Keeping up with the new peregrine falcon chicks on the Mid-Hudson Bridge has become an annual rite of spring in the Hudson Valley. And with the rise of social media, it's getting easier to watch along in real time as the chicks -- called "eyasses" -- transform from fuzzy lumps to full-fledged raptors.
A couple of weeks ago, three eggs hatched in a nest box on the Mid-Hudson Bridge, the latest in a 14-year lineage of peregrine falcons to be brought up alongside the thrum of Poughkeepsie-Highland auto traffic. The video above was taken just a few days ago.
Today, the New York State Bridge Authority, which keeps a live webcam trained on the young falcons 24/7, announced that they're holding a contest on their Facebook page to name the chicks.
(If you've got any good ideas, do weigh in -- currently, the only candidates are "Hudson, Franklin and Eleanor" or "Middy, Huddy and Bridgy." Hmm.)
The Catskils might not be the easiest place to get a glimpse of a rare peregrine, but birds around here make great video, too -- even the ordinary ones. Case in point: this video of a robin's nest, shot last year by Margaretville videographer Fred Margulies on his own front porch.
Robins: 4 Eggs, 4 Weeks from Fred Margulies on Vimeo.
