Rochester falcon couple works together to feed babies

ROCHESTER N.Y. (WHEC) — Rochester Falcon Cam has shared photos showing the Peregrine Falcon couple on the Times Square Building working together to feed their three babies.

Neander, the father of the baby falcons, can be seen bringing back pieces of meat in his beak for his partner, Nova, to give to their offspring. A post from Falcon Cam said that Nova is the only one feeding the babies but Neander is often in the nesting box during mealtime and "watches intently". Once the falcons are older, Nova may allow their father a turn to feed them.

Food Transfer! Neander brings in one of many early morning breakfasts. Nova is still controlling the feedings.#ROC #peregrine #falcon pic.twitter.com/k4yYtmjpEA

— Rfalconcam (@Rfalconcam) May 30, 2022

Peregrine Falcons typically hunt for smaller birds to feed their children. It typically takes 35 to 45 days for newborn falcons to fly and two months for falcons to become old enough to hunt for themselves.

Nova is the primary caretaker of the babies. She incubated the eggs for more than a month before the first egg hatched on May 26 and the most recent egg hatched two days later. There is still one egg in the nesting box that hasn’t hatched.

On Friday, Neander watched the three babies after Nova watched them for 21 hours straight.

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. The Department of Environmental Conservation has run a longtime program to preserve falcon nesting sites and led other initiatives to restore their population.