If all goes well, a nest near the Bayonne Bridge may soon be home to the cutest new hatchlings that anyone around the world can monitor from the comfort of their homes.
Peregrine falcons are nesting on a structure created by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey — the same agency responsible for the tunnels and bridges between the two states — and for the first time, the agency has set up a 24-hour livestream allowing the public to tune into their journey.
Mom has laid two eggs so far this week, and more are expected in the coming days, said Stephen Knapp, who oversees the Bayonne Bridge as general manager of the three Staten Island bridges.
“This is something that you’re not really going to see any other way,” Knapp said. “To give people that view, I think that’s something special.”
The Port Authority began building structures for birds in 1989, alternatives to the bridges that they had been nesting on that would keep them out of the way of any bridge maintenance activity, Knapp said. It partners with the state Department of Environmental Protection, which bands the birds.
This is the only structure near the Bayonne Bridge, and peregrine falcons made it home last year as well and raised three chicks. After they left, the Port Authority did some maintenance on the box and installed a solar powered camera, Knapp said.
Now, it is live online 24 hours a day. There have been nearly 300,000 views of the falcon cam thus far, said Rudy King, a Port Authority public information officer.
Knapp said it’s a popular web tab to monitor in his Port Authority office.
“They might not really be interested in it at first, but I think once you start watching, it fascinates you,” he said.
Peregrine falcon populations suffered in the 1960s and early ‘70s when the pesticide DDT entered their systems through the animals they preyed upon. The species was listed as endangered in 1970, and DDT was banned two year later.
By 1999, peregrine falcons were off the endangered species list. There were 43 falcon pairs in New Jersey last year, 26 of which raised chicks, according to Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.
In addition to providing a window into the world of these falcons, the new webcam offers a way for the public to understand the breadth of the Port Authority’s work, Knapp said.
“Yes we run bridges and tunnels and terminals and ports, but there’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes that people aren’t aware of,” he said.
If successful, the eggs are expected to hatch in June and the young birds would begin flying in July and August.
The falcon cam can be viewed at www.panynj.gov/bridges-tunnels/en/bayonne-bridge/falcon-cam.html.
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