banded for future tracking.  On May 20^th, Kathy Clark, Chief of the NJFW Endangered and Nongame Species Program and Union County staff banded all four young.

For banding, they were all brought inside the building so it can be done in a controlled environment. Falcon young can be sexed at the time of banding and all young produced here are male! This is a stark contrast to the last couple years when all were female!

To sex, their upper mandible/bill length is measured. This is to ensure the correct size band is used on the bird. Males are smaller, so their upper bills are smaller (up to 18mm) and they get a smaller band (size 6 – females get a size 7). This is a little more tricky when you have young that are all the same sex! It makes even the experienced bander double and triple check their measurements to be sure they are accurate and using the correct size band. You basically don’t want to put a male band on a female or it would be too tight on their leg.

Their aux. bands are: BH/92, BH/93, BH/94 & BH/95. As they get larger and it gets warmer, they will head outside more and more. Soon they will be venturing around the roof ledges and make it harder to keep track of them. In another couple weeks, they will make their first flights, which is when they’re around 6-7 weeks old. If you live in the area and want to volunteer to watch this nest from the ground, we could use your help. Once these young fledge, they can often land on the ground. Having a volunteer on fledge watch really helps ensure their safety! Please reach out to Ben Wurst if you’re interested.

The Union County Board of County Commissioners is celebrating the successful banding of four recently hatched male peregrine chicks at Union County’s Courthouse Tower, located at 2 Broad Street in Elizabeth. These identification bands, along with web cameras installed on the courthouse roof, assist the County and its wildlife preservation partners in carefully tracking the behaviors, whereabouts, and habits of the peregrine falcons, with the hope of better understanding and preserving the species.

“We are delighted to welcome these beautiful new additions to Union County,” said Union County Chairwoman, Kimberly Palmieri-Mouded. “We appreciate the privilege and responsibility of having this endangered species in the state of NJ living and breeding on our grounds.  We proudly continue our partnership with the NJ Department of Fish & Wildlife and the Conserve Wildlife Foundation in our shared commitment to preserving and protecting our precious wildlife.”

On May 20^th, Union County’s Commissioner Chairwoman Kimberly Palmieri-Mouded, Vice-Chairwoman Lourdes Leon, and County Clerk Joanne Rajoppi, along with personnel from the Trailside Nature and Science Center, judiciary staff, and wildlife preservation partners, NJ Department of Fish & Wildlife and the Conserve Wildlife Foundation, helped place identification bands on four recently-hatched peregrine chicks.

The baby peregrines received a health checkup and were promptly returned to their nest with their attentive parents, Mango and Frida. This adult pair have successfully raised 23 babies on top of the courthouse since 2019.  This brood of falcons will be officially of fledging age in early to mid-June.  

The population of peregrine falcons in the U.S. was severely reduced in the 20th century due to pollutants, including the pesticide DDT. They were added to the federal endangered species list in 1973. As a result of improvements in many parts of the country, the falcons were removed from the federal list in 1999. However, they continue to be an endangered species in New Jersey.  These falcons typically nest on rock cliff ledges; however, peregrine falcons have adapted to use tall buildings in cities such as the Union County Courthouse in Elizabeth.

Union County participated in the restoration effort in 2006, when County personnel, under the guidance of state wildlife experts, affixed a nesting box to the Courthouse Tower roof.

Every year since then, a pair of peregrine falcons has laid eggs in the nesting box. Cameras were installed in 2016 to provide the 24/7 Falcon Cam livestream of the interior and exterior of the nest.

Frida laid her fourth egg on Sunday morning a little before 9:30 AM on March 24!  Now the pair will remain on their clutch of eggs for the next 28-30 days. Hatching will begin sometime at the end of April. The female will do the majority of incubation but they will take turns incubating, so that Frida can stretch her wings and feed away from the nest.

For those who have tuned in lately, NJ Conserve Wildlife Biologists has been witnessing what is likely a territorial dispute, which is when a rival adult is attempting to take over the nest. They have seen this when the female calls and leaves her nest to defend her territory. This happened yesterday and again this morning.

The male has also been heard calling alongside his mate. They are not sure if it is a male or female who is attempting the takeover, but 2019 the previous female was replaced by this unbanded female (Frida). We are seeing this occur more and more at established nests as they are desirable to breeding age adults, which there are more of these days than in past years.

It is hard to capture on camera but we may see a glimpse of a passing falcon on the wing. Behavior of adults is how we can tell what is going on and having audio really helps when they are not visible on camera. Time will tell if any turnover will occur here.

The male peregrine falcon reveals Egg #3 early Friday morning March 22^nd.

This brood of four female falcons were officially fledging age (that is, 6 weeks old) on June 9th.  They disappeared on that date and haven’t been on camera since then.  But they didn’t go far:  for a couple of days, their heads and/or wings could be seen occasionally as they flapped on the ledge that is just one level below the roof, where the cameras cannot view.  This isn’t unusual and happens every season.  What’s unusual, however, is they didn’t just “pop” back up to nest level within days!  

Union County Trailside staff went out to observe from the ground, and saw all four fledglings — flying!  As a group, the fledglings have been exploring other areas of the courthouse and nearby buildings.  The adults bring food wherever the youngsters are, so all that action has been away from the usual nest-level roof.  

I know we’re all anxious to see them and the fun flight-learning antics that come with new flyers.  We hope they will find their way back to the highest point in the city and back on camera!