Our Middle Bay Peregrine couple is back at their platform this year. Visit the NYS DEC website to learn more about Peregrine Falcons. They begin their nesting process in March, laying their first eggs usually by mid-March, with the eggs hatching by mid-April and the young birds eventually leaving the nest in the early part of June. These peregrines are not migratory they are year-round residents that live in our marshes feeding on the abundance of bird species throughout the year. Since then, this nest has been occupied by four different females. The Osprey platform was replaced with a roofed structure designated for this species in New York State, which better supports the typical habitat of a Peregrine Falcon, who prefers to nest in cavities on the sides of cliffs. Since Peregrines are a New York State endangered species, certain protocols needed to be followed. This was the first record of Peregrine Falcons nesting in the marshes of the Town of Hempstead. On June 11, 2004, two downy chicks were seen on the nest platform. The wintering Peregrine was not driven off and they made their timeshare a permanent home. Unfortunately, the Osprey pair did not return in 2002 for unknown reasons. Starting in the spring of 2002, the Osprey pair had been evicting wintering Peregrines that were using the platform as a vantage point and roost. Since the late eighties, a pair of Osprey had returned to this platform to raise their young. Under the cloak of secrecy, a pair of Peregrine Falcons adopted an Osprey Platform as a nesting site in 2002.
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