Peregrine falcons like to nest in high-up places, and in New York City that means they’re on top of bridges. Every year, the Metropolitan Transit Authority sends a research scientist up on top of its bridges to check for falcon chicks. This year, they found 10 in all, half male and half female.
The MTA puts nesting boxes on top of the bridges, and in the spring, they band the baby falcons, in order to help keep track of the number of peregrine falcons in the city and to identify them if they get sick. Otherwise they leave the falcons, which are on the state’s endangered birds list, to do their thing, turning from fluffy bawls of claws and teeth into sleek killing machines.
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