Rochester’s falcon couple welcomes fourth hatchling of the season
Credit: Rfalconcam
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Rochester’s peregrine falcon couple have welcomed their fourth hatchling of the season in the nesting box on top of the Times Square Building.
The mother Nova and father Neander have been taking care of the newborns, called eyases. The fourth falcon egg hatched just before 8 p.m. on Tuesday, according to Rfalconcam. Nova’s first two eggs hatched overnight last Saturday and the third egg hatched the next evening.
The falcons became a couple in spring of 2022. The nesting box, first occupied by Beauty, who died at age 15, and her partner Archer, was installed in 2008.
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 a ban on DDT.