NEWBURYPORT, MASS. (WHDH) - Three peregrine falcon chicks have successfully fledged from a nesting box on the Gillis Bridge in Newburyport, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation announced Wednesday.
The chicks, which were banded by MassWildlife biologists for tracking purposes last month, flew from their nest box this month, according to MassDOT.
MassWildlife began monitoring the bridge in 2017 when a pair of falcons were attempting to nest on the bridge’s pillars, officials said. An artificial nest box was built by MassWildlife and installed on the bridge’s pillars by MassDOT in 2018 to provide a safer environment for the raptors to lay eggs and raise chicks.
The male chicks all bear a silver federal band on their right leg and a regional color band on their left leg. Reports from observers about the birds with these bands will allow biologists to track their movements and lifespan.
They will become independent in August, hunt on their own, and search for their own territories this fall and winter.
In addition to the Gillis Bridge, MassDOT and MassWildlife monitor nine other falcon nesting box locations statewide, including the Braga Bridge in Fall River, the Tobin Bridge in Chelsea, the Massachusetts Turnpike Bridge over the Connecticut River in Chicopee, Calvin Coolidge Bridge in Northampton, the French King Bridge in Erving and Gill, Chelsea Street Bridge in Chelsea, Muller Bridge in Holyoke, Basiliere Bridge in Haverhill, and the I-91 Deerfield River Bridge in Deerfield.
Peregrine falcons have historically nested on cliffs but have adapted to using man-made structures such as buildings, bridges, and quarries.
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