Rochester’s falcon couple welcomes fourth egg of the season
Fourth falcon egg (Credit: Rochester Falcon Cam)
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Rochester’s falcon couple, Nova and Neander, welcomed their fourth egg of the season on Tuesday.
Rochester Falcon Cam says the fourth egg will likely be Nova’s final this spring because she has started more frequent incubation. The red egg came around 3:30 a.m., nine days since her first egg.
The two falcons became a couple in spring of 2022 after Neader lost his longtime partner, Beauty, at age 15. The falcons live in the nesting box on top of the Times Square Building, which has nine cameras that people can view online.
Last May, three eggs that Nova laid hatched. Both parents were seen on the camera feeding their babies pieces of chewed-up meat.
Peregrine Falcons are on New York State’s list of endangered species. This population started declining after the 1940s because of exposure to the pesticide DDT, which caused eggshells to thin and crack. However, their population is improving because of projects to preserve nesting sites and the ban on DDT.
The nesting box on the Times Square Building, first occupied by Beauty and her partner Archer, was installed in 2008.