Photo from the Field: Union County Courthouse Falcons Banded

Earlier today, we joined our partners from Union County and NJDEP Fish & Wildlife to band the four young peregrine falcons produced at the Union County Courthouse in downtown Elizabeth. The four eyases are right around four weeks old and prime age for banding. After ascending to the roof, viewers of the live stream on YouTube watched as we carefully bagged each nestling and brought them inside the building.

There was a decent breeze and this made our efforts to watch and ward off dive bombs from the adults quite the task. The wind was the perfect speed for them to soar right above our heads. Nothing quite like witnessing the amazing acrobatics of the fastest animal on Earth hovering 10 feet above you! Those of us exposed on the roof wielded feather dusters to help extend our reach and act as a buffer to the falcons that were upset by our presence at their eyrie.

After we brought the eyases inside, each was measured, banded and medicated for future tracking. NJDEP Fish & Wildlife, Endangered and Nongame Species Program Chief, Kathy Clark lead the efforts as she has done for years. There were three females and one male. The youngest is a female and she looked very healthy for being five days younger than her siblings. Their auxiliary bands are: BN/60, BN/61, BN/62 and the male is BK/10. While banding, Kathy discussed how falcons were doing in New Jersey and highlighted how HPAI has affected many of the coastal nesting falcons, where many of those historic nests that were crucial in their initial recovery, are now abandoned. Over the past two years the total number of falcon nests in the state has declined. We stressed the importance of urban nests like this one, which is one of the most successful sites in New Jersey.

Everyone felt good knowing that our efforts today were meaningful and would allow us to track the young falcons after they disperse from the local area and eventually settle in to their own territory to nest and raise their young to sustain the population. We are thankful for who watch the Union County Falcon Cam with us, our partners — Union County, NJDEP Fish & Wildlife, and everyone who supports our wildlife conservation efforts!